Blog #6
The first day back in Guayaquil, we already had a game scheduled. And it was against Barcelona, one of the top teams and an icon of Ecuadorian soccer. We were playing the U18 team strengthened by some first-team players. We won the game 2-1. The goals were scored by Cristian Quevedo and Wilber Bonilla. Since we were accompanied by one of the legends of Ecuadorian soccer, we were allowed to go in and see the 90,000 seat Barcelona Stadium and hang out there for a while.
On Sunday we had most of the day pretty much for relaxing. At 4:00 pm we went to see the Championship game between Emelec and Espil. The Emelec stadium was packed with 30,000 fanatics cheering and waiting for their team to win the championship and a bid for the Copa Libertadores. And they got what the asked for. Their team won 4-0. Great experience overall.
This basically winds up our trip in Ecuador. In conclusion we have to say that this trip made us much better as a team, on and off the field. We got to see many things that this country has to offer and play the best names of Ecuadorian soccer. Monday we are coming back home to our families. However we will miss this country and will always be grateful to everything it gave us. Overall, an unforgettable experience. We would like to thank all the people who organized everything for us and made this trip better.
Thank you very much!
See you soon
Sincerely,
Stony Brook University Men’s Soccer
Blog #5
After a long bus ride from Quito, we finally arrived in Esmeraldas, a city located in the northwestern part of Ecuador. We stayed in a town next to Esmeraldas called Tonsupa. This town is located only 10 minutes away from the beach and it is a tourist spot for people from all over Ecuador, other parts of South America and some parts of Europe. Here we played two friendly matches and a tournament. The first friendly match was played at the city stadium against a regional selection of Esmeraldas. This game was of special importance to Coach Markovic being that his father was a coach of the biggest club in Esmeraldas and that he left a big impression in this city. We won this game 2-0.
The tournament was held and organized by the town, Atacames. It consisted of four teams, one of them being a university team like us. This team was also our first opponent. We won the game 2-1 and played the final game against a local town selection for the title. We won that game as well 4-0, winning the tournament and getting a big trophy as a reward.
Our final game was scheduled to be played against a 3rd division team, FC Atacames. Before the game we were welcomed and hosted by the tourist organization of Esmeraldas and Atacames, who showed appreciation for having us in their town and wished us all the best in the future. FC Atacames was surely the best team that we played during our stay in Esmeraldas. This team played very well against us in a very close match, which ended 3-1 on their behalf. Aside from the opponents good game, we had much to regret for having missed a lot of good chances to make the score more even.
Aside from playing games we had the opportunity to spend our free time at the beach and relax in the tourist resort at Atacames. We also had a couple of receptions organized by the people of Atacames, who made our stay more enjoyable. After spending six days we packed our bags and left to go back to Guayaquil., where we will spend our last four days in Ecuador.
Best regards!
See you soon,
Stony Brook Men’s Soccer
Blog #4
Another greetings from Ecuador! Hope everyone is doing well! On our last day in Quito, we had a game scheduled against Nacional, one of the biggest clubs in Ecuador. This team is famous for producing some of the biggest talents of Ecuadorian soccer. We played their B squad alongside some guys from their first team and a couple of national team players, such as Segundo Castillo, who plays in the English Premier League with Wolves. The game was a great test for us to see where we stand at the moment and how well we can compete with the top teams in South America. We ended up losing the game. However, it was a great experience and something that we can definitely learn from being that this was the hardest opponent that we have encountered so far on our tour.
After the game we were taken to see the equator line, popularly known as the line that separates the world into the Northern and Southern hemisphere, which is located outside of Quito. After taking pictures and doing some souvenir shopping we were on our way to the third city of our trip, Esmeraldas.
Best regards,
Take care
Stony Brook Mens Soccer
Blog #3
Monday morning was spent in a typical way on our trip: having breakfast and watching the World Cup matches. At around 2pm we packed our stuff and left the hotel to play a game against FC Rocafuerte. This team competes in the Ecuadorian second national league and is currently a contender for promotion to the highest level. The game finished 0-0. It was an open game with a lot of chances on both sides. Overall, everybody felt good about how we played and later we found out that the people in the crowd were really impressed with our performance.
After the game, we left for Quito, the capital of Ecuador. However, before reaching Quito we spent one day in town of San Domingo. After spending the night at a hotel, we visited an Indian tribe called the Tsachilas. After more than a thousand years of existence the tribe has barely changed their habits and customs. Because of this, everybody was really excited to see how these people go through everyday life.
The Tsachilas welcomed us in a very hospitable manner, giving us a rich tour of their habitat and culture. This includes main beliefs, eating habits, various cultural rituals and the way they protect the environment. They were also more than welcome to answer any questions that we had. Overall this was a very unusual but positive experience.
The next thing we had on our schedule was a visit to a plantation nearby. This plantation is owned by coach Cesar’s family that lives in Ecuador. It is a big piece of land where they grow a lot of tropical crops. We had lunch and were invited to take a walk through the plantation itself.
After a few hours at the plantation, we finally hit the road to Quito. By spending a day in San Domingo, we basically split the trip to Quito in half. We arrived at the capital late at night. We settled at the hotel and immediately went to bed, because we had a game waiting for us early in the morning against one of the biggest clubs in South America and the winner of the Copa Libertadores a few years ago, Liga De Quito.
Upon arriving at their training facility, we got to realize how big this club is. There are at least seven soccer fields accustomed for different age groups, all looking really nice and professional. We were scheduled to play Liga’s U-18 selection, with a couple of older guys from the first team added to the squad. The game ended with a 3-3 draw. Mehdi Belakehal netted two goals for us in the first half. Both were scored after a nice passing sequence from the left side. Cristian Quevedo scored our third goal on a free-kick in the second half to tie the match.
Our team showed relentlessness against a really good and technically-talented opponent, coming back from a one-goal deficit two times. To add to that, we have to say that we played the game at an altitude of over 9,000 feet, which made the whole playing experience a lot more difficult. Considering everything, we were all content with the way we’ve played.
The rest of the day we’ve used for sightseeing. Coach took us to the old part of Quito, founded in the 16th century by the Spanish. We walked around and got to see old churches, the old President’s mansion and the old Parliament building, among other things. To finish the day up, we got to see another Ecuadorian first division game between Deportivo de Quito and Manta at the stadium where the Ecuadorian national team plays all of its games.
Tomorrow we have another game waiting for us against another big Ecuadorian team, Nacional.
Best regards from Quito.
Sincerely,
Stony Brook University Men’s Soccer
Blog #2
Day 3 in Ecuador was a long and an interesting one. After waking up and catching a couple of World Cup matches on TV, we left to play our first game of the tour against a regional selection. The trip took around two-and-a-half hours. We got to see a more rural, less fortunate side of Ecuador. As a team we all realized how lucky we are to have what is offered and given to us in the United States.
The game went successfully. We controlled most of the game with possession on their side of the field in both halves and ended up winning 1-0 on a goal from Cristian Quevedo after a nice combination play on the left flank. The general opinion was that we couldn’t capitalize on a lot of chances and that the score should’ve been much higher in our favor.
After the game Coach Markovic told us we were heading straight to watch one of the biggest rivalry games in Ecuador between Barcelona and Emelec. This game was of big importance being that both teams were at the top of the standings. The game would decide first place and a possible championship. The stadium was packed with 90,000 passionate fans cheering; lightning flares and fireworks and singing throughout the whole game made the atmosphere absolutely amazing. In the end the away team, Emelec, won 2-1 and sending their fans into a delirium.
Everyone left the stadium with a lot of positive impressions, which we kept talking about on our way back to the hotel, where we saw more World Cup action. It was a relaxing day due to the fact that we have our second game on Monday, which is supposed to be a hard one. We had a light practice in the morning at one of the training facilities owned by one of our hosts, Dusan Draskovic, a former Ecuador national team head coach and the coach of some of the biggest clubs around South America. After practice and lunch, the whole team got a chance to walk around, get to know the city better and do some shopping,
Tomorrow we have an exciting day ahead of us. After the game, we are leaving for the country’s capitol, Quito, where we will be staying for the next four days.
Wish you all the best.
Sincerely,
Stony Brook University Men’s Soccer
Blog #1
Greetings from Ecuador. After an eight-hour flight, we finally settled in our hotel, which is located in downtown Guayaquil. We were welcomed by a few people who are going to make our whole stay easy and enjoyable.
Our first real encounter with Guayaquil was the next morning, when we walked down the block throughout the "Iguana Park", a place full of iguanas that are taken care of by the public. We found this park really unusual and interesting before the iguanas started feeling like it was their duty to welcome us by going to the bathroom on Mehdi, Kyle and Raphael. Before we knew it, it was time to get lunch and start watching the World Cup games, which lasted until mid-afternoon.
Friday was the first day of our first practice. We went to the field where Ecuadorian youth national teams live and practice before they leave for a big competition. Aside from the main field, which was in pretty decent shape, the complex included five clay-surfaced fields full of kids from less fortunate backgrounds playing. After a while we caught people's attention, and they stopped what they were doing and started watching us practice. A couple of kids even ran into practice during our water breaks to use our balls. We had an hour-and-a-half-long but relaxing practice, consisting mostly of ball work and possession.
On our way back we realized that we are causing much attention even off the field, occasionally noticing the locals looking and trying to speak with us.
After dinner we took our first walk through the streets of Guayaquil. We took a stroll around the boardwalk, which included a lot of vegetation, attraction and entertainment. After that we climbed the 444 steps to the top of a hill, which gave us a great view of the city and all of its surroundings. The way to the top of the hill consisted of a lot of statues detailing Ecuadorian history.
Now we are going back to bed and mentally preparing for our first game, which is against the regional selection. This game is a preliminary to a big-time playoff game, and a big crowd is expected.
Hope you guys are all following us on our trip and the World Cup games.
Best regards from all of us in Ecuador.
Sincerely,
Stony Brook University Men's Soccer
