Ecuador has two major cities: Guayaquil and the mountain capital of Quito, which is where the Ecuador national side stage their home games, and the altitude is clearly a factor in their strong record in front of their own fans. It was also an advantage for local club side LDU when in 2008, they became the first, and so far only, Ecuadorian side to win the Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League.
But football first caught on in Guayaquil, as port cities are more open to new ideas associated with industry and immigrants. Both Emelec, set up by the local electric company and Barcelona, as their name suggests, established by Catalan immigrants have national followings. The derby is a big game.
It is a rivalry capable of pitting brother against brother, quite literally, in the case of last Sunday's game in Barcelona's imposing Monumental stadium.
Attacking midfielder Miler Bolanos started his career with Barcelona. But via a roundabout route including drug abuse and a spell in the MLS, he has ended up at Emelec. Older brother Alex Bolanos, a more defensive midfielder, remains at Barcelona.
The two, in the South American custom, swapped shirts at halftime, with the game goalless, really! The deadlock had still not been broken after the break, when they clashed on the field. Alex grabbed Miler's shirt, which ripped as a result. Miler went over to the touchline. There was no other shirt for him to wear. The coaching staff were unable to patch up the torn one. And so, in such bizarre circumstances and to his own enormous frustration, Miler Bolanos had to be substituted. Emelec had lost one of their most effective players, and with a goal 15 minutes from time, Barcelona claimed all three points.
So, the moral is, don't play against your twin brother and if you happen to, don't swap shirts?
This story, courtesy of Tim Vickery, whose knowledge of South American is worth listening to on the wireless.
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