The brave persons

Independiente are the best or the second-best team in South America, but not the best team in Ecuador. Last weekend my own team, Barcelona S.C., clinched the top place for the first half of the season in the domestic league. This means that at the end of the year, in the grand finale, we’ll play against the champions of the second half of the season (or, if we are the second-half champions, we’ll win the league by default).

“It’s for brave persons,” said our goalie, Máximo Banguera. “I am a warrior and I want it to be known that [here] is a warrior.”

Also:

“When we lost the Clásico del Astillero” – the game against the leaders, Emelec – “many mediocre persons gave us up as finished, but this was a time for brave persons and not for mediocre persons.”

Count me among the mediocre persons. I didn’t think we’d catch up to Emelec. But I’m glad that the games were played by the brave persons and not by the mediocre ones; that B.S.C. recovered to win its last six games; and that down the stretch Emelec stumbled just enough to be overtaken.

Tomorrow night IDV and Atlético Nacional will play the last game of the Copa Libertadores.