Semifinal, leg 2 (La Bombonera)

Last week our heroes, Independiente del Valle, defeated Boca Juniors in the home leg, 2–1: a decent result, but due to the away-goals rule hardly a safe one. (Having scored in Quito, Boca would be able to advance with a 1–0 victory in Buenos Aires.)

Fast-forward to Thursday night. Boca are in their own fabled stadium, the Bombonera, and they score quickly. But IDV score soon after. Now they’re helped by the away-goals rule. Should one other goal be scored by the visitors, the home team would be obliged to convert not two, but three more goals.

The Argentinians must send players forward; but also, for dear life, they must avoid being scored upon.

This tightrope is too daunting for Boca Juniors. They wilt like little flowers. Early in the second half, a long kick by IDV’s goalie is head-flicked, twice, and suddenly one of IDV’s flankers is in scoring position, running with the ball. There’s a lunge by one of Junior Mouth’s defenders, but it’s futile. In a lightning flash, IDV have seized a commanding lead.

Moments later, lightning strikes again. Boca’s goalie comes out too far, tries to pass to a teammate who’s too close to him, and watches another IDV speedster intercept the pass, go around him, and escort the ball into the net.

(At this point, the Junior Mouth fans turn against each other. Some try to leave. Others confront them, questioning their loyalty. There are blows.)

The home players don’t quite give up, but they hardly know what to do. Without much effort, IDV stymie them.

IDV concede a penalty kick – and block it.

One goal does arrive for Junior Mouth, at the very end. Three goals too few.

Bitter Argentinians discuss.

All of Ecuador is behind IDV as they prepare for the home leg of the final, to be played next Wednesday against Atlético Nacional of Medellín. Once more, the ticket sales will be donated to the quake victims.

(Thanks to Stephen for some of this information.)

Copa América USA

After the first few games, this sad announcement: “United States May Become Permanent Host of Copa América.” The idea is to merge the Copa América and the Gold Cup, following the blueprint of the latter. (I’ve also seen this news in the Ecuadorian press.)

So much for the CONMEBOL’s policy of giving each country its turn to host the tournament.

So much for the poor citizen of Ecuador or Bolivia or Brazil who’d never travel to the United States – who would attend the tourney in his homeland, or who’d at least partake in the festivities in his homeland. “Hosting doesn’t make you rich,” say the authors of the book Soccernomics, “but it does make you happier.” When the games are at home, what the people gain is “a sense of belonging” – and sometimes, literally, “a lifesaver” (the local suicide rate goes down; so does depression).

I remember the 1993 Copa América in Ecuador. We weren’t very good at soccer, but the country rallied together and the players gave decent performances and improved their self-belief. This was crucial for our team’s development.

But because the CONCACAF’s Gold Cup is always held in the United States, there’s no prospect of such a boost for nations like El Salvador or Haiti. The Gold Cup is a charade, not a bona fide contest. The Copa América and the Euros and the Africa Cup of Nations may’ve had their injustices; but, to their credit, they’ve been staged in such humble locations as Paraguay (1997) and Poland (2012), Angola (2010) and Burkina Faso (1998), Gabon (2012) and tiny Equatorial Guinea (2012, 2015).

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What should the gringos expect to gain from becoming the perpetual gatekeepers? Only money.

For gringos, soccer doesn’t matter to national identity. They have nothing like the wholehearted consensus about this sport that exists in other countries. The gringos would never put aside their domestic differences for soccer’s sake.

Nor have they shown that they wish to commune with other nations over soccer. They’ve been invited to the Copa América every time since 1993, but they haven’t participated in it since 1995. [Correction, from Stephen: they participated in 2007.]

Nor are the gringos very concerned with being hospitable. Never mind that they might make Donald Trump their president: they don’t care enough to use the correct spelling of “Colombia.”

They don’t care enough to play the other countries’ anthems properly. So far, in this tourney, they’ve played Chile’s anthem instead of Uruguay’s, and they’ve cut off Chile’s anthem prematurely. They’ve shown disrespect for the national identities that make these games so meaningful for South Americans.

In Ecuador, Independiente del Valle, a modest club, is donating its ticket proceeds to Ecuadorians who were stricken by the recent earthquake.

In the United States, the rich have no qualms about scheming to take away a comforting tradition from the people who live in South America.

There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. …

National unity

Aftershocks, 6.0 on the Richter Scale, several days following the first quake.

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Solidarity among Ecuadorians, regarding the Copa Libertadores. Emelec are out; Liga de Quito are out; only Independiente del Valle remain to play the eighthfinals. Their opponents will be River Plate.

The home leg will be held on Thursday in the Estadio Atahualpa (the Rumiñahui, Independiente’s usual venue, seats just 8,000). Entrance fees: $5, $10, or $20. All proceeds, to the quake victims.

Non-Independiente fans are welcome.

“Come with the Ecuador shirt,” announces Independiente’s president. “Or come with the shirt of your own team.”

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In the U.S., the good news is, Andrew Jackson is getting banished from the $20 bill. His replacement will be Harriet Tubman.

What image will be used? Maybe one of these. Probably not this one –

– though these freedom lovers make a fine point:

Who would have thought that after more than a year of debate, speculation, and politically correct public demand, America would learn that a God-loving, gun-toting Republican woman would earn a spot on our nation’s currency?

Yes, this change is something that even Republicans can believe in. E pluribus unum. There is an overlapping consensus on the honoring of Harriet Tubman.

Quake, pt. 2

Recent figures from El Universo:

443 dead
4027 injured
231 disappeared

Photos on the Web show gray city blocks pulverized, the occasional storefront or utility pole propped up against the rubble, the occasional political poster contributing a spot of color.

People continue to be pulled out of the wreckage. In Pedernales, some are now being detected by how they smell.

There is much suffering in Manta and in Portoviejo. In Canoa, slightly north of Bahía, 80 percent of the buildings have been destroyed.

Relief efforts are intense. Volunteers and supplies pour into the northwest from the larger cities and from abroad. (It’s strange to read that global celebrities are talking about Ecuador.)

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In my own little life, lately, I’ve been doing my taxes; I’ve been typing up more of my Juan Bosch paper; and I’ve been reading and rereading Frank Stockton’s story, “The Lady, or the Tiger?,” and making shiny PDFs of it (it’s in the public domain).

A couple of quakes

Yesterday, in Esmeraldas Province, there was an earthquake – Richter Scale 7.8, last I read – the strongest in Ecuador since before I was born. The quake was felt in Guayaquil and in Quito, and as far away as the Colombian city of Cali. The quiet Manabitan city of Pedernales was hardest hit. There were smaller temblors, also.

In Santo Domingo, my parents felt the quake but weren’t harmed. They only lost a bit of glassware.

Pray for the hundreds who were less fortunate, who suffered injury or death.

Pray also for the Japanese, who yesterday endured a quake that was smaller but still damaging.

The salt mines, pt. 841

Back at the high school: making copies, moving heavy textbooks. For this I receive, daily, a heap of praise. At home, I dredge the Internet for PDFs of other people’s dissertations. I read their acknowledgements, abstracts, and introductions; and if I decide, “I’m doing better than this poor sap,” I write for a couple of hours. Then I watch Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (Karin is present for some of this). Then I go to bed. This is the routine I foresee for the next nine months – along with tutoring, which I’m on holiday from, one more week.

I go to the school at six-something each morning, with Martin. Mary has retired from teaching. She got a job at a nice little public library. Next week she will go back to college to become a nurse.

“An earthquake will destroy a sizable portion of the Pacific Northwest. The question is when.”