Soccer: Poverty-stricken village in Ecuador is home to five World Cup stars

JUNCAL - Dozens of children chase a dirty soccer ball on a dusty Andean field, hoping they might make it to the big leagues and even to the World Cup, just like their local heroes.

The poor Ecuadorean village of Juncal may not seem a power-packed training camp for future stars, but as home to five of Ecuador's World Cup squad it has fuelled dreams of glory among the youngsters.

Juncal residents wake at dawn to sow beans, onions and peppers, hoping to take home a meagre US$40 ($88) a week, but in the afternoon this sleepy Afro-Ecuadorean village comes alive as its smallest players take the field.

On a makeshift pitch beneath the concrete slabs of the Panamerican highway 140km north of Quito, children scamper after the ball, aiming to polish their skills and climb to fame, like the national team's top forward, Juncal native Agustin "Tin" Delgado.

"I want to be like Agustin. I play centre-forward and I'm going to try to play as well as he can," said 14-year-old Carlos Chala, who enjoys chatting with his team-mates about Ecuador's chances in their first World Cup appearance.

This South American nation has been obsessed with soccer since the team won through to the finals by finishing second behind two-time former champions Argentina in the South American qualifiers and ahead of mighty Brazil.

Ecuador will face tough rivals in group G in Italy, Croatia and Mexico, but local fans have faith that the team could cause an upset or two in the first round in Japan next month.

And the 3000 inhabitants of Juncal will be watching.

Besides Delgado, who scored nine goals in the qualifiers and was joint top scorer alongside Argentina's Hernan Crespo, midfielder Cleber Chala, defenders Ulises de la Cruz and Raul Guerron, and second-string goalkeeper Giovanny Ibarra also hail from the village.

Delgado's name sounds throughout the narrow dirt roads of Juncal as a national hero and also as founder of the soccer school that trains 300 budding athletes each afternoon and gives them a square meal.

"The school has been important because they hired teachers, there's people who cook supper for them. In some ways, soccer has given something back to the village," local shopkeeper Eladia Bolanos said.

In a village where people say "nothing happens," the day begins at dawn with field labour and ends with domestic chores and soccer, one of the few popular pastimes for Juncal's impoverished residents.

There is no clean drinking water, no sewers and the average salary barely beats the US$129 a month minimum wage.

"In a week, if it's a good one, we can get US$40. From there, we have a good time playing soccer. In both, sometimes we win and sometimes we lose," said Irlanda Carabali.

Only 5 per cent of Ecuador's 12 million residents are Afro-Ecuadorean, with most of the country split between native Indian and mestizo, a mix of European and indigenous ancestry.

But many Afro-Ecuadorean villages in the area surrounding Juncal and coastal Esmeraldas province have long been marginalised, lacking basic services such as clean water and health centres.

While it is unlikely that most of the youngsters will make it into professional soccer, Delgado's school has given them the chance to enter the world of sports, and to dream of the big leagues, for free.

As the start of the World Cup approaches, Ecuadoreans are gearing up for the games, hoping for more celebrations such as the street parties that followed the team's historic qualification after a 1-1 draw with Uruguay in November.

Ecuador have set up base in Tottori, Japan, before their debut against Italy next Monday.

Names such as Alex Aguinaga, the team captain who plays for Mexico's Necaxa, and Ivan Kaviedes, who has played in Europe, are spoken with reverence in Ecuador.

But "Tin" remains the biggest role model for the adolescent boys who dash and dart across Juncal's "field of dreams" each night at dusk.

"Just as this land gives us beans, so has it given us soccer players," said Romel Pavon, 20.

- REUTERS

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