Sharing a Name With Barcelona, if Not Its Fortunes

BARCELONA S.C ES LO MAS GRANDE DEL PAÍS

In mentioning some of Barcelona's international stars, Mr. Schumer forgot one of the greats - the Bolivian midfielder Marco Antonio "El Diablo" Etcheverry. Many may remember Mr. Etcheverry as the player who led DC United to 3 MLS titles in the late 1990s and was selected the league's MVP in 1998. El Diablo scored 34 goals and added 101 assists in his 190 appearances with the team. He really was a demon on the field.

I lived on the Ecuadorian coast for about a year and half. Then I lived in Quito for 5 years. I hated Barcelona precisely because everyone else loved Barcelona --- in much the same way that I hate the Dallas Cowboys and the NY Yankees.
I married an Emelecista --- 100% Azul, baby!
My nephew is a die-hard Barcelonista, God bless him...

There is no doubt that Barcelona is very popular in Ecuador and that Ecuadorians love soccer but it would have been better that the NYT dedicated its extensive efforts to cover the recent anniversary of the nine years of the most successful, transparent and democratic government that Ecuador has ever had, and it may well be a model for the poor countries of the world.

During these nine years poverty has decreased from 34.97% in 2007 to 22% in 2015, extreme poverty from 15.49% to 7.36%; tax collection has tripled by controlling tax evasion; 150,000 children stopped working; the number of students in public institutions went from 2.4 million to 3.7 million (including preschool education and tertiary education)) and all paid by taxpayers: more than 10,000 fully paid scholarships for overseas studies;
massive public investment in infrastructure like roads, schools, hospitals, police stations, hydroelectric plants that at the end of 2016 will supply more than 90% of the energy needs of Ecuador and will export clean renewable energy, etc., etc., and all without raising taxes but administering public monies with integrity and outstanding leadership.

By the way Ecuador has a minimum wage that is about 75% of the GDP per person compared with 38% in USA and top executives get paid in Ecuador 20 times the average wage earner compared with 380 times her in the United States.

The NYTimes sports section has very few articles about the best world soccer team. It is a shame that you use a lot of the space to, instead of presenting the Catalan Barcelona directly, deal with the rather modest team from Guayaquil! you

ECUADOR = BARCELONA SPORINTG CLUB = SUR OSCURA BARRA BRAVA

Grande barcelona pero mucho mas Emelec Del astillero nacio el mejor con casta de campeon

It's spelled "Ronaldinho," not "Ronaldhino."

Barcelona is our passion, our love, our happiness, our sadness. It is part of our life, We born amarillos. To all the NYT readers you are welcome to become "Barcelonista". Barcelona will overcome the economical crisis. We will be back.

Interesting fact, Tata Martino was a Barcelona S.C. player and became F.C. Barcelona's Coach before its current one, Luis Enrique.

Come on Mr. Shumer, there are only two kind of teams in Ecuador. The one that won Copa Libertadores, Sudamericana and Recopa (twice) and the rest. Good luck with the research. And for citing Morales! Ohh no further comments!

Barcelona Sporting Club is the biggest team in Ecuador the equivalent of lets say the yankees? win or lose Barcelona is the highlight of the tournament, they fill up every stadium they play in all over the country some of the smaller teams even charge more just when they playing Barcelona. Barcelona isn't just a team it is a passion. All over the country you will find Barcelona fans. UN SOLO IDOLO TIENE EL ECUADOR!!! BARCELONA CAMPEON!!!

Mi Barcelona como siempre rompiendo fronteras

In Ecuador Barcelona is not half plus one , if not all fans of football lovers least a few , is something sublime when Barcelona is champion , this is an example of this :
http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/11/29/1/1372/barcelona-campeon-historica-...

Anyway, good article

Barcelona is far the best team in Ecuador !. This article does not really show the vast popularity the team has all over the country. It is being said that "Barcelona's supporters are half of the country + 1". It is not about championships won; it is about all the feelings produced when Barcelona plays. Overall, the article could have been quite more informative on what Barcelona represents for Ecuadorian people.