Spanish Coaches in Ecuadorian Clubs
It has become common for Spanish coaches to lead Ecuadorian clubs in recent times. Benito Floro, who won a Copa del Rey with Real Madrid (1993) under Emilio Butragueño, was without success in 2009 as the coach of Barcelona SC. El Nacional had a failed experiment with Manuel Tomé in 2013. Sevillian Ángel Gómez was the sports manager of the toreros and later was hired by River Ecuador as a coach, only to be separated from his position in 2017.
Independiente del Valle brought in Ismael Rescalvo in 2018, and after his departure to Emelec, the team from Sangolquí signed Miguel Ángel Ramírez in 2019, the most successful Spanish coach in the country. The coach from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria won the last Copa Sudamericana with Independiente. And Delfín, the reigning champion, has entrusted its destiny to Miguel Ángel López, another Iberian.
The European trend has been replicated by the Ecuadorian Football Federation by appointing the renowned Antonio Cordón, originally from Badajoz, as the sporting director, who suggested the Dutchman Jordi Cruyff to lead the national team. Cruyff spent a great part of his life in Spain, where his famous father (Johan) played for Barça and later coached the team.
Since the arrival of Montenegrin Dussan Draskovic in Ecuador in 1988, no other European has taken charge of the national team; 27 years have passed since the end of that era. But it is the Spanish coach José Planas Artés (1901-1977) who is the pioneer among those who came from the Old Continent to train the national team.
When the National Sports Federation of Ecuador (Fedenador) brought him in 1949, Planas had an extensive resume that included leading Racing Ferrol, Arenas Club, Murcia, Celta, Deportivo La Coruña, Zaragoza, FC Barcelona (between 1940 and 1941), Valladolid, Sant Andreu, and Espanyol, his previous club.
In 1967, the Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo said: "If we mention a citizen from Barcelona named José Planas Artés, few will know that we are referring to a 'giant' of short stature and wide intelligence who gained his popularity playing football. A man with a penetrating gaze and easy oratory."
In the newspaper interview, Planas stated that he left school in 1916 "to work as a mechanic fitter" while simultaneously playing as a forward for Andresense. Later, the future coach of the national team switched to playing as a defender. In 1922, he joined Barcelona, with whom he won the Catalonia championship five times. As a blaugrana, he played alongside the legendary Ricardo "Divino" Zamora – the best Spanish goalkeeper of all time – and the brilliant midfielder José Samitier, known as "El Mago".
In 1928, his career was interrupted. "I had a knee injury after six years with Barcelona, and I played a year for Riorges in Rouen, France." In 1929, he began his coaching career.
In Guayaquil, "Planas was a kind of collaborator for Barcelona," says Ricardo Vasconcellos Rosado. In his book Los forjadores de la idolatría, he reproduces an account from Wilfrido Rumbea, a prominent player and president of the club, who states that the Catalan "had much to do with the high technical production of that 1949 Barcelona team." Rumbea asked him if he could help the players for an hour, three days a week, as there was no time for training sessions. Planas asked, "What is your club called?" Rumbea replied, "Barcelona Sporting Club." The Spanish coach wanted to know if they were really "boys between 17 and 21 years old," and the answer was yes.
Planas said, as retold in Vasconcellos Rosado's book, "Look, even if I don't get paid anything, I'm going to train those boys because I'm from Barça in Spain, and nothing would please me more than to teach what I know."
Rumbea continues: "Mr. Planas was a gift to the institution. With his love for Barça, he became attached to Barcelona Sporting Club and gave them all his technique selflessly... to those boys. He fulfilled his duty. In six months of great activity, he formed the best and most cohesive local team."
In the 1949 Copa America, Planas coached the national team, which finished penultimate, with six defeats and one victory. But that single victory is historic: it was Ecuador's first in the tournament. They defeated Colombia 4-1. On May 3, the Spanish coach fielded Félix Torres; Carlos Sánchez, Marcos Bermeo; Ricardo Riveros, Jorge Cantos, Hernán Salgado; Marcos Spencer (Víctor Arteaga), Enrique Cantos (César Garnica), José Maldonado, José "Pelusa" Vargas, Guido Andrade. At the Sao Januario stadium in Rio de Janeiro, the toreros Cantos (2), Vargas, and Andrade scored the goals.
Planas left after the tournament and worked until 1963, when he retired at Sabadell. He is also the founder of the FC Barcelona Veterans Association. (D)