Remembering Sporting Legends

When they were star athletes, they built their dreams. We are referring to Omar Quintana in basketball and Honorato Gonzabay in soccer. Meanwhile, in the art of journalistic analysis, Manuel Adolfo Varas and Roberto Román made it to the podium. Let's look at some experiences of these friends that will personally be unforgettable.

With Omar Quintana, a patriarch of sports with a strong personality, we recently gathered together with César and Carlos Pérez; Eustorgio Mendoza and his sons Eduardo and Andrés; Alfonso Harb, Julio Ayala, Miguel Nácer, Herman Reshuan, Leonardo Terán, Miguel Ángel Loor, and Manuel Adum, and we received a masterclass from Omar on how sports should be managed-organized in the country. And in such a long conversation he told me: "Buddy, today I would like to find and shake hands with those who are my staunch critics and share with them." Wise words from a morally filled being.

• Farewell to Omar Quintana, who dedicated his life to sports

Honorato 'the Mariscal' Gonzabay was an impeccable center back. Managing his bazaar business with his wife at the Central Market, we greeted each other daily, and the football analysis of the matchday was never missing. He always joined us in the lineup of the Los Catedráticos team, formed by the collaborators of the Interbarrial of Diario EL UNIVERSO; he still showed his football hierarchy and his natural Milagro humor. Today Milagro owes him a monument.

And in the case of Manuel Adolfo Varas, he advocated for transparent journalism. In meetings with Walter Espinel, Ricardo Vasconcellos R. and his son Ricardo Vasconcellos F., Carlos Fuentes, Guillermo Valencia, Edberto Vera Manzo, Pedro Santos, Marcos Hidalgo, Alberto Sánchez, Jaime Rodríguez, José Ibáñez, Manuel Mejía, Ricardo Chacón, Mario Valdez, Jorge Guayaquil, Gerardo España, Manolo Mestanza and his sons Víctor and Juan Carlos, Ruddy Ortiz, Petronio Salazar, Manuel Palacios Offner, Pancho Doylet, Luis Pescarolo O., Arístides Castro, Pepe Murillo, Mauro Velázquez, Aurelio Paredes, Frank Maridueña, Mario Canessa, and more journalism figures, we saw in Manuel Adolfo his frankness and rectitude in the content of his comments. He was also part of the Tigres del Éter team, led by Manfredo Valdez. Today, we pray for you, Manuel.

Roberto Román Valencia was the great boss of the sports section of Extra newspaper during the time he worked at that newspaper. When Jorge Lazo and the writer of this column led the America team in Goiania, Brazil, in 1979, Roberto personally covered the match. There, we valued his idolatry for frank, direct, and constructive journalism. An exemplary father has left us.

Joining those souls resting in heaven is Elio Armas, a photographer who dazzled with his genius in the field of sports, and Silvio Devoto, who left traces of honesty and hard work when he served as the president of the idol Barcelona in 1973. (O)