"Impossible." Those were the words repeated by Nassib Neme - president of Emelec - and Aquiles Álvarez - sports vice president of Barcelona - when asked by this newspaper if they believe that, as it happens in Mexican soccer, the two most popular clubs in Ecuador could ever stop belonging to Guayaquil and move to play in another venue. They both agreed that it would be even worse to change their respective names.
In Mexican soccer, there is no sense of belonging or tradition that matters. Strange situations, which in other countries would be unimaginable, are frequent in the Aztec country. There are examples of various kinds. Clubs like Necaxa, whose directors decided not to participate at the beginning of professionalism in 1943 and changed their minds a decade later, already had their popularity diminished. That same entity was renamed as Atlético Español in 1971, and in 1982, they changed the name back to Necaxa - completing the extinction of almost all their followers.
Finally, the team that Ecuadorian Álex Aguinaga made famous was banished: from the capital, where it was born, it was sent to Aguascalientes.
Atletas Campesinos, from Querétaro, has the eternal scorer Ítalo Estupiñán, with 18 goals, but after two campaigns, he went to Tampico with another name. And it doesn't matter if the club is historical, like Atlante from Mexico City, because now it's from Cancun. The most recent case is Morelia, from Michoacán, where Gabriel Achilier played. It doesn't exist anymore as such; now they are the Delfines, from Mazatlán in the north.
"The group behind Morelia will continue with the project in Mazatlán, so they wouldn't have to pay the $50 million estimated value of the franchise. But they won't be saved from what is stipulated in the Name and Venue Affiliation Regulations, which requires covering a corresponding fee," explains the newspaper Récord.
And here? "It is impossible for any calamity to make Emelec change its domicile, except temporarily due to some sanction or disaster or the reconstruction of its venue, as recently happened," commented Neme.
He added: "Changing the name is not conventional, and I rule out the possibility that clubs like Emelec, Barcelona, El Nacional, or Aucas would consider doing so. The name is the brand, and these clubs already have it positioned. Consequently, they respond to hundreds of thousands of fans and in some cases millions of supporters."
For Álvarez, "although it is true that Barcelona is Ecuador, and it is local wherever it goes because it has the largest fan base in the country, it is also Guayaquil. It is part of the pride of the people from Guayaquil, and it represents us, so it is impossible for it to change cities like Morelia did."
The canary adds: "Even worse, a name change, beyond any commercial or marketing situation, the name doesn't change. The partners would never allow it, and we, as directors, neither. At some point, there was talk of changing the current crest for the original one, but it shouldn't be like that. Both crests exist, and the main one is the historical one."
For Neme, "the case of Mexico is very special. Clubs are part of business groups; they are all or almost all anonymous societies. Morelia changes its name and its place of influence, and that responds exclusively to commercial strategies. That is totally impossible for teams like Tigres de Monterrey, Monterrey, America, or Chivas de Guadalajara."
In the country, Espoli, a club without identity, played as a local team in several cities because it wasn't interesting in Quito. And Carmen Mora, from Machala, changed its name to Bonita Banana. (D)