The left marker of Ecuadorian soccer, Geovanny Nazareno, 32, narrated about the joys, sorrows, and disappointments he has experienced as a soccer player since his beginnings in the El Dorado neighborhood team and the Caribe Junior club in Lago Agrio. He did it on the program Sin filtros that is broadcasted by Televisión Manabita.
The defender, who also represented Sucumbios and Ecuador's national team, says that soccer is his passion. "Soccer has been my passion since I was a child, and I left Caribe club, where players like Antonio Valencia, Cristhian Penilla, Fidel Martínez, Pedro Pablo Velasco, among others, have emerged."
Nazareno mentions that when he joined the yellow team at 17 years old, he suffered his first disappointment. "Coach Pedro Pablo Perlaza took me to Barcelona, and I never heard from him again. I found out that at 17, I already had a signed contract, and that marked me. The truth is, I still don't know what Professor Perlaza did. But there is a God above, and I believe that he compensated me professionally. I was alone; they made me sign a contract that I didn't know about. I was a child, I was naive, and I didn't receive a single cent from that contract."
The defender says that he pursued a dream since he was a child because soccer is his passion. "I was lucky enough to make it to Barcelona's youth teams. I went through very tough times. I had to sleep outside the stadium two or three times; I was very young, but the desire was there. When Coach Rómulo Sotomayor saw me sleeping outside the stadium, he sent me to a house in the Bellavista neighborhood."
Nazareno remembers his debut in the first division in 2005 when Jimmy Montanero was the acting coach for Barcelona. "I was proud to know that I was going to practice in the first team. Coach Montanero told me I was going to play, and I made my debut against El Nacional in Quito. We lost 0-2, but it was an immense joy. At that time, I said that I had achieved my dream of playing for Barcelona, the biggest team in Ecuador."
The current Delfin player, who was a champion with Deportivo Quito (2008), Barcelona (2012), and Delfin (2019), says that he has experienced many uncomfortable things in his life. "I went to President Eduardo Maruri's office (2011) to check on some fees he owed me at the time, and I realized that I had a signed contract with Catolica. I never received any percentage of what they did at the time; I also didn't receive a percentage when Barcelona bought me again. I didn't receive any money; I never knew how I ended up at Catolica, I never knew what they did at the time, and until now, the executives tell me what happened," he comments.
The defender, who also played for CS Emelec, points out that he had no contact with Francisco Egas, who was the president of Universidad Catolica at that time.
I never sat down with Mr. Egas (Francisco). I never signed for U. Catolica when Francisco Egas was the president of that team, and I appeared on their roster. I only found out that I had signed with Catolica, and I never showed up. I say it with respect. For me, it was all a surprise. People ask me if I played for Catolica, how much I made, the truth is I never knew how I got there."
Something similar happened to him at Deportivo Quito (2008) when he was on loan. "In 2009, I was supposed to return to Barcelona, and I found out that I had a contract for one more year with Deportivo Quito. I didn't know how they managed to put another year of contract in Deportivo Quito when I had only signed a one-year loan."
Barcelona players showed their support to Geovanny Nazareno when he was suspended for doping in 2001.
In 2011, the Lago Agrio player was suspended for 16 months for testing positive in a doping test, and he says that he did not do it intentionally. "I was very thin; I felt fragile, I wasn't comfortable with my body, and I sought out someone who would recommend a pill to increase muscle mass; they prescribed it to me, but I never knew that pill would have negative effects on me. I was unable to play for 16 months; people laughed at me, insulted me, spoke badly about me. It was very tough because behind it all was my family; it marked me a lot."
When he joined Mineros de Zacatecas (2015), he suffered another disappointment with his representative. "My life has been marked by many things; when you're a rookie in terms of money, paperwork, there are smart people who take advantage. When I went to Mineros, Pepe Chamorro took me there and I never saw him again. I didn't know what to do; I just waited for the monthly payment to rent a house, buy a car. I didn't receive any money from that transfer." (D)