Quinonez: Ecuador’s name you can trust

The only predictable thing about Emelec’s late winner against Olimpia in the Copa Libertadores last week was that it was a Quinonez who scored it.

The Ecuadorian side have three of them. There’s Carlos Andres, the captain and attacking full-back, who had a brief spell at Ajax in his teens. There’s the midfielder Pedro, who won two league titles with El Nacional and joined Emelec from the Mexican side Santos Laguna. And there’s Jose Antonio, who scored the vital goal on Thursday, a local boy, born in Guayaquil and nicknamed ‘El Pulpo’ (the Octopus) for his leggy control of midfield.

None of the three are related, and all were born in different towns, but they follow a proud tradition. Quinonez is a relatively common surname in Ecuador, but by no means the most common, yet it resonates through Guayaquil football: the forward Lupo Quinonez remains the highest scored in Barcelona-Emelec clasicos (10 goals for Barcelona, three for Emelec), while the centre-back Holger Quinonez won four Ecuadorean titles with Barcelona and one with Emelec between 1981 and 1991. There was Carlos and Cristhian, Marco and Rafael.