‘Ñato’ García, historical goalkeeper of the Emelec soccer team, passed away
Former Uruguayan goalkeeper, a naturalized Ecuadorian citizen, Eduardo ‘Ñato’ Garcia, passed away Friday morning from a cardiac arrest. A family member confirmed the news.
The funeral will be held in the Capwell stadium, according to Nassib Neme, president of Emelec. That was the desire of “Ñato” Garcia, said his family.
An outstanding player of Uruguay teams Nacional and Penarol; he finished his career at Emelec where he was its famous goalkeeper and then became a coach and technical director. In every aspect of his career, he was a champion while being part of the blue team.
Garcia embraced Guayaquil as his new town and Ecuador as his new homeland. Here he ventured into the food business with the traditional restaurant Parrillada del Ñato, whose first franchise opened in the Port City in December 1980.
At 14 years of age he was thr goalkeeper of the Colonia team and was recruited by the Peñarol de Montevideo team, there, he was recruited as a starting lineup at age 16. In 1964 he was the Uruguayan national team that won the South American U-20 tournament in Colombia. In 1967 he played for the Club Atletico Cerro team.
In 1968 he was put out on loan for the Club Sport Emelec of Guayaquil, but he stayed in the Ecuadorian team until next year. In 1979 he retired from soccer and in 1988 Emelec wins the championship under his direction.
In 2004, a survey conducted by daily El Universo, revealed that fans chose him as the best player in the history of Emelec. (I)