Gonzalo Plata tries to be the first Ecuadorian to shine for Flamengo

This Monday (09), Flamengo will present striker Gonzalo Plata, the last of the four reinforcements signed in the second semester transfer window. Plata is only the fourth Ecuadorian player to wear the red and black shirt since the club's founding in 1912. The information is from the 'GE' portal

Although Flamengo has great idols from countries such as Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and important names coming from Chile, Peru and Bolivia, the Ecuadorians who passed through the club had brief and unremarkable trajectories.

The last Ecuadorian to defend the < a href="https://gazetadourubu.com/" target="_blank">Flamengo was defender Frickson Erazo, who arrived at the club with great expectations, but failed to live up to it. Nicknamed "El Elegante" for his technique and clean playing style, Erazo, then 25, came from Barcelona de Guayaquil and the Ecuador national team. However, its debut, on February 2, 2014, was disastrous. During the 5-2 victory against Macaé, he was sent off, leaving a bad first impression.

In the following classic, against Fluminense, on February 8, Erazo was not sent off, but had a negative role in the three goals that culminated in the 3-0 defeat. His time at Flamengo came to a melancholic end in the Championship final Carioca in 2014, when he committed a penalty eight minutes into the game, allowing Vasco to open the scoring. Although Flamengo won the title with a draw at the end, Erazo's performance consolidated his departure from the club, totaling only seven matches played.

Before Erazo, two other Ecuadorians had quick spells at Flamengo. In 1996, the club signed Wagner Rivera, a 23-year-old right-back, after a good campaign in the Copa Libertadores with Espoli. Known as "La Bala" Rivera, the player played just 15 matches for Flamengo and had a disappointing performance.

Even shorter was the career of Félix Guerrero, who played in just one match for the club. In 1966, during a tour of Ecuador, Guerrero played the second half of a friendly against Emelec, in the Guayaquil International Tournament. He was on loan from a local team.

Adding the participations of Erazo, Rivera and Guerrero, Flamengo there are less than 30 games with Ecuadorians on the field.

Now, Gonzalo Plata arrives with the mission of changing this story. Although he still cannot play against Bahia next Thursday, in the Copa do Brasil, the striker should be ready to debut on September 15th, against Vasco, and will try to leave a different impression than his compatriots who played for the club almost a decade ago.