HAMBURG, Germany -- While the
vanquished Costa Ricans hung their heads in bewilderment, Ivan Kaviedes pulled a
Spider-Man mask from his shorts -- in Ecuador's team color of yellow, of course
-- stretched it over his head and ran around like a schoolboy.
If anyone deserved to celebrate, he did, after scoring two minutes into
injury time and putting an exclamation point on a 3-0 victory that put Ecuador
in the second round of the World Cup for the first time.
His
masked-man stunt was a tribute to Otilino Tenorio, a teammate killed in a May
2005 car crash in Ecuador, just three days after he played for his country in an
exhibition game at New Jersey's Giants Stadium.
"He is a partner, a friend, a brother who was with us and is a part of us,"
Kaviedes said. "He was with us a long, long time, and he transferred to us this
joy that was very contagious."
Tenorio, whose nickname was "Spiderman," used to pull the mask from his
shorts during his goal celebrations.
"We had a feeling that he was present with us," Agustin Delgado said through
a translator.
Carlos Tenorio -- who is not related -- and Delgado scored their second goals
of the tournament for Ecuador, a country with few international sports triumphs.
In the Olympics, its only medal came at the 1996 Atlanta Games, when Jefferson
Perez won the gold in the 20-kilometer walk.
Back in Quito, the streets filled with celebrators. Ecuador and host Germany
(both 2-0) claimed the two berths from Group A and will meet England, Sweden or
Trinidad and Tobago in the second round.
"We're now thinking about being group leaders, we think about winning every
game," Delgado said. "We want to win the next game, even though we're in the
second round."
Ecuador plays the Germans on Tuesday, needing only a tie to claim first
place.
"I think it'll be the most beautiful game to play, even more so because we
already advanced," Delgado said after the players dedicated their success to
"Spiderman."
Costa Rica and Poland (both 0-2) became the first teams eliminated from the
32-nation field.
Tenorio scored in the eighth minute and Delgado in the 54th. Goalkeeper
Cristian Mora, again playing with Ecuador flags painted on his cheeks, jumped
with joy after Delgado's goal.
Historically, the Tricolors have found success only at their home field in
Quito, more than 9,000 feet above sea level. But after winning just once in 10
games coming into their second World Cup, the South Americans have won two in a
row, starting with a 2-0 victory over Poland last Friday.
"We wanted to come here and demonstrate that we can play well at this
altitude and we're doing it," Delgado said.
Costa Rica, Central America's dominant team, was coming off a 4-2 loss to
Germany in the World Cup opener and was eliminated in the first round for the
second straight World Cup. Four years ago, the Ticos lost out to Turkey on goal
difference.
"I am very sad, the same as everybody," said coach Alexandre Guimares, who is
unsure whether to accept federation president Hermes Navarro's offer to stay on.
