Ten Things You Didn't Know About Ecuador:
Hands up everyone who knows anything about Ecuador. Actually, don't
worry about that, we can't see you.
But if anyone asks you again, you'll be able to reel off a list of
ten things - all thanks to F365.
1. Quito, Ecuador's capital, is known as the 'Land of Eternal
Spring', and is said to have the most pleasant climate in the
entire world, with a temperature that rarely drops between eight
degrees celsius at night or rises above 23 degrees celsius during
the day. So anyone who thinks they can blame the heat for a poor
England performance, just think of those poor Ecuadorians.
2. The country straddles the equator, hence its name, which
surprisingly enough translates as 'equator'. Well, that's the
mainland. The country also includes the Galapagos Islands in the
Pacific, about 600 miles from the coast.
3. If you asked someone from Ecuador what the national dish was,
your answer would depend on what part of the country they came
from. Seafood is popular at the coast (you'd never have guessed),
especially prawns and shrimp. Which isn't nearly as much fun as in
the mountains, where roasted guinea pig is popular.
4. Despite a long footballing history, it took Ecuador until 2002
to qualify for their first World Cup, after a qualification
campaign that saw them finish ahead of eventual World Cup winners
Brazil.
5. Although Ecuador repeated that qualification this time round,
they are often criticised as being a poor side who only do well
because of their home record. And while you might think "Well, the
same's true of Fulham and no-one complains", that's because Craven
Cottage isn't more than 2600m above sea level.
6. The only Premiership player in the Ecuador squad is Aston
Villa's Ulises De La Cruz. While he's, erm, not one of the most
gifted defenders in the Premiership, he's loved in his own country
- partly because he donates £3,000 of his wages each week to
charity, and in the past five years has been solely responsible for
the bulding of a hospital and a school and the installation of
running water and electricity in Piquincho, his home town.
7. The reason the Villa full-back's generosity is so appreciated is
the extreme poverty of much of the country. In an attempt to
improve the economy, Ecuador has converted its national currency to
the US Dollar to aid the exportation of oil and bananas. However,
some 70% of the population still lives below the poverty
line.
8. Ecuador play in yellow and blue, which seems a bit cheeky to
F365, since yellow is associated with contempt in Ecuador. We don't
know what blue is associated with.
9. Those wacky Ecuadorians believe that Tuesday the 13th is a very
unlucky day, on which no-one should ever travel or get married.
Which is just mental, as all right-thinking folk know it's Friday
the 13th that's unlucky.
10. Probably the most famous Ecuadorian of recent times is
Christian Aguilera, whose father Fausto moved to the USA to pursue
a career in the military. So if Ecuador play a bit dirty sometimes,
now you know why. Get it?
http://www.worldcup365.com/story/0,16726,7983_1298221,00.html#
Very educational. 
