MIAMI, Florida – If there was any question as to whether Donis Escober’s affinity for CD Olimpia would fade after his retirement, his state of emotions while watching games as a former player and current fan reveals the answer.
“Yes, it is much more difficult being an Olimpia fan than a player,” said a chuckling Escober in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com. “I suffer a lot more! I don’t like watching the games. I turn off the television, I go to sleep for 90 minutes. Being an Olimpia fan is not easy, but we are Olimpia fans from the heart and will always support them,” added Escober.
Escober spent nearly 20 years as the anchor in the Olimpia goal, winning numerous Honduran domestic league titles, while appearing in the first nine editions of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League with the Catracho club.
Like any Olimpia fan, Escober is eagerly anticipating the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League Final between Olimpia and Alajuelense, which kicks off this week with the first leg on Wednesday night in Tegucigalpa.
“It is going to be a very tough final. Alajuelense have a great team and great players, with a lot of experience and who are accustomed to these types of games. But Olimpia have theirs as well. They have a good squad with players that have been here a while and ones that are hungry to win this final.
“It hasn’t been easy to get there after facing very hard teams, so we’re all a bit nervous and anxious about what is going to happen, but still trusting that the players are going to play a great series and that everything goes well,” said Escober.
In a two-legged series that could be decided by the smallest of margins, Escober stresses that playing mistake-free football will be crucial to Olimpia’s chances.
“They need to be organized and well set up. It will be important to get a good result here at home. They need to be focused and commit as few errors as possible, and if they do make mistakes, that they are in the middle of the field or in the opposing half and not in their own area,” said Escober.
A win in the Final would mark the second SCL crown for Olimpia in their illustrious history. At the age of 36, Escober was a key member of the first SCL title conquest in 2017 when he started all eight games in goal and made a save to help secure a 4-1 penalty shootout win in the Final with Costa Rican club Santos de Guapiles.
“It was a dream come true, because I knew that it was one of the final opportunities that I had. It was something that the club’s directors, players and coaching staff had targeted since the very beginning. It’s not easy to reach a final and then to win it, but with sacrifice, focus and working every day, one can accomplish what one wants. It is part of history, it remains in our minds and hearts,” said Escober.
Having represented Olimpia in 18 SCCL matches and eight SCL contests, Escober is acutely aware of the responsibility that an Olimpia player shoulders in Concacaf competition.
“It is an honor for any player to represent Olimpia in Concacaf. You are basically representing an entire country because all of Honduras watches these games. You have to play these games with a lot of personality and character, but also discipline and order, because these games are decided by the smallest of errors. If you make a mistake against a team like Alajuelense, you pay dearly,” said Escober.
The memorable moments and highlights in Escober’s career in Concacaf competition are plenty, but a 2014-15 SCCL match against the Portland Timbers stands out as his favorite.
It was the final match of the group stage and Olimpia needed a win on home soil to advance to the knockout stage against a star-studded Portland team that featured top players like Argentine MF Diego Valeri and U.S. MF Darlington Nagbe. What followed was a two-goal spurt from Olimpia in the first five minutes that led to a scintillating 3-1 victory.
“I think that game against the Timbers will always be one that is remembered for what was at stake and for how it started. It was one of the most intense and exciting matches, those are the kind of games that are never forgotten and to beat a team like the Timbers with the players that they had is something that always stays with you. The atmosphere that night in the stadium was incredible,” said Escober.
He may have retired in 2019, but not a day goes by that Escober does not realize the good fortune he had to play with a club like Olimpia for such a long time
“This club means a lot to me. They were the ones who opened their doors to me to be able to achieve all my dreams. Now that I am on the other side of things, I still can’t believe all that I went through with that team. Playing 20 years in a team like Olimpia is not easy. It requires a lot of sacrifice, a lot of effort, you have to put your family aside for a bit, but I would not have changed anything,” concluded Escober.