Bullets prove bond for De La Cruz's vibrant Ecuador

Ulises De La Cruz insists that Ecuador is a peaceful country, but it was a night of unprovoked violence that cemented his national team's all-for-one, one-for-all spirit.

The incident in question happened in May last year, the same month that the 27-year-old wing-back was on his way to Edinburgh to become Hibernian's £750,000 record signing.

Back home in Guayaquil, the coastal town where De la Cruz had just finished playing for the local team, Barcelona, his national coach, the Colombian Hernan Dario Gomez, was in a bar, minding his own business. A stranger entered, pulled out a gun and shot him. His injuries included a leg wound that kept him in hospital for several days and a fractured nose.

No one was ever charged over the attack, but De la Cruz, along with most of his countrymen, believes the assailant was a sympathiser of the former – exiled – Ecuadorean president, Abdala Bucaram. "Bucaram's son, who plays football, had not been picked for the under-20 national team," De la Cruz said. "Gomez was made responsible [by Bucaram's allies] and after an argument, he got shot."

Days before the incident, Gomez had threatened to resign after hearing an untrue report that the son had been included in the under-20 squad without his knowledge. After the shooting, Gomez again threatened to resign, saying he feared for his security. His senior squad protested en masse to Ecuador's FA, asking them to persuade their coach to stay. They did. The team sprit strengthened, bonded by the knowledge that their boss would even take bullets for his work.

Ecuador went on to finish second in South American qualifying, behind only Argentina and ahead of Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. "I had no choice but simply to carry on," Gomez said. "In Ecuador I now have 13 million bodyguards... football is like an anaesthetic for the world's problems."

De la Cruz is a key man in Gomez's 4-4-2 formation, a system the coach believes works best when the Hibs' man is surging forward on the right and Raul Guerron, on the left. Their main target man, if fit, will be the Southampton striker Agustin Delgado. "He is my amigo since we were children," De la Cruz says. "And a very important player."

De la Cruz is in no doubt, however, that it is Gomez, who took his native country to France in 1998 and was part of Colombia's coaching set-up in 1994, who is the driving force. "His experience at the World Cup will help but most of all he is a motivator, a confident man. He knows how to inspire players by making them feel at ease and relaxed.

"He dances on the pitch with 60,000 fans watching. People cheer him because he's flamboyant. He knows about the passion of football, that football is everything. The effect of us qualifying has been massive. Even the economy has gone up 15 per cent. There's been an increase in productivity and happiness. When the country plays football, it is paralysed. No cars on the streets, everyone is at home watching on TV. The politics are difficult and the economy is poor but people are defined by their enthusiasm, and their politeness."

De la Cruz has experienced the same warmth and "politeness" – minus the dispatching of bullets – in Scotland. "I miss the food, especially the seafood, fresh shrimps," he said. "But I'm very happy in Edinburgh. The weather is cold, but that has not surprised me. The city is quiet and tranquil."

As for the football, he added: "The difference in Scotland is that they make long passes, over the top, not short passing. It's not so cultured, like in Ecuador, which is more Spanish or Brazilian. It's faster in the SPL, more physical. And people drink a lot in Scotland, the alcohol culture. So frequently cannot be good. But I have respect from the people, that's important."

As for the World Cup, where Ecuador are in a tough opening group including Croatia and Mexico and kick-off their tournament on Monday against Italy, he is relaxed. "There was huge happiness that we reached our first World Cup. The country has been struggling for 50 years and then this happened and there was a great sense of satisfaction. And a great relief for the players after the pressure of expectation.

"In a World Cup anything can happen. The good thing is that the responsibility and pressure will be on the others. The Italians are favourites, historically, but you get unexpected outcomes. It's good to be the underdogs and if nothing else we can raise the profile of our country and open doors for our younger players in the future."

In other words, they'll give it their best shot. Strictly metaphorically, of course.