The usual… battles between a man and a woman have a predetermined winner. Most of them don’t even qualify as derbies! While Don Fernando was hoping that his son would graduate from school with honours and join the Navy, following in his footsteps, Sonia was detecting that her son had a great football talent.

Under her husband’s nose, she would escort Christian to his daily trainings and would cover for him when he cut classes. She did so for eight years. By the time Fernando realized what was happening, Christian already stood head and shoulders above his teammates at Filiblanco Academy. He had a future in football.

He was the first to leave the school graduation party, as he had to play in the following morning.

«Dad, please give me one year!»

On graduation day, Christian struck a deal with his father, who wanted him to join the naval academy but ended up relenting to his son’s logical request: “Dad, please give me one year to focus on football. If I don’t make it, I will stop and pursue another career”, he pleaded.

He made it thanks to his determination and dedication, but did not become a navy man. Sonia’s sacrifice and little lies as well as Christian’s efforts bore fruit quite early. At the age of 19, he was already a regular at Club Sport Emelec. He had become the leader in one of Ecuador’s biggest teams and still is considered a role model for thousands of fans.

The poor ‘rich kid’

CS Emelec’s fans would chant his name in every match –a name that screamed aristocratic background. That led to a fall out with coach Carlos Torres Garces, who thought that the youngster used his money to buy fans’ love.

“He accused me of paying Boca del Pozo to chant my name. I told him that it would be impossible as I didn’t have any money”, PAOK midfielder said. Christian was actually a poor kid who lived near the naval base where his father was working. He would use the bus to go to practice each day, he played football on the streets and would eat onions in order not to starve.

Getting in touch with FC Rubin Kazan

His fine performances with CS Emelec earned him a call to Ecuador’s national team and his first trip across the Atlantic Ocean for a friendly encounter in Spain. He didn’t get to play, but that trip changed his life. On the eve of the match, he was told he had a visitor at the hotel. His name was Kurban Berdyev, head coach of FC Rubin Kazan. Noboa didn’t know him or the club that had just been promoted to Russia’s top flight.

The Russian manager was expecting the player’s reaction and didn’t want to pressure him. He expressed his admiration, explained to him that he liked his football skills and that he wanted to sign him for his team, answered some queries and then left. Berdyev had planted the seed. The rest fell on the administration of FC Rubin Kazan. Three days later, they presented their offer for the 22-year old player to CS Emelec.

Berdyev’s stance and the astonishing fee the Russians were offering led to Christian’s “yes”, his income increasing by 600%.

Alone and scared in Istanbul

His first taste of Europe was traumatic. On 2 January 2007 he landed at Istanbul, in order to join FC Rubin Kazan’s preseason stage. Nobody was waiting for him at the airport. “I was praying for someone to come and get me. I stepped out of the airplane and saw no one. I was in a cold sweat and started wondering: ‘What am I to do now?’”, he reminisces.

Alone in a foreign country, without enough money to buy a ticket back to Guayaquil, he was afraid that he would get deported. Thankfully, his story didn’t evolve as “Midnight express”. His flight had been late, so the Rubin Kazan expedition left for the training centre. Christian was informed by club officials to take another flight and join his new teammates.

Cold, snow and pneumonia

“I was told to mind the cold, but in Turkey the temperature was 12 degrees, as in Quito. However when we returned to Kazan, temperatures fell to -15. I tried to eat a block of pure ice and got sick with pneumonia”, he admits regarding his first taste of Russia’s freezing conditions.

By that time, people would bet on how long he would last at Tatarstan. His first year there was indeed very tough, but Noboa didn’t give up. “I had a few offers to return to Ecuador and my family were pressuring me in accepting, as they were concerned for my welfare”, he says adding: “Back at home quite a few people thought I wouldn’t make it. That however motivated me to prove my worth”.

A communication problem solved by Yuri

Noboa proved indeed a tough nut to crack. He recovered quickly and got through his communication problem thanks to sign language and Yuri, an immigrant from Ecuador who served as his translator. Christian started his effort to adapt to life in Kazan and Russian characteristics.

“I didn’t speak English, the Russians didn’t speak Spanish, therefore I could only sign my way through practice. Yuri helped me a lot. He was the only person I could speak to. Russians are closed up and I wasn’t accustomed to this. I like hanging out with friends, have fun, listen to music”, he says.

One would expect Noboa to adapt to the Russian way of doing things, but the opposite occurred. His character forced them to change their ways and he won them over. On the pitch, though, he had to adapt to the requirements of Berdyev.

Berdyev’s advice

Their relationship was tested at first and eventually was saved due to lack of communication. The coach of Rubin reprimanded him to the point of insult, but Noboa could not understand what the Russian was saying. He was just wondering “how come a coach can bring a player from the other end of the world and then behave this way…”

He would eventually comprehend his coach’s stance and now he is grateful. “I was a midfielder who didn’t pressure and Berdyev taught me how to fight to recover ball possession from the rivals. That would be essential in order to become an accomplished player and have a successful career in Europe”. He listened to the advice and became a modern box-to-box midfielder, capable of intercepting the ball, controlling the match pace, entering the rival box and, of course, scoring.

Along with Bibras Natcho, Noboa formed one of Russia’s best midfield duets adn led FC Rubin Kazan to two league titles and one domestic cup triumph.

Record signing for FC Dinamo Moskva

Nicknamed “the Russian” and included among the league’s best midfielders, Noboa moved to the capital in 2012. The financial pretensions of FC Rubin Kazan discouraged Borussia Dortmund, SSC Napoli and Sevilla FC who wanted to sign him, but were not an obstacle for nouveau-riche FC Dinamo Moskva.

The Moscow outfit paid 8 million euros to sign him and add him to their gem collection, in their attempt to win the league. That is not how teams are built though –their disappointing run led to the outburst of fans who accused the star players. Being on the receiving end of insults and threats certainly didn’t help Christian to adapt to his new life.

Everything was different in Moscow. The pressure of proving that he was worth his price tag got the better of him. That became evident when he scored his first goal for Dinamo, six months after his debut. When the ball crossed the goalline, he fell on the ground crying.

As soon as his contract with FC Dinamo Moskva expired, he waved “goodbye”. The Russians made an attempt to keep him, but the financial aspect of the deal had changed. “The sporting director wanted to include his own clauses in the new contract, without consulting me or the coach who was begging me to stay”.

Ecuador national team

Noboa earned his first cap for Ecuador in 2007, but he has been established as a regular since 2010, with former coach Reinaldo Rueda singing his praises: “As long as I coach Ecuador, the team will consist of Noboa and 10 more players”. Christian has scored twice in 45 caps with “La Tricolor” and has participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and in the 2011 Copa América held at Argentina.

His personal life

A stranger among strangers, without being able to communicate, longing for his family and country, Christian eventually found his soul mate in Russia. He met Olya Romanova one evening, as he went to dine with a teammate.

During the first course, his friend started flirting with a woman sitting in the next table. But Christian was mesmerized. As soon as he cast his eye on Olya, he forgot everything else: “She won me over from minute one. I knew she would be my wife”, he says proudly.

He spent the rest of the evening trying to communicate with Olya. It was hard. But their eyes could speak volumes. With his teammate as translator, a passionate relationship began. Olya made Christian feel at ease in Kazan and taught him Russian so that he could communicate –with her and the rest of his acquaintances there.

“I proposed marriage in Russian. Judging from her acceptance, I daresay I did it well”, Christian says. They were married in December 2010 in Guayaquil. Since then their family has grown in number, as Olya gave birth to Christopher and Lucas.