Sardinian ancestors for Javier Burrai, the Ecuador goalkeeper who faced the Italian national team in the friendly played last Sunday at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New York.
On social media, the surname was the first clue to make users hypothesize a possible "Sardinianness" of the goalkeeper, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1990, but now an Ecuadorian citizen . Burrai is in fact widespread on the island more than in any other region of Italy, in the Bitti area in particular .
And confirmation of the footballer's island roots came from Bitti , thanks to a Facebook user from the Bitzitv group, Tatiana Burrai , his relative, who also reconstructed his family tree for the benefit of the curious: "Michele Burrai (brother of my paternal grandfather Antonio Burrai "Piolle") who emigrated to Argentina was Javier's great-grandfather. Javier's father, Oscar Burrai, was Michele's nephew,” he wrote in a comment. Mystery revealed, therefore.
For Burrai - who currently plays at club level for Barcelona of Guayaquil - last Sunday's match against Italy was his first appearance with the Ecuador national team: the goalkeeper has in fact only taken citizenship in the South American country last year.
(Unioneonline)
