Ecuador-Spain friendly halted for 11th minute tribute to Christian Benitez

It's been two weeks since Ecuadorian international Christian "Chucho" Benitez died a day after playing his first match for Qatari club El Jaish due to an undetectable heart ailment. In Ecuador's friendly against Spain at the Estadio Monumental, their first match since Benitez's death, they honored their No. 11 by halting the match in the 11th minute. The fans and both teams took a moment to cheer Benitez's memory before the match resumed. Spain went on to win 2-0.

In addition the 11th minute tribute, the Ecuadorian players also wore shirts featuring an image of Benitez and his No. 11 before the match and a black ribbon was sewn onto their sleeves. One player even had "Chucho" cut into the back of his hair (see video above). Fans also held up a giant replica of his shirt in the stands.