It may not be as fabulously rich as Real Madrid FC or FC Barcelona but it is full of heart. This is the belief that Sevilla FC seeks to bring forth in Spain’s elite football league — La Liga.
This was exactly what a group of Indian fans discovered as they visited Sevilla FC’s most celebrated fan club — the Pena Sevillista Al Relente — in the Calle Aznalcazar area of the Andalusian capital.
“We have one of the most melodious and emphatic anthems in the world,” says Guillermo Jimenez Ballester, president of the fan club. “Fans are like the twelfth man who motivate the team to give its best on the pitch.”
Guillermo was not wrong as Sevilla downed Real 3-2 at the magnificent Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. He was joined by Carlos Jimenez Sanchez, who is the president of federations of Sevilla fan clubs, in celebrating the exploits of the team they have been supporting since their childhood.
The fans filled up the 42,000-capacity stadium and egged the team on with repeated renditions of the anthem.
“The first thing I would like to say is that football fans from all over the world should take a flight and visit Seville. Through this, they will have the chance to experience the atmosphere around the stadium, the roar of the crowd and all the excitement of what a match is like in Sanchez Pizjuan. I am sure they will become a true supporter of the club,” said Nolito (Manuel Agudo Duran), the team’s popular midfielder.
It was an encouraging sight as scores of fans — having charged up on snacks and their favourite cerveza (beer) at the numerous Penas (fan associations) — made their way to the stadium.
And just as kick-off approached, the colourful gathering lent its voice as the anthem rose from the stands and created an electrifying atmosphere.
Nolito was not wrong as the three Indian fan ambassadors and the winners of a La Liga contest — Conroy Concessio, Bibin Alexander Parippil and Akhil Kumar — discovered on their visit to Sevilla’s home stadium.
La Liga Santander, the official body of the Spanish league, has hosted fans from Poland and Belgium apart from India to be a part of the magnificent experience. It got even better as the visitors were given access to the ground and the mixed zone.
There is always the urge to expand its League outside Spain but the money that La Liga is spending in giving a real experience of its football is truly giving good memories for the visitors to take home.
(The writer was in Seville at the invitation of La Liga and Sports Cluster of Sony Pictures Networks)
