Javier MartínezSpecial envoy Seville
Special Envoy Seville
Updated Saturday, April 6, 2024-17:21
The anonymous citizens, alien to football, to the revolution that means Seville hosting the final of the Copa del Rey and temporarily increasing its population by 100,000 people, acquire a strange, almost suspicious character. Wherever you go, wherever you are, your gaze rests on the red and white colors, those of Athletic, which before the match starts already gains popular support. Even Betis fans, with the solid alibi of an extra place for the Champions League in the event of a Basque victory, do not hesitate to show their sympathies towards this pilgrimage of
athleticzales
, up to 70,000, according to some sources, who have traveled to Seville , in some cases crossing the map of Spain from end to end by road, by motorcycle, the youngest and most adventurous.
"Is there anyone left in Bilbao?" wonders out loud
Germán
, an ecstatic local who hangs around the
fan zone
, near the Sevilla Tower, some distance from the La Cartuja stadium, where the match is being played. All those who have wanted to be at the scene of the events, of the event, gather there, if fate winks at their team after 40 years, but do not have the privilege of a ticket to see it in the flesh, sending their I encourage a club that has always forged unique ties with its own, of whom the pandemic deprived it in the last two lost finals, both in a couple of weeks, in the spring of 2021.
Discreet, dotted by the geography of the city with the identities borrowed on the back of
Muriqi
, captain
Raíllo
or even the Basque
Aguirre
, the coach who has taken them to an unthinkable place at the beginning of the season, the followers of Mallorca They feel comfortable in their role. "Better this way," says Martín, a young man with a serene disposition, "where things are resolved is in the field, tomorrow we will see who sings the loudest." There are not many of them, and most of them gather in the tent reserved for their colors. Separated, they arouse attention, like intruders in a uniform landscape, a set where they appear as extras.
The dream of the barge
"Either we take out the barge or we sink it!"
,
proclaims
towards Athletic Hiria, the
fan zone
where concerts and festive events take place while waiting for the start of the match.
Since
José Angel Iriba
r, great goalkeeper and major symbol of Athletic, raised the curtain, accompanied by Lehendakari
Iñigo Urkullu
, who requested that the national anthem not be played in the prologue of the match, and
Jon Uriarte
, the president of the club, A thunderous sound has been installed, lead guitars that entertain the fans even several hours before the match.
The calm and sporty atmosphere, on the summery Sevillian afternoon, was altered by some incidents in the Jardín de la Alameda de Hércules, an area of the
Mallorca
fan zone
. Some chairs flew up, with smoke canisters and pyrotechnic elements. In general terms, the 1,800 police officers deployed in the city did not have much work to ensure a healthy and relaxed atmosphere.