PARIS: CITY OF LOVE AND RED-AND-WHITE MIRACLES
Paris Saint-Germain. Parc des Princes. Paris. Champions League. Atlético de Madrid. Who could resist all that appeal? So we ordered our tickets through the peña and headed to Paris.
Thanks to the friendship connecting us with other peñas, we managed to organize a comfortable and easy trip: some members of the Peña Atlética of Germany joined the trip organized by Peña Atlético de Madrid Gent, and we all traveled together on the same bus along with our brothers from Panadero Díaz in Brussels. We’re not used to such comfort, and sharing the trip with other red-and-white fans, along with some beers and sandwiches, turned out to be an absolute pleasure. For the first time, we were joined by Juliana, our spider mascot named in honor of Julián Álvarez, who made it through the journey without a scratch. Other members of our peña traveled by train and even by plane.
Around 5:00 PM, we all met at the Seguin Sound Bar, where Rodolphe, president of the French Peña Rojiblanca Atleti Francia, had organized the pre-game gathering. It’s a spacious bar with a nice terrace, already packed with red-and-white fans singing, hanging their flags, and warming up their voices to cheer on the team later in the stadium. These gatherings are reunion spots, places where you see old faces you haven’t seen in a while and meet new Atlético fans from around the world. The family of the Peña of Germany keeps growing; new German Atlético supporters joined us for the first time, and we’re still amazed by the number of Atlético de Madrid fans in Germany. Our red-and-white family is our pride!
A little before 7:00 PM, Rodolphe called everyone to head to the stadium. A corteo (march) formed in the streets of Paris; while not as big as on other occasions, with only about 700 fans, it still served to show our colors in the French capital and make people lean out their balconies when they heard us singing. There’s nothing like waving your flag in a foreign city, cheering for your team even before the match starts, and claiming a bit of territory in a city that’s not yours. After a short march and an even shorter metro ride, we arrived at the stadium—the legendary Parc des Princes, located in Paris’ 16th district. The original stadium opened in 1897, although the current structure dates from 1972 and holds just under 50,000 spectators. It’s a concrete and cement behemoth, not particularly attractive, but it’s witnessed magical nights. In that iconic stadium, our Atleti was set to face Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs.
After five security checks, where our tickets, IDs, bags, and other belongings were thoroughly inspected, we finally entered the stadium. Our Juliana charmed everyone from the start; even the police and security staff recognized Álvarez camouflaged and shared some laughs with us. Maybe that’s why she didn’t have to go through any pat-downs.
The visiting section wasn’t as packed as usual; Atlético de Madrid’s ban was still in place, so many who should’ve been there couldn’t attend. In solidarity with Peña Atlética L’Alacantí 1903, we displayed their scarf; at least a small part of them was present.
The match can be summarized in a few words: Atleti held a defensive stance for the entire game in a duel dominated from start to finish by the Parisian team, hanging by a thread, and in the final play, pulled off an astonishing win where Oblak, Griezmann, and our own guardian angel Correa showed their brilliance—Correa donned the hero’s cape. With that goal came ecstasy, pure delirium; in the visitor’s block, there were only hugs, jumps, and maybe even a few tears of joy or relief. We had beaten the mighty PSG on their home turf, and nothing could spoil our celebration. Our cheers contrasted with the deathly silence of the local fans leaving the stadium. Even our Juliana jumped from hand to hand with joy, and from that moment on, she’s considered our good-luck charm; she’ll be joining us for every match we attend.
We took a bit of time to leave, as the police escorted us out and we were lucky enough to immediately board our bus, which was parked right outside the stadium. On the way home, tired but elated with the result, Jose the Indio sweetened the trip with some Bacardi and Coke, making the ride feel much shorter than the trip there.
Thank you to Filip, president of the Gent peña, and Rodolphe, from the French peña, for organizing such a special day and making all the red-and-white fans feel right at home. Traveling like this is truly a pleasure.
Merci beaucoup pour tout et bravo Atleti!
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