Today, March 8th, International Women’s Day, we celebrate, among other things, that women can enjoy football with total normality. Not many years ago this was considered odd, that a woman liked football was something “unfeminine”, for “machos”. We have come a long way, and there is still a long way to go. We as fans notice it in many aspects, for example when we go to a stadium and among the security guards at the entrance controls, eight are men and only three are women.

For many fans, watching a match in Italy is a dream. For those of us who have been more than once, it remains a game of chance: Italians are unpredictable in their game and in their organization. Fourteen members of the Atlético de Madrid Fan Club from Germany decided to tempt fate and continue to make our fan club the most dynamic in this country, so we requested the tickets with the assurance that they would be granted to us, and we all marked February 20th on our calendars as “destination Milan.

El Anfiteatro, Nr. 42 TODAY WE INTERVIEW: CARMEN GARCÍA, PEÑA AT. DE ALEMANIA From Cologne, the president of the Peña Atlética de Alemania shares her outlook on life in red and white, discusses the reality of peñistas outside of Spain, and assesses the “I Encuentro de Peñas Europeas.” Carmen García can’t imagine life without Atleti. She never has, despite the kilometers, flights, and round trips. At nineteen, she set course for Cologne to follow the path her Spanish immigrant parents had traced in ‘60 and retraced in ‘67, when she was born.

The essence of a supporters’ club lies not only in attending games together or assisting its members but also in representing Atlético de Madrid and honoring its name. A few months ago, we learned coincidentally that there are some avid Atleti fans among the students in the 4th grade of the public school CEIP “Ntra. Sra. de las Nieves” in La Zarza (Badajoz). We came up with the idea that we could bring them some joy, and when Christmas arrived, our supporters’ club decided to write to the Three Wise Men so that they could leave them a red-and-white gift on our behalf.

“If you don’t know what to give this Christmas, we have the perfect gift for you. Make that Colchonero fan happy and gift them a year of membership in our fan club. Let them enjoy all the benefits; you’ll be giving them more than just a gift—you’ll be making them part of the red-and-white family. Here’s how you can get a gift voucher: If you’re interested in a gift voucher, send us an email to info@rojiblancos.

Football has those things: one falls in love with a team without even having visited the city of its origin. This happens to some members of our Peña. They are members of Atlético de Madrid without having visited their stadium, distant fans, at heart, who would like to see more live matches but cannot for various reasons. When, on the occasion of the First Meeting of European Atlético Peñas, a delegation from Atleti visited us in Cologne, this situation became evident during the talk with the peñas, and the Club’s representative showed great generosity by inviting all members of our Peña who had not yet visited our stadium to the match against Lazio.