Champions

Yesterday it was time for a rojiblanco adventure: Bruges awaited us for the legendary Club Brugge–Atlético match. Yes, that stadium with bad luck where we’ve never won. From Peña Atlética Germany, we set off by car, loaded with coffee, excitement, and a GPS or two that decided to play its own game.

The official pre-game promised little… but as always, we Rojiblancos improvised. In the visitor parking lot, a spontaneous pre-game formed with the fan buses arriving: chants, photos, greetings, and the classic attempt to coordinate a choreo that ended up being improvised. That’s when the true rojiblanco spirit was felt.

A lightning trip to Turkey with the best excuse ever: watching Atlético play Galatasaray live. The first away trip of 2026 – and starting off strong. Cold, really cold, the kind that makes you question your life choices… though it was much easier surrounded by so many fellow Atléticos, especially the supporters’ group from Germany, who almost made it feel like a home game. We stayed in Galata, in a very charming Airbnb community – one of those places that makes you feel half local, even if you can’t pronounce “merhaba.”

After the draw, I was really looking forward to a great match against Arsenal in London.

So I booked everything right away, and the excitement grew as the match day approached. Early in the morning, I took the train to Frankfurt and then the flight to Heathrow. The constant rain on arrival dampened the mood a little, but it didn’t matter — I was there to support our ATLETI.

I quickly took the Tube to the hotel, which was not far from Victoria Station. The oldest station in London is always beautiful to see. After checking in, I went for a walk and stopped at the “Shakespeare” pub across the street to enjoy the first pint.

There is no worse rival in the Champions League for Atlético de Madrid than their neighbor “the Cheats,” and not because they play good football, but because they resort to every possible trick (even the most devious) to advance on their path to the “Big Ears” trophy.

The draw (or who knows who) decided that there would be another derby in the Champions League to reach the round of sixteen, with the return leg taking place at the Metropolitano Stadium. We decided that this would be the perfect day for our lucky mascot Juliana to visit what is her true home for the first time and introduce herself to our crowd.

We only needed a draw in Salzburg to automatically qualify for the Champions League round of 16. And since we were all confident we would achieve it and no one wanted to miss the party, we packed winter clothes in our backpacks and set off for the city of Mozart.

The train was the chosen means of transportation for most of us, and from Cologne, six of us traveled together. We had booked in advance and began marking our territory on the train by decorating the tables with the flags of the supporters’ group, on which we laid out an appetizing meal that sparked envy among the other passengers.