Event

Sometimes, fan clubs come up with ideas that initially seem utopian, but when the International Union of Fan Clubs (Unión Internacional de Peñas) and Club Atlético de Madrid collaborate, everything becomes easier.

One of these ideas was to shape a project that had been in mind for a while but had never been carried out: a Meeting of European Atlético Fan Clubs. The number of fan clubs representing us beyond national borders is growing, and the goal of this meeting was to give them a voice and visibility, and, above all, to make them feel part of the red-and-white family.

We had known for some time about the celebration of the III International Congress of Atlético Madrid Peñas in Badajoz. Our president headed there to collaborate in the organization of the event and, above all, to represent our Peña. The event was organized by the International Union of Peñas under the sponsorship of Cívitas and took place on the 14th and 15th of October.

On Friday, we traveled there to begin organizing everything. Alonso, from the Badajoz-based Peña “Tos por igual,” generously offered his restaurant for a meal for those of us arriving and, in the evening, for an informal dinner that turned out to be a great success. The most festive among us ended the night in one of the city’s trendy venues, while others went straight to the hotel, as the next day promised to be a long one. On Saturday morning, we started distributing accreditations to those arriving at the Río and NH hotels. Welcome bags were prepared for the attendees, containing small tokens of welcome, and it was a pleasure to get to know the different members of the Peñas and reunite with those we already knew.

When we were officially born as an Atletico de Madrid Fan Club on April 26, we had a triumphant entrance, through the grand door, and with a red carpet. We only lacked written confirmation, and it arrived on October 8 in a manner just as spectacular as half a year ago, no less than from Don Enrique Cerezo, the President of Club Atletico de Madrid.

We departed from Germany the day before, and on Sunday, the day of the Diploma ceremony, we headed to the Metropolitano Stadium, with a little issue involving our Uber driver.

The Peña Atlética de Alemania had the honor of attending the event “Culture in Red and White” in a special edition for the 120th anniversary of the Club, which took place at the Metropolitano Stadium on May 28.

We enjoyed live music, traveling from Metropolitano to Metropolitano to the rhythm of rock (the hardest part was staying still in our seats and not getting up to dance). We were able to express ourselves by singing the chants from the stands and learned a lot about our origins closely tied to Racing de Madrid.

April 26th was an important day for Club Atlético de Madrid as it celebrated its 120th anniversary. For the Peña Atlética de Alemania, it will also be a day to remember as we became an official fan club on that day. It was not a coincidence: we thought it was the perfect day to start our official status and Atlético de Madrid helped us make it happen. The day before, I was surprised by a phone call that at first I took as a joke: as the president of the fan club, they invited me to watch the match against Mallorca from the VIP box, and hinted at a surprise that they wanted to keep secret. I gladly accepted the invitation and tried not to get nervous.