News
MIÉ 11.01.2017
Peña Madridista de Bombay (India)
The Peña Madridista de Bombay is the club’s first official fan club in the Indian sub-continent established in 2013, though the five original members started meeting together as friends back in 2008. “We have all kinds of people, different religions, different birthplaces, different current locations, but we all come together for the love of the club. The motivation was to unite all Madridistas in India,” Jitesh Shahani, president of Peña Madridista de Bombay, told www.laliga.es.
The club now have around 200 members in the city of Mumbai: “The earlier kick off times have helped us to meet more often, we meet for food all the time. The members of this Peña are big foodies!” Shahani said. “Some of our members have been to Spain to watch a game. We also have members who have seen Real Madrid play on their pre-season tours of Asia and the USA. Watching Real Madrid play is amazing. The experience cannot be put into words.”
Looking at the current season, Shahani was clear where his priorities for the club lay: “Every Madridista wants to win the “Duodecima” (a twelfth European Cup) and a league title would be good too. We want to win everything and be the best. I know it sounds like a cliche but we hold the club and players to a higher standard than most football fans. ‘Zizou’ is very popular and the only way he will continue is if he wins trophies, so we hope he keeps winning silverware so he will be able to stay with us.”
Peña Sevillista de Alemania y Luxemburgo (Germany)
“When you leave your home you take your team with you. That’s football, and that’s the case for many of us here in Germany,” says Jose Angel Risco, president of the Peña Sevillista de Alemnia y Luxemburgo peña, in conversation with www.laliga.es. “We have almost 40 members but we’re not a peña in the traditional sense because we’re all spread out,” he said. “Our members are all over, in Dusseldorf, Munich, even in Luxembourg. In some cities we meet in a bar when Sevilla play, in others members simply meet at someone’s home to watch the match.”
For Risco, who has lived in Germany for over a decade and is now based in Munich, the peña – which was granted official status in 2016 – isn’t just about football. “Of course we love watching football together but it’s also about providing a place for people who have just moved here to come and feel at home and to meet other Spaniards,” he said.
Being based in central Europe has its advantages, allowing the peña’s members to travel regularly to support the team in neighbouring countries. “We travel a lot with the team and being apart it’s what brings us together,” said Risco. “We take every opportunity we can, whether it’s for preseason fixtures in Mainz and Hamburg or for Champions League ties in Zagreb or Lyon. We’re even planning a trip to Gelsenkirchen [the home of Schalke 04] to visit [former Sevilla favourites] Coke and Yevhen Konoplyanka.”
Sevilla’s performances this season have given their fans every reason to be optimistic ahead of Sunday’s match against Real Madrid. Risco and Rotes Blut SFC are no different. “At the start of the season we were divided within the peña over whether Jorge Sampaoli was the right man but we’re absolutely delighted so far,” he said. “It’s a big game for us. We always want to beat them and I can’t see why we can’t!”
© LALIGA - 2017