Faces of Football: Spain - a letter to the national team

Dear Spanish national team, 

I am writing this letter to wish you the best of luck for the World Cup in Qatar.

Of course you will not be going over there alone as I, and many other fans, will be there with you and cheering you on. 

It feels like it was just yesterday when I first fell in love with the national team. That day was back in 2004, when Spain played Greece in Euro 2004 at Estadio do Bessa. Since then I’ve been to basically every game, travelling to European Championships, FIFA World Cups, friendlies - you name the game, chances are I was there. I’ve travelled thousands of miles, and would even give up my job if I had to, all to follow La Roja around the world. 

Sure there have been disappointments in Germany, France, Russia and Brazil, but there was also the unbridled joy of South Africa where we lifted the World Cup for the very first time. 

Thanks to you, not only have I been to countries such as South Africa, Albania, Macedonia, Malta and Brazil, and visited wonderful stadiums like the Maracana, Wembley and San Siro, but I have also met many of my best friends. 

In order to share our passion for the national team we created our very own fan club ‘Marea Roja Fans (MRF)’, which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

At the moment, I have a similar feeling to the one I had when I landed in Durban to see the start of your African adventure against Switzerland back in 2010 when, despite the fact that that game didn’t go well, I was fully convinced that we would end up winning the World Cup. 

I fully trust our manager Luis Enrique, who knows how to give each and every one of the players the values ​​and strength necessary to ensure that this winter we add an extra star to La Roja’s jersey. 

Your most faithful follower,

Gerardo Bernardo Diaz