“We’re going to win the World Cup or I wouldn’t have come”

David Cebollada’s voice is very low. “I hope to hide something for December 18, the date of the World Cup final, because we will get the second star,” he says hoarsely. This man from Zaragoza speaks from Qatar, which he came to on the 18th and wants to return to when the world’s best football tournament is over.. “I think we’re going to win; otherwise I wouldn’t have come,” he explains.

He is a real madman for the Spanish football team. Cebollada heads the national team’s only existing club, Red Tide, and He may be the person who watches the most matches live from every corner of the planet in recent years., even more than Manolo el del Bombo. Therefore, it was unthinkable for him to miss an event like the World Cup, even if he had to cross the seas and deserts to reach Qatar.

The distance, the dates, the destination country and the cost of the trip put many fans back. In fact, only fifty fans flew from Spain to Qatar. Among them, Cebollada could not be missing. He travels with two other fans from Spain, Spanish-Italian Giancarlo Manelli and Riojan David Pinillos.

On the 18th, they landed in Dubai, where they met up with other Red Tide members living there. On the 22nd, they’ve already moved to Doha to see the historic 7-0 victory between Spain and Costa Rica. “It was great,” this man from Zaragoza recalls. They stayed in Qatar in booths built to welcome fans from all over the world. “You pay about 200 euros a day for accommodation for two people. It’s expensive, but the country is very expensive”, invoice. For example, a coffee “does not go below 4-5 Euros,” he adds. They returned to Dubai on the 24th and Doha on the 27th to watch the Spain-Germany match. “We were good. They pressed and had a chance but so did we. It looks good, it’s a young team but they know how to compete,” he analyzes.

His plans include a visit to Kuwait this week and of course a return to Doha to watch Spain’s last 16 games. “From that moment on, we have absolutely nothing,” he says. Of course, he doesn’t have to come back before the tournament ends. If that happens, it will finally be a month-long journey after the election. David has a budget of “between 5,000 and 6,000 euros”accumulated over the last four years.

An investment in your great passion that you enjoy to the fullest. They experience a “very nice atmosphere” with the supporters of all teams in their stands. “You stand with people, you talk to them… We’re good with everybody,” he says. And according to their impressions, there is “an incredible peace and freedom” in Qatar.Despite the criticism that the World Cup ground has received for not respecting human rights.

“The rules they say there are, it was obvious that it would be very lax. We see a strange country, but from the outside it is not what it seems. Yes, there are strict rules. But there are also things we need to learn, such as respecting others,” Cebollada says.

“People are very grateful and there is a good atmosphere, it was a nice experience”

As for the dress code and the code of conduct, this Aragonese says “everyone goes his own way”. that “no smoking rules were followed”, people were “very grateful” and in short it was a “very nice” experience.

After Brazil and Russia, this is his third World Cup after Spain, as well as three more European Cups, and on a resume that includes matches in Lithuania, Romania, Faroe Islands, Sweden, Croatia… His goal is now, put the first star.