An Asturian who has been in Mexico for thirty years is moved by Sporting in Torreón: “It brings me closer to my land”

2023-07-18 04:15:00

“Calm down, mom,” Nicolás tells Amelia, unable to contain his emotion. She, from Gijón, a student at the San Vicente school, left her land in 1997 when she married a Mexican. She has returned to Gijón more times, of course. But yesterday is the first time in almost thirty years that it is Gijón who returns to it. “It’s an immense joy. I’m getting closer to my land,” says the woman.

Amelia lives in Durango, about three hours from Torreón. But when she found out that Sporting, the team of her soul, was going to play at the Estadio Corona, in the Comarca Lagunera, she felt as if time had traveled back almost three decades. Because his team played at his house. “I had never seen Sporting here. I don’t know what to say,” she sighs. “It’s very exciting”. Nicolás, devoted to his mother, to whom he is very close, has maintained that ties thanks to the insistence of Amelia, who despite the distance has always felt Gijón as her home. Yesterday the two of them, accompanied by Sebastián, their youngest son, born in Paris, and Paulina, Nicolás’s wife, arrived at the facilities of the Santos Modelo Territory with plenty of time. all besides dressed from top to bottom with their red and white scarves and Sporting shirts.

“It’s an immense joy. You can’t imagine… I’ve been waiting for this day for a year,” adds Amelia, holding back her tears as best she can. “This team represents the city of my native identity; my parents’ passion for Sporting and they no longer live. They are many emotions together,” says Amelia. Nicolás has glassy eyes. “It’s a joy to see that this team is growing in this way with Orlegi. Hopefully it will continue to grow and grow and we can see it play in the First Division one day,” says Nicolás.

Amelia and Nicolás are together with a small group of rojiblancos supporters in the stands of the Corona Stadium. It is the Poniente stand, where the rojiblanca fans are located. There is Diego Alvarez Bada, president of the Villa de Quini supporters club. Then, with the match started, they celebrate Djuka’s goal; after that of Gaspar Campos. And then, like good Sporting fans, they suffer with the reaction of Santos Laguna, which puts the rojiblanco team on the ropes.

But both hug each other with the victory and with the saves of Christian Joel, who denies the draw, and the penalties, to the Laguna team in the last moments of the game. The match ends and Amelia and Nicolás head to the parking lot, where the footballers from Sporting and Santos Laguna are parading after taking a shower. Amelia stops one of the rojiblancos footballers. She stops and has a short conversation with Florentin Bloch. Also with Jonathan Varane. And she listens live to the statements of Miguel Ángel Ramírez, Fran Villalba and Cali. Then they return home. Happy.