It all started with an innocuous notification: “Atlético de Madrid begins its pre-season in Porto.” Nothing unusual, right? Well, not for us. For Txus and me, it was like a divine sign. Without a second thought—because thinking has never been our strong suit on these adventures—we did the only logical thing: pack a picnic basket, find affordable tickets (which turned out to be free!), and head to Portugal as if we were ambassadors of the international Colchonero spirit.

What peña can boast of having blown out 25 candles? Very few. And which one can say it did so outside of Spain? Only one: the Peña Atlética de Gante, the oldest of all the Rojiblanco peñas abroad. If that’s not a reason to celebrate in a big way… then I don’t know what is.

That’s exactly what Filip Standaert, its tireless president, thought. After having to postpone their 20th anniversary because of a global pandemic (which is starting to feel distant, but still stings), there were no excuses: now it was time to celebrate, and to do it in style. And boy, did they ever.

This past June 9th, all the presidents of the Atlético peñas received a surprise email from the Club: we were summoned to a meeting on June 18th at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium.

To ensure that as many peñas as possible could attend, we were asked to send a maximum of two representatives per peña.

The proposed agenda was to review the club’s current social affairs together, analyze the 2024/25 season, and present several new developments for the 2025/26 season, particularly regarding the peñas.

Seeing Atlético de Madrid Femenino in a Copa de la Reina final is, luckily, no longer anything out of the ordinary. We have a women’s team that really measures up, even though they’ve been a bit lackluster this past season. And I have great memories of cup finals (remember Butarque in 2023), so of course, I didn’t hesitate for a moment to attend this one.

Buying my ticket took some effort—the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) website leaves a lot to be desired—but the link Luis (from the Atleti fan clubs) sent me made everything easier. I arranged with Inés, a good friend and president of the Las Colchoneras fan club (the only one dedicated to the women’s team), to travel as a group, since the long trip from Madrid to Huesca is better with company.

Last year, when the members of the Peña Atlético Aviación invited me to their 15th anniversary in March, I hesitated for a moment because I had a feeling the celebration could get out of hand, but I thought it over and concluded it was worth it. After all, when have I ever resisted a good party?

On March 22, early in the morning, I set off for Benavente, a town in the Zamora province, a city that Víctor, a member of the peña, had already shown to Txus and me during our short visit in October 2024. After leaving my things in the room at the La Trucha guesthouse, which Javi (president of the peña) had reserved for me, Isaac came to pick me up and take me to the epicenter of the action: the peña headquarters. I arrived there in a van, accompanied by Patricia Cazón, only to discover that the venue had become too small, so they had set up tents on the street (with permission from the town hall, I suppose), where they had prepared some appetizers to kick things off.