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Article about SAFC from Spain

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TheStatCat said:
Hope you enjoy the Southend game and make some new friends. The last time Sunderland played Southend the lads I go to the match with met up with some Irish lads who had started watching Sunderland during the Quinn / Keane era. We are all still friends and they still regularly come to games and have stuck with it through the grimmest of times. So beware, it's catching!

You may be interested in the historical links between Sunderland and Spain in the 1930s.

In May 1934, Sunderland were invited to Spain by the Spanish FA to play three games against the Spanish national squad in preparation for the 1934 World Cup. The first two games were draws, then Sunderland won the last game 3-1.

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The Spanish press were very complimentary about the Sunderland team, in fact they wished that Sunderland could be sent to Italy to represent Spain as they were so superior to their own side. The press also commented that the World Cup itself was a bit of a sham as the real masters of the game (England) would not be there. I have some Spanish and Catalan newspaper reports of these games if you're interested, just send me a DM. I've also got some crummy Google translations of them, but no doubt you won't need those...

As it happens, the Spanish press were a bit harsh on their own team, as they reached the Quarter Finals, going out to the eventual winners Italy 1-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw. Most of the players that played against Sunderland played in the World Cup, so it is fair to say that Sunderland could have made a decent attempt at that World Cup. England and Scotland would almost certainly have made the later stages.

Sunderland returned to Spain in 1935, beating a Catalan XI (mostly Barcelona players) 7-1, and a Madrid XI (a mix of Real and Atletico players) 2-1.

Pity there wasn't a Champions League in those days!
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I will send you a PM mate, I would love the Spanish articles to show my mates here. Your inbox is full Statcat.
 

ubik said:
Any good pub with a lot of SAFC vibe for this evening?
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Loads. Just head over the bridge after the game and turn right. Keep walking until you see a pub over to your left. Ignore that one but there's a few further along off the road that's busy with traffic
 
ubik said:
Hello there!

Keeping my word, I will be this weekend in Sunderland and the Stadium of Light, to experience myself everything I need for the article, and see them smashing Southend Utd.

Thanks again for all the links, insights and help overall! I collected everything, and I am sure something nice will come out of all this.

If someone feels like meeting / sharing impressions, please do get in touch with me over my email luisfer at lisella dot eu, or sending me a pm over here.
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Hope you enjoyed the match today! :D:D:D
 
El Sunderland parece al Sevilla en muchas cosas.
Son dos clubes rojiblancos, con una afición impresionante que tiene que aguantar unos catetos subnormales como el Betis y el Newcastle.
Espero que lo has pasado bien hoy en mi pueblo. Si te interesa te puedo contar como un Sevillista acabó con su carrera en Sunderland al ser detenido!
Saludos desde Madrid.
 
pablo casals said:
El Sunderland parece al Sevilla en muchas cosas.
Son dos clubes rojiblancos, con una afición impresionante que tiene que aguantar unos catetos subnormales como el Betis y el Newcastle.
Espero que lo has pasado bien hoy en mi pueblo. Si te interesa te puedo contar como un Sevillista acabó con su carrera en Sunderland al ser detenido!
Saludos desde Madrid.
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Hahaha, "catetos subnormales". Hahaha.

Yes, please, I'll send you a dm! Thank you, and hugs to Madrid!

Dear mackems,

I did go to the Stadium of Light today, had a chat with Rob Mason and some former players and members of the staff, I was given a visit to the whole stadium, trophies, history trivia (the oil painting in the main entrance, with the SAFC-Villa match in 1890, is OUTSTANDING!), and then during the match, I chatted informally with some supporters. I am exhausted and I have far more material than I could have expected.

The whole stadium in complete silence during the memorial ceremony prior to the match, and then roaring during the whole match was really impressive. And that given that I am a Sevilla FC fan which is also famous for giving a hellish atmosphere for the rivals during home matches. Not only SAFC smashed Southend today, but it was a perfect example of why I wanted to come here and see that by myself, and boy, was I right in my decision.

Out of curiosity, I also met briefly some of the chaps that are working in the Netflix documentary 'Sunderland til I die'.

I'll stay in your town until tomorrow evening so I can see some touristy candies such as Roker Pier, Glass Center, etc. Afterwards, in the upcoming weeks, I'll take my time to put everything together, sit and write. I've also sold the idea for the article in English version to a popular British newspaper (not tabloid) so you will hear from me.

Thank you for all the tips, information, support and welcoming and warm messages. Appreciate them with all my heart.
 
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ubik said:
Hahaha, "catetos subnormales". Hahaha.

Yes, please, I'll send you a dm! Thank you, and hugs to Madrid!

Dear mackems,

I did go to the Stadium of Light today, had a chat with Rob Mason and some former players and members of the staff, I was given a visit to the whole stadium, trophies, history trivia (the oil painting in the main entrance, with the SAFC-Villa match in 1890, is OUTSTANDING!), and then during the match, I chatted informally with some supporters. I am exhausted and I have far more material than I could have expected.

The whole stadium in complete silence during the memorial ceremony prior to the match, and then roaring during the whole match was really impressive. And that given that I am a Sevilla FC fan which is also famous for giving a hellish atmosphere for the rivals during home matches. Not only SAFC smashed Southend today, but it was a perfect example of why I wanted to come here and see that by myself, and boy, was I right in my decision.

Out of curiosity, I also met briefly some of the chaps that are working in the Netflix documentary 'Sunderland til I die'.

I'll stay in your town until tomorrow evening so I can see some touristy candies such as Roker Pier, Glass Center, etc. Afterwards, in the upcoming weeks, I'll take my time to put everything together, sit and write. I've also sold the idea for the article in English version to a popular British newspaper (not tabloid) so you will hear from me.

Thank you for all the tips, information, support and welcoming and warm messages. Appreciate them with all my heart.
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Nice one, glad you enjoyed it. Go to the pubs tonight, Ivy House, Dun Cow and Fitzgeralds would be my choices for nice beer and a bit of football talk.

I´ll quickly tell you my Sevilla story. In the 90s Sunderland organised an International Youth Tournament, under 19s. Real Madrid came one year and Sevilla another, I was the translator for Sevilla for the week. Right bunch of rough lads from Tres Mil Viviendas most of them. Carlitos was player of the tournamnet and went on to have a good career for you and Mallorca.

Anyway one day the players were sent out shopping to Washington, a town full of roundabout between Sunderland and Newcastle. Within an hour I get a phone call from the police station! Could I go down there with Señor Cuevas the vice president of Sevilla who was over. One of the players had been arrested for stealing an England football shirt from a sport shop in the Galleries! Señor Cuevas, who was a nice old bloke and told me great stories about Maradona, prostitutes and coke during his time in Sevilla, was not very happy at all as I explained the situation to him.

And I think the lad never played for Sevilla again. Marquez was his name, his brother played in Betis´ first team for years. I´d love to know what happened to the daft chorizo (thief and spicy sausage in Spanish).
 
ubik said:
Hahaha, "catetos subnormales". Hahaha.

Yes, please, I'll send you a dm! Thank you, and hugs to Madrid!

Dear mackems,

I did go to the Stadium of Light today, had a chat with Rob Mason and some former players and members of the staff, I was given a visit to the whole stadium, trophies, history trivia (the oil painting in the main entrance, with the SAFC-Villa match in 1890, is OUTSTANDING!), and then during the match, I chatted informally with some supporters. I am exhausted and I have far more material than I could have expected.

The whole stadium in complete silence during the memorial ceremony prior to the match, and then roaring during the whole match was really impressive. And that given that I am a Sevilla FC fan which is also famous for giving a hellish atmosphere for the rivals during home matches. Not only SAFC smashed Southend today, but it was a perfect example of why I wanted to come here and see that by myself, and boy, was I right in my decision.

Out of curiosity, I also met briefly some of the chaps that are working in the Netflix documentary 'Sunderland til I die'.

I'll stay in your town until tomorrow evening so I can see some touristy candies such as Roker Pier, Glass Center, etc. Afterwards, in the upcoming weeks, I'll take my time to put everything together, sit and write. I've also sold the idea for the article in English version to a popular British newspaper (not tabloid) so you will hear from me.

Thank you for all the tips, information, support and welcoming and warm messages. Appreciate them with all my heart.
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Pleased you enjoyed the experience, did you take any pubs in?
 
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