This ‘groguet’ fan, born in Córdoba, Argentina, has been following the Yellow Submarine since 2000 and dreams of one day visiting the Estadio de la Cerámica
Pablo Solé is an Argentinean Villarreal fan who has been following the Yellows since 2000, when he was only 13. With a number of Argentine players arriving at the club in the 2000/01 season, such as Cagna, Schelotto and Marioni, Pablo started to follow the Groguets. Since then, Pablo has seen every one of the Submarine’s games: “I don’t miss any of the games. My daily activities, meeting family or friends, or my work schedule all depend on if there’s a game or not. I remember that in 2006, I was playing in a tennis tournament and I had got through to the quarter-finals, which were on the same day and time as the Villarreal game against Maribor. I had to pull out of the tournament,” he said.
When asked about what he most likes about the club, Solé, who works as a psychologist, answered. “The coherency that there is through the club, with everyone who makes up Villarreal, their defined playing style, which has been the same for so many years, how they look after their finances, the value they give to the academy, and the signings they make each year.”
Pablo’s passion for Villarreal means he doesn’t miss a single one of the Yellows’ matches, despite the distance: “I try and watch the games on television, if they show them, or if not, I watch them online. Earlier this year, I didn’t have internet or cable TV for a whole month. It coincided with the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, and because of COVID, the bars were shut, so I went to a square in the town where I knew there was free public wi-fi and I watched it on my phone there.”
Regarding his best memory as a Villarreal fan, Pablo added: “My best memories as a Villarreal fan are the UEFA Champions League match against Inter where Arruabarrena scored, and the UEFA Europa League final, where, finally, football was a bit fairer with a team who deserved to win something big.”
Finally, the Argentine also highlighted that his favourite players of all time for Villarreal are Juan Román Riquelme, Santi Cazorla, Giuseppe Rossi and Marcos Senna, with Manu Trigueros his preferred option from the current squad. He also concluded by saying that he hopes one day to be able to watch the team live in person, and be able to make his dreams come true by watching his beloved club at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine’s biggest international fans.
