English Villarreal fan Robin Stacey has been following the Yellows for more than a decade

Inspired by Bruno Soriano, Robin Stacey became a Villarreal fan back in 2008 and has been a die-hard Yellows supporter ever since. “I started playing Sunday-league football in the UK as a defensive midfielder, and watched videos of Bruno Soriano to try and play like him. He was world-class, so calm on the ball and inspirational to watch. He was a fortress on the pitch and a real legend. From then on, I began to follow Villarreal and fell in love.” 

In fact, Robin’s love for the club saw him move to Spain for a while in 2013, where he made some special connections: “I moved to Valencia and used to head to watch Villarreal every other week. I became really good friends with fellow English Villarreal fan Robin Harris. I know a lot of Villarreal fans knew him and he sadly passed away this year. He was an inspiration to me and I got into Villarreal even more because of him. It was probably the best year of my life, and that was largely down to Villarreal, thanks to the welcoming and accommodating fans.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the study abroad co-ordinator at the University of York was a regular visitor to the Estadio de la Cerámica: “I flew over to see a few games every season. My best match was the first match I saw in person, Villarreal 4-1 Valencia, where I got to meet Robert Pirès after the match.”

While he can only watch on TV at the moment, Robin hopes to be back soon: “I am now watching all the games on LaLiga TV, while listening to Radio Vila-real, which helps my language skills. I look forward to many more happy memories as a Villarreal fan in the stadium, and when I retire, I plan to move to Spain and attend even more games if it’s possible.”

Here at Villarreal CF, through the series ‘Yellows Around The World’, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine’s biggest international fans.