{"id":219498,"date":"2021-05-12T09:54:39","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T07:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/maurits-de-jong-the-dutchman-in-love-with-villarreal-cf\/"},"modified":"2021-05-12T09:54:39","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T07:54:39","slug":"maurits-de-jong-the-dutchman-in-love-with-villarreal-cf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/maurits-de-jong-the-dutchman-in-love-with-villarreal-cf\/","title":{"rendered":"Maurits de Jong, the Dutchman in love with Villarreal CF"},"content":{"protected":false,"blocks":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","alt":"||||","width":819,"height":460,"srcset":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 819w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg 32w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w","sizes":"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans."}],"structured":{"summary":{"text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019 Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine. He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans.","headings":[],"buttons":[],"images":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","alt":"||||","width":819,"height":460,"srcset":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 819w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg 32w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w","sizes":"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px"}],"counts":{"blocks":7,"headings":0,"texts":6,"buttons":0,"images":1}},"sections":[{"id":"section-1","title":"","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019 Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine. He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans.","headings":[],"texts":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans."}],"buttons":[],"images":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","alt":"||||","width":819,"height":460,"srcset":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 819w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg 32w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w","sizes":"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px"}],"widgets":[],"blocks":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","alt":"||||","width":819,"height":460,"srcset":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 819w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg 32w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w","sizes":"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans."}]}],"hero":{"id":"section-1","title":"","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019 Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine. He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans.","headings":[],"texts":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans."}],"buttons":[],"images":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","alt":"||||","width":819,"height":460,"srcset":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 819w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg 32w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w","sizes":"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px"}],"widgets":[],"blocks":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","alt":"||||","width":819,"height":460,"srcset":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 819w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg 32w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w","sizes":"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans."}]}},"sections":[{"id":"section-1","title":"","text":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019 Maurits de Jong is a die-hard Villarreal CF fan. He has been a supporter of the club since 2004, when Juan Rom\u00e1n Riquelme\u2019s magical performances in yellow attracted him to the Submarine. He lives in Maastricht, Netherlands, but being nearly 1300km away has not stopped him from following the Yellows. \u201cMy girlfriend has to share the title of \u2018love of my life\u2019 with the club. Every since we first visited the club, I was convinced it was true love. I became a fan because of the magician from Argentina, Riquelme. He was my favourite player for the national team, and through him I found Villarreal, but I\u2019ve stuck around a lot longer than him in the end.\u201d Maurits has been president of the Dutch fan club Los Piratas Amarillos for more than ten years and says being a \u2018groguet\u2019 is a key part of his life: \u201cSupporting Villarreal since 2004 and starting Los Piratas Amarillos in 2009 were some of the best decisions I\u2019ve made in my life. The things I\u2019ve done and the friends I\u2019ve made thanks to club probably wouldn\u2019t have happened otherwise. I have seen semi-finals, a promotion, I\u2019ve celebrated victories and cried after relegation. I cried after the promotion too, to be honest. Tears of joy!\u201d He loved the club so much, he briefly lived in Spain and went to all of the home games during the 2015\/16 season, and his also a regular visitor to European games, both home and away. While he has enjoyed supporting the team in continental competition, he says his best moment following the Yellows was the promotion game against Almer\u00eda in 2013 to return to the top flight: \u201cWe gathered a group of nine people, and booked flights and hotel a few weeks before the game. It was a weekend to never forget. Not only did we see the game, the win and the promotion, we got to be part of the celebrations in the town centre the day after. It was unforgettable.\u201d Here at Villarreal CF, through the #YellowsAroundTheWorld series, we will tell the stories of some of the Submarine\u2019s biggest international fans.","url":"","background_image":"","images":[{"type":"image","url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","alt":"||||","width":819,"height":460,"srcset":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 819w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg 32w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg 1920w","sizes":"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px"}],"videos":[],"links":[]},{"id":"shortcode-caption-69d5fe58c8d9f","type":"shortcode","shortcode":"caption","attributes":{"id":"attachment_168094","align":"alignnone","width":""},"title":"Caption","rendered":"","data":[],"text":"","url":"","background_image":"","images":[],"videos":[],"links":[],"blocks":[]}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4857],"tags":[8728,8729,8792,4902,5186,4866,8789],"acf":null,"lang":"en","formatted_date":"May 12, 2021","modified_date":"May 12, 2021","permalink":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/maurits-de-jong-the-dutchman-in-love-with-villarreal-cf\/","reading_time":2,"featured_media_data":{"id":168094,"title":"||||","caption":"||||","alt_text":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-300x168.jpg","width":300,"height":168},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-768x431.jpg","width":768,"height":431},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","width":788,"height":443},"1536x1536":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","width":819,"height":460},"2048x2048":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","width":819,"height":460},"tp-image-grid":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-700x460.jpg","width":700,"height":460},"size-bunyad-medium":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","width":819,"height":460},"sportspress-crop-medium":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-300x300.jpg","width":300,"height":300},"sportspress-fit-medium":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-300x168.jpg","width":300,"height":168},"sportspress-fit-icon":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-128x72.jpg","width":128,"height":72},"sportspress-fit-mini":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-32x18.jpg","width":32,"height":18},"bunyad-small":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-150x84.jpg","width":150,"height":84},"bunyad-medium":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-450x253.jpg","width":450,"height":253},"bunyad-full":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","width":819,"height":460},"bunyad-viewport":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","width":819,"height":460},"bunyad-768":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6-768x431.jpg","width":768,"height":431},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d82803df98939add54daf667465e77c6.jpg","width":819,"height":460}}},"author_data":{"id":"1","name":"root_envidea","first_name":"Villarreal CF","last_name":"","description":"","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48f95f42a3ccc324f3a3458e4b9e6fb070b083e99d388e170c1afb061fa99b63?s=96&d=mm&r=g","acf":null},"taxonomies_data":{"category":[{"id":4857,"name":"General News","slug":"general-news","acf":null}],"post_tag":[{"id":8728,"name":"#Football","slug":"football","acf":null},{"id":8729,"name":"#Soccer","slug":"soccer","acf":null},{"id":8792,"name":"Deutsch","slug":"deutsch","acf":null},{"id":4902,"name":"Futbol","slug":"futbol","acf":null},{"id":5186,"name":"Holanda","slug":"holanda","acf":null},{"id":4866,"name":"Submarine","slug":"submarino","acf":null},{"id":8789,"name":"Yellows Around the World","slug":"yellows-around-the-world","acf":null}],"translation_priority":[{"id":733,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional","acf":null}]},"seo_full":{"native":{"title":"Maurits de Jong, the Dutchman in love with Villarreal CF - Web Oficial del Villarreal CF","description":"[caption id=\"attachment_168094\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"\"]||||[\/caption]The Dutch fan says Villarreal CF is the \u2018love of his life\u2019 Maurits de Jong is a…","canonical":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/maurits-de-jong-the-dutchman-in-love-with-villarreal-cf\/"}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villarrealcf.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}