There are many stories about soccer fans that circulate in the digital media, but Gabriel Broner has one that is quite particular. The 61-year-old engineer has told El País that he is a very particular fanatic for FC Barcelona despite his roots, the place where he grew up and where he currently resides.
Broner was born in Argentina, was raised in Venezuela but due to the political and economic crisis, he went to live in Minnesota. But from a distance, 11,000 kilometers specifically, is the place from which 11 men define their emotional state.
The Argentine says that 10 years ago his in-laws moved to Barcelona, time in which Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Puyol began to promote the culé team.
“My wife and I began to visit them often and take an interest in the people there. For the culture, for the food and also for its soccer team. Each game was like a symphony, a ballet. Watching them play was appreciating a work of art. I, who was a player, coach and even a referee, felt totally identified with the players and with the club. I felt like they represented me,” she stated in an interview.
Gabriel says that in 2017 he began to study the Catalan language, which he already writes and speaks perfectly: “I told myself that it would be something nice to feel more connected with Barça and its fans.”
“When they ask me, it is not easy to explain where I am from. I was born in Argentina, but at the age of 15 I moved to Venezuela because of the dictatorship. Later, at the age of 25, I went to live in the United States. And in all this time as an American (I already have citizenship) I have traveled a lot. That’s why I know how difficult it is to feel at home, to feel part of something. And curiously, that feeling awakens in me when I’m in the Barça field”, concluded Broner.
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