It was impossible to calculate the number of citizens, dressed in red and white shirts, who crowded the Madrid sidewalks yesterday afternoon. Human tides that clogged the city center. Children on shoulders. Flags waving. But above all, hundreds of fans waving almost in unison to try to mitigate the 35 degrees that scorched at five in the afternoon.
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At that hour, many were already saving front row spots to see the champions’ open-top bus parade that, starting in Moncloa, would end at the Plaza de Cibeles, the epicenter of the football celebration where a gigantic stage was set up hosting top-level performances, from Lola Índigo to Aitana. They wanted to be able to greet, and above all thank, the footballers who last Sunday, in New Jersey, achieved the second star.
Others quickened their pace to reach the start of the concerts, like a father who with his two children headed down the Paseo del Prado. They had just arrived from Seville, 400 kilometers express, to be part of the great party and the joy shared by an entire country. “I remember the 2010 final perfectly… Now, the excitement is the same.”
Ecstasy in Cibeles with the champions: “Together we are stronger, long live Spain”
- Editorial: MARÍA SANTAMARÍA Madrid
The best images of the Spanish National Team World Cup celebration
- Editorial: EL MUNDO
A few meters ahead, Nico and Raúl were entering Cibeles, aware that they would have to wait “more than four hours” to see their idols. But they didn’t mind. “If I could say something to the players it would simply be thank you. Thank you for fulfilling the dream of an entire country. We don’t know when we will live something like this again, so we are going to enjoy the night until the last minute,” one of them replied with a smile.
As the hours passed, aerial images of the route where the bus with the world champions was passing showed the fervor with which society welcomed them. In Cibeles, past 7:30 p.m., there wasn’t room for a pin. One of those enthusiastic attendees was Michael, a Croatian who could not experience the celebration of the 2024 Eurocup in Spain.
He had to settle for celebrating La Roja’s victory in his home country, promising himself that next time they lifted a trophy he would be present. So today he showed up at Barajas, after paying a 400 euro ticket that had a stopover in Valencia. “I trusted from the beginning that we were going to win.”
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Some of those present brought construction ladders to be able to see both the concerts and the arrival of the players from afar. That was the case of Ibai, who arrived with one on his shoulder. “I wanted my six-year-old son to be able to see his idols”, he commented. The boy, excited, greeted the parade amid chants of “champions, champions.” Ibai was not the only one who used this technique. Throughout the entire route, the same scene repeated: dozens and dozens of ladders turned, for a day, into improvised boxes from which the little ones enjoyed a privileged view.
According to data from the Government Delegation, yesterday more than two million people took to the streets of the capital, exceeding 120,000 in Plaza de Cibeles. During the open-top bus route, Ferran Torres, the final’s goal scorer, was seen appearing shirtless, the same attitude as Marcos Llorente. Also Borja Iglesias, in charge of livening up the party acting as DJ at a mixing table, supported by the fullback Pedro Porro, microphone in hand. Together they dedicated “Happy Birthday” to their teammate Álex Baena, born on July 20, 2001. Along the way, some fans threw objects at them, mainly flags and small balls, although few reached their destination and ended up bouncing off the vehicle.
“We can’t move forward, we won’t see anything from here,” lamented a group of lagging youngsters, who chose to approach the epicenter of the celebration when the heat went down. Pablo, another teenager who didn’t want to miss this event, had been in Belgium during the last week, at a music festival. “I went with my Spanish flag, but I put it away on the second day since people talked to me about the final and it made me very nervous… I could hardly enjoy the festival,” he confessed with laughter.
Chance made him return to Spain exactly on the day of the final. His flight had a stopover in Alicante and from there he took a train to Madrid. At 8:23 p.m., he says, he arrived at Chamartín station. And with just enough time, he ran through the station while calling a taxi to get home and sit in front of the TV to “suffer like never before with football”. “Talking with the taxi driver, of course, about the match, he told me he didn’t plan to make any more trips. But, seeing that my destination was near where he lives, he decided to do me the favor of taking me. It’s a gesture I will always be grateful for,” he recalls.
With marked dark circles, Mario combined the Sunday victory celebration with his workday. And, despite having slept only a couple of hours, he showed up at Cibeles to continue the party. His favorite players, he assured, were Marc Pubill and Marcos Llorente. There was no need to ask which team he supports, as he wore a Spanish flag with the Atlético de Madrid crest around his neck. And he concluded to continue his spree: “Cheers to all of them. What they have done no other team will do, and I am sure that in 2030 the Cup will be ours again.”
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