Andorra, a mission not impossible for the Granada illusion
Manu López, Antonio Barranco, Aidan Shearer or members of the Barcelona supporters club will be some of the red and white representatives in the principality
Granada will not be alone at the Estadi Nacional de Andorra this Sunday
It will not be the first official match that Granada has played outside of Spain. In fact, the eternal memory of the Europa League in the city of the Alhambra is still very recent. Even, it will not be the first time that the rojiblanco team visits Andorra. But, it will be the first opportunity for fans of current generations to see their team playing formally outside our borders.
Almost 1,000 kilometers from Granada is Andorra, the small country of about 80,000 inhabitants known for its valleys and ski resorts. However, tourism will not be the only incentive for the brave rojiblancos who are traveling to the principality this weekend. In the suitcase they hope to save the three points and head back with the fourth consecutive victory of Aitor Karanka’s team.
Manu López and his family are already in Barcelona. They landed on Thursday from Granada, so they also had time to visit Barcelona before setting the GPS heading north. A trip given because “we have the tradition that in summer, we organize vacations based on the first displacements of the Granada. To Ibiza was totally unfeasible, so we waited for the departure from Andorra. And, precisely, from the time of Tercera we talked among friends about seeing the team outside of Spain. It couldn’t be in the Europa League, so this will be the first time”.
“After all the victories, it is impossible not to be in high spirits. The market has been outstanding and, for now, the team has responded. The field is small and we will see how we adapt, but we are confident that we will take the three points. On paper, Granada must be superior to Andorra” affirms the follower.
Manu’s group will be joined in the next few hours by Antonio Barranco, his friend and fan who will shorten distances because his place of residence is the Spanish capital: “For me it’s not so chaotic, since I’ve lived in Madrid for fourteen years. Every time Granada plays in ‘Los Cármenes’ I go to the city and, now, Andorra is one of the trips that made me excited”, and adds that “it is a field that I don’t know if we will visit again. Hopefully, since that will mean we move up. And, it has the incentive of being the first displacement outside of Spain that we can attend to the fans”.
And if internationalities are the thing, in Andorra there will also be horizontal and Scottish red and white representation. Aidan Shearer, a young fan from the United Kingdom based in Granada, tells us that “I have always liked away games. From the moment that Andorra was promoted, I had already planned on making that trip”.
The Scot assures that “it will not be an easy game, Granada will also have to adapt to the field, and that could be an advantage for Andorra. In addition, it will be their first game at home, so the local fans will be very excited. Still, we have a strong team and Karanka is doing very well.”
But, trust that “we are going to win. It would be the finishing touch to the trip, in which I really want to visit both Barcelona and Andorra”.
Barcelona is the stopover point for Granada supporters on their journey, and how could it be otherwise, twenty members of the Granada supporters club from Barcelona will depart from there. Emilio Ruiz, its president, affirms that “it does not reach us to make an organized trip by bus, so we will go in our private vehicles. Some from Barcelona and others from Girona. When we get to Andorra, we want all the rojiblancos to get together and create a nice preview around the stadium”.
“We are very excited. The start of the team is being unbeatable, the squad has been put together in a very balanced way and I think we are too high, although I like to be with our feet on the ground” Emilio expresses with optimism.
09/02/2022 | Fran Calvo / GRANADA
The capacity of the Nuevo Los Cármenes would be increased by some 2,100 more seats
09/02/2022 | Fran Calvo / GRANADA
The most optimistic forecasts from the club pointed to 15,000, a figure that is close to being reached