20: I identify with them so much, it's a connection much more than football. - Alberto Doblaré, Zaragoza, Spain - FC Union Berlin, Germany

Far Away Fan

Alberto Doblaré is from Zaragoza, Spain and is a fan of FC Union Berlin, Germany
Alberto has lived in Berlin for a few years. One day a colleague told him they should check out a game of this club in the second division. The experience was something he had was looking for in the city.
He moved back to Zaragoza and promised himself to start a Twitter account in Spanish, dedicated to the team if they came to the First Division. His handle is @fcunion_es, he doesn’t just discuss football but also the history and context around it. He puts up some amazing threads and has fantastic interactions with people around the world.

He has been a lifelong Zaragosa and Barcelona Fan, but in the last few years, he felt his passion change. Union Berlin helped him reconnect with football.
He is part of a Union Berlin podcast in Spanish, with a fellow fan Julio originally from Brazil and now lives in Amsterdam. They talk about Berlin and about fan-owned clubs.

He gave me a bit of the history of Union Berlin, and how they were rebels of the system in East Germany, what the club now represents and more importantly why the fans are so protective and proud of the club and its achievements.
Their historical rivals are Dynamo Berlin but today it would be RB Leipzig, both for very different reasons.
Malick Sonogo is a young player Alberto is hoping to see more of. We discuss the expectations for a club like Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.
Alberto told me about his favourite matchday experiences, one in particular with Irish fans at the Euro cup is extremely heartwarming. He likes to collect football scarves, he calls them a diary, each associated with a particular memory or person.
He spoke to me about his family and how he finds it funny that his parents are now watching Union Berlin. And a very romantic story of why Berlin is so important to him.

I finally ask him what being a Union Berlin fan has brought to his life and what it means to him
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