Who would of thought a few years ago how a team from Spain would make such an Impression in my life.
No not Barcelona or Real Madrid but a little team called Real Oviedo.
Over a year ago I bought shares in Real Oviedo to help them out without thinking anything of it. A couple of weeks ago I made my first visit to Oviedo to watch my first game and it was the best few euros I've every spent when I purchased them shares. I would advise people to ignore Southern Spain and go to Northern Spain, to Asturias. Even if it's solely for the football, ham & of course the Cider.
The People are amazing and cannot do enough for you. Like the guys at the ROST (Real Oviedo Supporters Trust) and everyone connected to them & the club itself. The people were so lovely even though we didn't speak any Spanish. It's one of the few places that we felt instantly at home. Even got a round of applause from the Real Oviedo Ultras while leaving the stadium, which made our visit even more spectacular.
We've made so many new friends while we were there & also finally met people who we've been chatting to on twitter. Sadly my Spanish was non existent as I never did any at school. Yet whilst waiting for the bus to the airport home, we were looking at dates for when we'd be back (and we will be).
While I was there I noticed so many similarities with my own team Oldham Athletic were noticeable -
1) The weather, just like Oldham.... It rains. Not the horizontal rain we get in Oldham we did seem to have a bit more sun than most when we visited Oviedo.
2) Surroundings - Oviedo is surrounded by lots of hills and even some spectacular mountains near by, Oldham surrounded by the Pennines & beautiful places like Dovestones reservoir.
3) Way back in 2006 a Spanish striker called Diego Cervero had a trial at Oldham. He played in a couple of friendly games. Sadly the move never happened, but he still became a cult hero with a few latics fans partly due to his sideburns. Diego returned to his club Oviedo & is currently still there, sadly I didn't get to see him score.
4) Real Oviedo & Oldham Athletic both spent time in the top flight. Both have been out of the top flight for 13+ years.
5) Finances - Real Oviedo virtually went bust in the 2012-13 season but thankfully to a share campaign which was highlighted by Sid Lowe and former players like Michu, Santi Carzorla & Juan Mata, the target was met & the club was saved.
Similar Oldham who in 2004 were within hours of going bust but thankfully for Latics, 3 British business men based in America came in to save the club.
6) Team colours - thankfully Oviedo are Blue just like Oldham, no way I could ever support a team in red. They have an orange away kit, we had a tangerine kit.
7) Oviedo's famous and beautiful ham is a delight to taste, sadly we just have OLD-HAM.
8) Both clubs have the current youngest managers in their leagues, Lee Johnson (age 32), Roberto Robles (age 26)
9) Oviedo has streets that are dedicated to wine or cider. Oldham has Yorkshire Street which is dedicated to piss heads on Friday and Saturday night.
8) Both clubs have the current youngest managers in their leagues, Lee Johnson (age 32), Roberto Robles (age 26)
9) Oviedo has streets that are dedicated to wine or cider. Oldham has Yorkshire Street which is dedicated to piss heads on Friday and Saturday night.
So go and visit Oviedo, it won't let you down.
