Spanish Fan Club?

So, as I write this, I'm actually on my flight home from Spain; Mallorca to be specific, after two weeks of being incredibly intoxicated, finding common ground with Spanish taxi drivers by shouting 'Rafa Benitez' at them, followed by 'Ayoze Perez' and 'Jesus Gamez'. At some stage, we'd eventually get onto talk of Newcastle - with those who had good English skills anyway! One thing became extremely clear to me whilst out here: NUFC has gained some serious attention over here in 2016, with a lot of love for our wonderful gaffer, in particular. I even spoke to a Real Madrid fan who told me he wishes Benitez was still in charge at the Bernabeu, which gives further clarification (if we needed it) to just how highly regarded Benitez is in his homeland. I then proceeded to tell him the story of Luka Modric and how he should have been a Newcastle player, which he didn't believe. One thing which is also very clear for football fans out here, is the respect that Jesus Gamez has gained in his footballing career. He is hugely admired despite not having a full international career with Spain. It came across to me that many felt he was good enough, but wasn't given that chance. Perhaps though, had he been given the international platform, he wouldn't be joining NUFC this Summer; so for that, I'm thankful. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Ayoze Perez was the lesser known of the 3 Spaniards I've spoken with nationals about. That's expected, considering he played his football in the Segunda before moving to Newcastle. One Spaniard I spoke to knew of him scoring a hat-trick against Mallorca whilst playing for Tenerife; although that was the extent of his knowledge. I'm sure in years to come, Ayoze Perez will become a much more recognised player in Spain, hopefully gaining that recognition here at Newcastle. We all know there's nobody better to provide the platform for Perez than Rafa Benitez. Now, one final thing that I must speak of, is the NUFC legend who is Mallorca born and raised - a legend by the name of 'Xisco'! He was brought up in conversation by a local and he told me he thought Newcastle didn't give the player enough of a chance - a fair comment, given he played only 9 games and was brought in without Keegan's knowledge. However, ever since he has been playing his football in the Segunda, so perhaps he was never really cut out for Premier League football.

There is a growing awareness of Newcastle United Football Club, mainly because of Rafa Benitez and it'll be interesting to see how much that increases with the success he hopefully brings to the football club. Thanks for reading. For all stuff NUFC you can find me on Twitter at @kierancarr_

So, there is a growing awareness of Newcastle because of Rafa Benitez and it'll be interesting to see how much that increases with the success he brings to the football club. Thanks for reading. For all stuff NUFC you can find me on Twitter at @kierancarr_