Seville is a pretty long journey from Stratford. But it seems not too far for a group of West Ham fans who maintain their long-distance love affair with a former player who was instrumental in the Hammers’ trophy run of 2023, scoring that unforgettable semi final goal against AZ Alkmaar.
Reported in Spain today on abc.es complete with twitter video (below) is the story of Pablo Fornals’ surprise upon being greeted by a group of flag bearing West Ham fans at the Betis ground in Seville to support him – for the game against Celta Vigo last Sunday.
From the Spanish report:
“As the Hammers fans explained:’ He’s a hero. A West Ham legend,” suggested another of the fans. To which another follower replied:”He came to West Ham and scored one of the goals that we will remember forever. He took us to the final against Fiorentina and that’s why we love him.”
Pablo then posed for photos – a true Hammers legend. The only regret is that there was no on-camera rendition of ‘West Ham Are Massive’ for which the midfielder will always be remembered along with his tireless effort for The Irons. Would that we could bring him back.
Unos aficionados del West Ham viajaron expresamente al #RealBetisCelta para ver en directo a Fornals 🏴⚒
¡Y Pablo no dudo en acudir al encuentro! 🫂 pic.twitter.com/1BgqeSzZQD
— Real Betis Balompié 🌴💚 (@RealBetis) November 16, 2024
Whoever you are, top effort, Hammers fans! And the result was a 2-2 draw which sounds more entertaining that West Ham fans have gotten used to lately.