The 13-year-old from Girona is in charge of transmitting his strength and spirit of improvement to the rojiblanco team, accompanying him everywhere he can
Despite the hustle and bustle of having to get around in a wheelchair, because he suffered from cerebral palsy from birth, Oriol Riera Tudela is Girona’s number 1 fan
The debut in the First Division in the 2017-18 season was the trigger for the growth of Girona’s social mass. Among the thousands of new fans, there was a very special one and for many, they also think so in the team, he is number one. Or at least, the most faithful. The unconditional fan. This is Oriol Riera Tudela (Girona, 05/21/2009). He is always in the front row to send all his energy to the squad with the power of the hug. “For me Girona is like a brother & rdquor ;, he assures.
No detail of Míchel’s team is lost: follow the day-to-day news, the press conferences, the matches in Montilivi, etc. And since last year he has been encouraged to accompany them on their journeys despite the hustle and bustle that this entails for both him and his mother, Núria Tudela Martínez. Oriol, who is 13 years old, has been in a wheelchair since he was four because he suffered from cerebral palsy from birth.
It costs more to travel with the chair, which, by the way, is new and Oriol wanted it to be in the colors of Girona. He still needs “tweaks & rdquor ;: soon, he will tune it up with the shield on the wheels and the number 8 in honor of the number that Míchel wore when he was a Rayo Vallecano player. “The price may not be so much the problem, but it does mean losing a lot of time. We must organize and plan everything very well. If we must depend on how long the schedules take to come out, we can be fair. To go to Bilbao, for example, we decided to gamble and we already had the tickets since October. Luckily, everything turned out well& rdquor ;, explains Núria. The mother continues:Our family trips are turning into accompanying Girona outside. Seeing what he enjoys and how much fun he has is priceless. Apart from the fact that the club’s response to him is excellent. I really appreciate it, really.” Next week they will be in Vallecas. “Míchel told me that I can’t miss this match for the world,” exclaims Oriol.
The bond he has created with Girona is strengthened year after year, turning the rojiblanco team into his driving force. Felipe Sanchón was the first to give him the shirt from a collection “of incalculable sentimental value” in which Viktor Tsygankov has recently been added. “We have a museum at home. When we enter the store, I have to stop it because otherwise…”, Núria alerts. “I would buy everything & rdquor ;, he confirms. During the interview, Oriol proudly shows everything he has been collecting: Juan Carlos’s gloves, Pablo Maffeo’s boots, Machín’s hat, Stuani, Baena, Ureña, Míchel, Aday, Juanpe, Taty Castellanos shirts and a long etc.
Gifts are reciprocal: “I made the coach a bracelet, which he always wears, and it gives him luck. he has told me. What I like the most about Míchel and what makes me laugh is that when we lose or the players do badly, he takes a (plastic) water bottle and bursts it. I always ask him how many he has broken… (Laughs). Although he told me that this had to be controlled, but his wife, Lara, has already told me that at home he is calmer & rdquor ;. About the “lucky bracelets & rdquor; there is another anecdote: “I make many for him so that he has a spare if they break and when he runs out, he lets me know. If not, she steals Lara that she also has & rdquor ;. Last September, Oriol underwent hip surgery and since “he couldn’t leave the house& rdquor; the Girona coach paid him a visit. “He was very excited. Míchel is a very good person and very close,” says Núria.
Another member of the squad with whom Oriol has a very good relationship, apart from his “friend& rdquor; Juan Carlos, it’s Stuani. He has even been able to interview the Uruguayan striker for an institute project that he is doing about Girona. “Stuani had a conversation with the head of security, Òscar Orozco, so that I could be in the front row when the players left the stadium. Before, we waited for each other outside in the parking lot, but now we can be inside. I encourage you whether you win or lose, play against Barça, Madrid, Athletic, Almería or whatever rival it is, rain or cold. They ask me for hugs because that’s how they also have my strength,” says Oriol. The “happiest day & rdquor; what do you remember was the one of the ascent in Tenerife.
The limitations in the stadiums
Oriol takes the opportunity to claim his rights as a fan. And it is that when traveling, as he is in a wheelchair, he cannot be with the rest of the rojiblancos fans in the visiting area. In the First Division, there are very few stadiums that have space for people with reduced mobility where their rivals are located. Neither Santiago Bernabéu, which is being remodeled, nor Cívitas Metropolitano, nor RCDE Stadium, nor La Cerámica… None of them has an elevator to access the visitor area that is higher. “It annoys me a lot not being able to go with the rest of the fans to travel. In many fields I find that I cannot enter with the Girona merchandising: They take off my scarf, my cap…, and now because it’s winter and you can’t see my shirt with my jacket. I can’t cheer on my team like anyone else would. The experience is not one hundred percent. Apart from the fact that I also have to restrain myself when it comes to cheering or celebrating a goal & rdquor ;, she laments. But the most important thing is that the team knows very well that Oriol, wherever he is from, is always present and will always cheer him on.