Mataró: player Lamine Yamal's hometown celebrates Spain's victory in Euro 2024
Thousands of fans support footballer, who turned 17 years old on Saturday
From the postal code '304' to the Berlin Olympic Stadium. One of the Euro 2024 stars was footballer Lamine Yamal, a player for Spain and FC Barcelona, who was raised in Mataró, north of the Catalan capital.
Doing the 3-0-4 symbol with his hands while celebrating some feats, or even carrying the Mataró flag (blue with a red cross) during the victory celebration, these were just some of the different symbols Yamal showed from his roots.
And while Yamal celebrated the victory in Berlin, over 5,000 Mataró residents enjoyed Spain beating England 2-1 and winning the fourth Euro championship in the Parc Central, where a large screen was installed to watch the game.
During the night, a large Yamal poster served as a photocall, and family members made a video call with attendees ahead of the game. Many residents of the Rocafonda neighborhood have praised "the honor" of being neighbors with Yamal.
"This game is the most special one as it impacts us directly," Fernando, a young Mataró resident, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) on Sunday night. He went to watch the game with two friends.
An all-female group highlighted that it was "a huge honor" that a player such as Yamal "has succeeded this much," and it is "the honor of a country," Aynara said.
Lamine Yamal just turned 17 years old on Saturday, the day before the final.
"Lamin is very good," Martín, a young fan, said.
"For me, it is an honor to be able to see someone I had so close take this center role at the Euro 2024," Azhar told ACN while wearing a Spain's football team t-shirt with the number 19 printed, Yamal's number.
In fact, Azhar had already met the footballer as he was a colleague on his brother's football team. "Years ago, you could already see that the way he was playing football was something other children could not do," he said.
The Mataró mayor, David Bote, celebrated the around 5,000 people gathered in the park to watch the game, "it is a way to accompany Lamine and his love for the Rocafonda neighborhood," he told ACN.
"Rocafonda is a complex neighborhood, but on Sunday, it also proved that the residents there have talent, and a lot of people want to push forward and keep growing," Bote said.