FIFA World Cup: Illness forces Spain's top fan and his drum home

Spain's number one soccer fan, "Manolo el del bombo", has had to return home after falling ill with flu and will miss the European champions' quarter-final against Paraguay on Saturday.  

With his huge black beret and dressed in the red and yellow of Spain, 61-year-old Manolo (real name Manuel Caceres) cheers the team and fans by beating out an incessant rhythm on his 'bombo' (drum) and is a veteran of eight World Cups. 

He has had to fly home, with his drum, for treatment but is determined to return should Spain reach the final on July 11, a spokesman for the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said. 

"I'll definitely be back, even if it costs me my life," Manolo was quoted as saying in Spain's El Mundo daily.