Sports
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.
Updated : Sep 28, 2017, 09:09 PM IST
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.