By Football has grown to become a game of passion, a game of strong bond between fans and their clubs. This assertion comes to play as Spanish football club, Valencia have honored one of their most avid supporters by erecting a statue in the seat he sat at in their home ground, the Mestalla Stadium.
Vicente Navarro Aparicio was Valencia CF member No.18 who watched every home game at the Mestalla while also travelling to away games.
He turned blind due to a detached retina at age 54, a setback that many concluded would impede him from attending Valencia games. However, Aparicio’s blindness only got him closer to the club as he attended every game at the Mestalla till he passed on.
He witnessed their 1967 Copa del Generalisimo – now the Copa del Rey – final win over Athletic Bilbao.
Vicente continued to attend with his son to feel the atmosphere and would follow the game by having events on the field described to him.
He passed away two years ago and the club, have honored him by putting a statue of him in his seat, a bronze figure that sits in seat 164 of row 15 in the Tribuna Central section.
Modern technology has enabled more blind fans to still enjoy attending football matches. Ian Wood, a Liverpool supporter who has been blind since the age of five, watches his beloved Reds play using a £600 vision helmet.
It works by enhancing the images from a high-definition camera and playing them on a screen held over Ian’a eyes.
Who was Vincente Navarro?
Vicente Navarro Aparicio was born on March 22, 1928, in the Cabanyal neighborhood of Valencia.
He became a member of Valencia CF in 1948 and continued to attend games even after going blind in 1982; his son Vicente narrated the games to him and he continued to be a partner until his death in 2016.
Valencia CF awarded him the Gold Badge and was the protagonist of up to 3 tributes from different presidents of the sports entity.
