He is a math teacher in the Netherlands and loves Argentinian football: he has visited more than 40 stadiums in the country and dreams of starting a special company.

He walks with a tossed beer chop in his hand through the halls of a Rosario bar which is a few blocks from Newell’s field. He wears the starting shirt that the Argentinian team used during the World Cup in Qatar, with the print of Nicolás Tagliafico and the number 3 on the back. TV screens show a live match between Tigre and River. This stranger is waiting for the transmission he is pushing for Victoria’s team. Where does this character come from? He is Brooijmans arm, a Dutch math teacher who frequently travels to Argentina to visit stadiums. His story is worth telling.

Today Bras is 56 years old, but it was at the age of 11 that he amazed the Argentinian fans. Specifically, in that 1978 World Cup final between the Albiceleste and the Netherlands at the River Plate Stadium: “I remember that game, the players, the little pieces of paper people were throwing. Wow, how cute, how beautiful. From there, my dream was to come to Argentina”. Although he had not studied Spanish, this supporter of Willem II in his country made himself perfectly understood. He won the gymnastics with the tongue because it is the fifteenth time he has traveled to Argentina. And he pulls out his chest for the record of having attended more than 70 matches on around forty different grounds. But it’s worth more.

I get a list with the 112 clubs directly affiliated with the AFA and he notes everyone as he goes to his stadium to watch a match. The majority are from the federal capital and the province of Buenos Aires, although its borders have already extended to Rosario and it intends to go further in its next excursions. visited on Colossus Marcelo Bielsa and the Little Stream Giantbut the last raid included Ascent grounds like Atlanta, General Lamadrid and San Telmo, one of his favorites in the minor categories (along with Berazategui, for the Dutch orange color, and Victoriano Arenas, due to the peculiarity of the location of its stadium located in Valentin Alsina).

“I’m a high school math teacher. I teach students from 12 to 16 years old. It’s a bit boring, but I have twelve weeks of vacation a year. I come to Argentina whenever I have free time, at work they already know my fanaticism”says Bras, who even dressed the classroom where he teaches in light blue and white to show his passion. At the ’98 World Cup in France, he was a force for the Netherlands in the quarter-finals against Argentina, but the final turning point came when he traveled to South American soil. in 2008 for the first time. He went around Patagonia, went to the Falls, went through Mendoza and Salta. But one of the things that amazed him the most was the Superclásico he saw in Mar del Plata.

He didn’t celebrate the violence, but he was shocked by the constant skirmishes between River and Boca fans on the beaches, streets, and even within the Millionaires’ Stand over internal issues: “Incredible, it was a friendly game and there were 20,000 supporters from each team. Now I want to go back to this stadium (José María Minella) but to see an Aldosivi game”. Bras is not captivated by the big Argentinians, he rather leans for the minorities. East old school, escapes modernization and opts for the classic. He comes to enjoy a few wooden stalls and marvels at the neighborhoods of the humblest clubs.

“I go to court alone. By bus, train or metro, without a taxi. I like accompanying people on buses and discovering neighborhoods, even if I know that some of them are dangerous. I like meeting people, barrabravas and stadiums. I always buy a popular ticket, the only booth I bought was at Claypole”is another of the details of this Dutchman from Tilburg, who was amazed by the unpaved streets around the Florencio Varela stadium, but has his favorite places: that of Gimnasia La Plata, which he visited during a match when Diego Maradona was DT of him Lobothat of Estudiantes de La Plata, to which he has access to the VIP area thanks to a friendship from La Plata, and that of Huracán.

He also has favorites in the inflated category: Tigerdue to the similarity of his stadium structure and similar shirt colors to Willem II, pica en punta. Saint Laurent He continues: “Everyone says they’re from Boca or River, they’re boring. In Argentina, there are many more than these two”. Bras came to sympathize with Central tents when he was on the rise. In fact, he got to know his stadium during the season in which he was promoted from B Metropolitan to B Nacional. But when he learned of his rise in category and the link of the chiki Tapia with the club, leaning towards the others.

Not all Argentinian teams are encouraged by this Dutchman, because he is not afraid to post his blacklist: “I don’t like Temperley and All Boys, because when I went there, they didn’t let only members in, but there were no fans in the pits! I also don’t like Platense, because during an Argentinian Cup game at Estudiantes de Caseros, six people came to try to take my cell phone because I was taking pictures. Besides, it’s classic Tiger, ha.”

A decade has passed since that Boca-Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy he saw at La Bombonera in 2008 before returning to Argentina. As of 2018, he pledged to save money and come back whenever his work schedule allowed. Every time he steps on Ezeiza, he feels at home. Even the theft of his mobile phone at Christmas – by a motorbike – did not prevent him from realizing his life project. Nor the low footballing level that local football matches can have, since he also loves folklore, the spectacle of supporters and gastronomy. The only point against him is that he can’t drink beer in stadiums, which he is used to in the Netherlands.

“What surprises me the most is the number of women and babies who go before the Argentinian courts. In the Netherlands you hardly see them. Moreover, here everyone comes with their team jersey, there the hooligans wear black. I also don’t like Dutch fans wearing orange at World Cups. If they don’t do it to see their teams, why do they dress like that at the World Cup? They look ridiculous with these carrots popping out of their heads,” questioned the mannerisms of fans from their own homeland.

In 2019, he invited a friend from Argentina who was an Independiente fan who had helped him to a Recopa Sudamericana game against Gremio the year before. Valentin organized the meeting with Nicholas Tagliafico, who at the time was preparing to face the Dutch Cup final for Ajax against Willem II. Bras was delighted with the left side: “He was very nice. In the Netherlands, Argentinians are considered fiery, they are straight red, they are different. Tagliafico was the fire on the pitch. When I bought the Argentina national team jersey, I thought about stamping it with De Paul’s 7 or Di María’s 11. Everyone wears Messi’s 10, but I opted for the Tagliafico. It was difficult for me to get it in stores, but I did it”.

¿Messi or Maradona? The numbers expert plunges into a debate that seems eternal: “It’s very difficult. Maradona is historic, because of him, not just football. Cigars, drugs, he’s a great character. And very friendly, we saw him always smiling. I like. I like it because he went from Barcelona to Napoli, which had no money or power. He led him to glory. Messi has always played in good teams and with money. I do not like it. I choose Maradona”.

In 2010, he invested a fortune to travel to South Africa and attend the world final between the Netherlands and Spain. He could have spent a few dollars on tickets to Qatar 2022, but he didn’t hesitate for a second to fly to Argentina to watch the world final against France in a bar with fans. albicelestes. “I saw the game against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals alone at home, as an Argentinian. I feel like that, more fanatical and passionate than the Dutch, who are boring”he shouts. He watched the final at a San Telmo bar in his retro Argentinian shirt and joined the white and light blue mass that filled the obelisk to shout champion.

Today, Bras has returned to his duties in Tilburg, although he plans to return to Argentina in October and settle for at least eight months. His plan is to rent an apartment, improve his Spanish and take advantage of the many contacts he has made at each of the grounds he has visited to promote visits and excursions to football matches for foreign supporters visiting the the country. In addition, he does not rule out filing permanently if all goes well: “My heart is more Argentinian than Dutch. I love Argentina. I just need the ID”.

Continue reading: