ERR in the US: Spain fans travel far and wide to see World Cup victory

Spanish fans on both sides of the Atlantic have been celebrating the team's World Cup win on Sunday, with many making the journey to the United States to watch the final in person.
After beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time, a scoreline which did not really reflect the disparity between the two sides' apparent approach to the night in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Spain's team lifted the coveted FIFA World Cup trophy for the first time since 2010.
This makes Spain both reigning world and European champions, and for those fans who made it over to the U.S. for the final, Sunday's partying lasted well into the night.
ERR visited New York's famous Times Square, lit up this time in the red-yellow national colors as revelers congregated.
"My family's Spanish and I live in NY so to just be able to see the team, the team win here in my city is just incredible. I've seen the support - crazy," said one fan, Gabby.
"I've been 16 years waiting and I'm very proud of Spain, very proud of our team and all of this community, all the Spanish came together," added another, Luis.
For Susan and Richard, winning the World Cup again meant a great deal, and they had been on the spot both times.
"We've managed to do it twice in 16 years, which is fantastic. We were there the last time as well, in South Africa. We spent our honeymoon there in 2010, and at the same time Spain also won the World Cup," they explained.

However, seeing the final with their own eyes meant a significant financial outlay for many. Tickets, flights and accommodation in many cases amounted to tens of thousands of euros, along with spending money on the day and reportedly exorbitant refreshment prices in-stadium.
Susan and Richard themselves racked up a €20,000 bill for the trip – they had brought their three children too. "It's expensive, but it's worth it. An opportunity like this only comes once in a lifetime," the pair noted.
The weather also put some fans' patience to the test. The day before the final, severe thunderstorms hit the area, an issue which had affected many of the matches through the tournament.
For the big night this caused numerous flight cancellations and even put some supporters' chances of reaching the final in jeopardy.
"Our flight was supposed to come in yesterday but it got canceled so we had to fly out to Albany instead," said Gabriel and Natalie, just managing to get their words out before a good-natured Spanish fan interrupted to announce his search for Argentina's Lionel Messi.
Sunday's final was likely the star's last big international match, and things didn't go so well for him and his team. Midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a second yellow, and the reigning champions had not had a single shot on goal even late on in regular time – the figure for Spain, who also dominated possession, was in double figures by then. After the winning goal from substitute Ferran Torres, Spain held on against 10-man Argentina to the final whistle, though ugly scenes followed with a brawl which is now to be the subject of a FIFA investigation.
These issues paled into insignificance late on Sunday, however, as Times Square was filled with singing and dancing, by which point it was almost getting-up time back in Spain in any case.
"It's about five in the morning in Spain right now. I'm sure there's a huge party going on there and people will be out on the streets until morning," Luis noted.
Tallinn too hosted a World Cup party of sorts – the City of Tallinn put up a large screen in Freedom Square for fans to watch, and this drew a large crowd.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Märten Hallismaa
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'











