Rob Boulton tells the memorable story of the Udinese fan who travelled away to Sampdoria by himself.

The lone ranger.

By Rob Boulton

It’s universally appreciated that away supporters are the hardest of hardcore, travelling all over following their beloved side wherever they shall play. Now you would think for this incredible show of support and dedication they may be treated with some degree of respect, however more often than not they’re charged a fortune for the privilege, shunted into some obscure corner of the ground with an awful view, provided with minimal facilities to get a pie and pint and then subjected to 90 minutes of utter hatred by the home supporters.

Spare a thought then for Udinese fan Arrigo Brovedani who arrived at Sampdoria on Monday night to watch his team secure an impressive 2-0 victory; he had the whole away end to himself! Yes incredibly not one other single Udinese fan turned up for the game, so Arrigo cheered the team on alone with captain Antonio Di Natale even mockingly asking him to come and warm up with the team after he’d shouted out “Come on Udinese”!!

Udinese are one of Calcio’s smallest teams and would usually only take around 50-60 away supporters to games, so Mr Brovedani wasn’t expecting much but had hoped maybe a handful of others might share his passion and show their love for the team. Being a four hour drive away from Friuli (where Udinese are based), and with the weather showing its winter teeth, you can understand why the eight hour round trip was a bit much for even the most hardy supporter. Fortunately, being in Genoa on business, Arrigo had the perfect excuse to see his heroes play and, unwittingly, by doing so he’s now made himself a national hero.

After initially being booed by the Sampdoria supporters, they then turned sympathetic and offered him coffee and asked him to join them for a meal after the game. The Sampdoria directors presented him with a shirt and the Udinese team quite rightly dedicated their victory to him – he’s been invited to attend the home game against Palermo on Saturday.

Your football team takes you to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but every now and then they also provide something magical and unexpected in your life – and this is definitely one of those moments.

Would you ever go to great lengths to see your team? Tweet us @talkingbaws or comment below.