My Leeds United - Madrid culture is special but it's not Leeds

Joe Brennan lives in Madrid, teaching English and writing about football.

“Eight months ago, I left Beeston, my home for 23 years and moved to Madrid.

This simple sentence will no doubt elicit a jealous smirk, an eye roll and the muttering of the words ‘jammy sod’.

I don’t blame you, it’s 22 degrees here and the little bowl of olives has just arrived with my beer.

But it’s not Leeds and there is no Leeds United.

Although I love Spanish culture and football, there’s something about not being at Elland Road that even the most expensive, warm, popcorn-filled – yes, people eat popcorn at football – experience Spain cannot give me.

I missed Luke Ayling’s goal against Huddersfield as the legitimate streaming website I had found on page 23 of a Google search let me down.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a goal notification as much as anyone, but when they come 45 seconds before actually seeing the grainy picture behind the rude adverts, it does start to grind a little.

My sadness obviously stems from missing out on seeing live the success of the squad, but also the match-day experience: morning drinking, greasy burgers, screaming for needless throw-ins; all things that I regrettably took for granted and now miss more than my dog.

I found a bar that served Fosters at 5€ a pint and bought two, such was my desperation in wanting to have a taste of Elland Road; the only shame was that it was perfectly poured and not flat enough to replicate the true taste of the concourse.

That brings me on to the fans. As much as I am preaching to the choir, Leeds fans genuinely are unique: we have existed as an undying entity, surviving through the worst and somehow coming out of the other side more united.

The football the team plays reflects the childish sense of fun that we are famous for expressing; rousing, cut-throat songs at Elland Road flow every Saturday, the stadium existing proudly in juxtaposition to the innumerable comatose bowls everywhere else.

You may find this piece upsetting, moving, or just outright terrible, but I’d like to think it reflects a story of the thousands who have got a lot more experience at finding innovative internet streams than I do.

The videos of our fans in Melbourne celebrating the goals at Hull was a reminder that you can love Leeds from afar; football can still give you the joy it does at home and that, perhaps most importantly, the flags are definitely still being flown in honour of the Whites.

But treasure it, bloody treasure it, because even though I’m here and we, as worldwide Leeds fans are not, we wish we were there to celebrate the season.

Marcelo Bielsa has taken Leeds to new heights and whether we leave this damned division or not is always going to be in second place, sat forever behind the fact that the fans make Leeds United and it is brilliant to be one, all over the world.