Aside from his skills on the court, the first-year guard is known for two things: his nickname and his love for the Gunners
Dario Brizuela, Barcelona: ‘I’m a die-hard fan of Arsenal’
Interviews
5 Mins read
FC Barcelona’s Dario Brizuela is not your typical basketball player. Born in the Basque city of San Sebastian and having spent his whole life in Spain, the 29-year-old has a love away from the hardwood that could come as a surprise to some – he is a huge fan of Arsenal FC.
Brizuela is understandably busy during the basketball season and therefore cannot attend as many Arsenal games as he might like, yet he makes sure to follow the Gunners whenever he can and often voices his thoughts on Twitter, especially after big wins against the club’s rivals. But how did Brizuela’s Arsenal fandom begin?
“I’m a die-hard fan of Arsenal,” Brizuela tells Euroleague.net’s Geoff Gillingham. “[It’s] a long story as to why I’ve been an Arsenal fan for like 15 years. In my city [San Sebastian], there’s a big football team – Real Sociedad – and I didn’t want to be like the rest of my friends who are Real Sociedad fans.
“I decided to be an Arsenal fan because I love English football, then I started following it and now I have a 25+ shirt collection at home. I went there to watch some games, I went to watch some finals, FA Cup finals and stuff like that, and I love it, I just love it.”
There are over 900 kilometers separating Brizuela’s hometown of San Sebastian and London, the city Arsenal plays in, but the Spanish guard speaks with such passion about the Gunners that it’s like he was born in borough of Islington. Curiously, several Arsenal players have switched north London for Barcelona over the years, and now Brizuela lines up in the Blaugrana’s colors, albeit at Palau Blaugrana and not at Camp Nou.
One person who has Barcelona DNA but has found a home at Arsenal is Mikel Arteta, a former midfielder for the club who is now in his fifth season as head coach. Like Brizuela, he is also from San Sebastian and has helped bring through a new crop of players, who have really captured the Barcelona guard’s attention.
“My favorite football player and the main reason why I’m an Arsenal fan was Thierry Henry, who played in Barcelona after that, then Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie,” he explains. “I think I fell in love with those players and the style of play of Arsene Wenger. It was quite similar to Barcelona’s playing style.
“After that, all those guys went to Barcelona – Henry, Cesc – but I stayed true to my colors. Now I’m a big fan of the new guys: [Bukayo] Saka, [Martin] Odegaard, [Gabriel] Martinelli...”
Frustratingly for Brizuela, though, he never got the chance to see his idol, Henry, suit up for the Gunners before his move to Barcelona in 2007, nor on his brief return to Arsenal on loan in 2012. He did, however, fall in love with a player who made the reverse switch from Barcelona to Arsenal.
“The first game that I went to see, I think, was in 2016 in England and he was retired,” he laments. “But the player I most liked to watch live was Alexis Sanchez. For me he was a tremendous player, incredible.”
Like many football-crazy people, Brizuela has gone back and checked out footage of the club’s best-ever moments. For the Spaniard, there’s one season that immediately stands out – Arsenal’s 2003-04 Premier League campaign, when they went the whole season unbeaten and won the title, earning the ‘Invincibles’ tag.
“The Invincibles, it’s got to be the Invincibles,” Brizuela replies to a question about his favorite-ever season. “I was quite young in that era, but it’s remarkable. It’s not been broken, that record. I wish I was older in that time to enjoy more football because I knew nothing yet.
“Last season was quite fun, too. It was hard at the end because they finished second, but I was telling all my friends and all the people who know that I’m an Arsenal fan. They were telling me, ‘You are first. Do you feel the pressure?’ All this kind of stuff, you know? I was telling them, ‘No. Finally, we are enjoying every game, we are not suffering in every game.’
“For me, for example, I’m going to the couch to watch the football match and I enjoy the 90 minutes. That’s all I want: to see the guys play, to enjoy the game, see them play the way they play, and that’s it.”
Brizuela was playing in Spanish League action on Sunday evening and therefore missed Arsenal’s 3-2 win in the north London derby at archrival Tottenham Hotspur FC, but he will no doubt have caught up on the game once he got some down time later that night.
This Tuesday evening, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague rookie will be looking to get his first minutes in Barcelona’s series against Olympiacos Piraeus as the action switches to Greece for Games 3 and 4.