Nacho inaugurates NAF (Nacho Alex Fernandez) Academy

Yesterday I went to Alcala de Henares (Madrid) to take pictures of one of my friend’s kids playing football. It just so happened to be the same day of inauguration of the academy. I actually just had planned to go for my friend’s kid but ended up taking some pictures for Madridismo when I saw all the events at hand. The academy was setup by Nacho and Alex Fernandez and family. The mayor came to make the presentation and a priest even blessed the field with holy water. I actually got a chance to talk to Nacho’s father who was really nice. From what my friend tells me they are a really active family in helping others and contributing to good causes. Nacho has a great memory because he remembered us from when Gaëlle used to interview him in the ‘mixed zone’ after matches at the DI Stefano stadium when he was with Castilla. (Unfortunately we don’t have time to go to Castilla matches anymore!) Alex was actually the chattiest one back at Castilla, he spoke after every match, kind of like Pepe and Ramos do with the first team. Alex is currently on loan to a Croatian club, HNK Rijeka. To evade any privacy issues I can’t really post any clear photos of the kids. It’s a shame because I have a ton of adorable shots of the children playing. We also recorded some video but opted not to use it for the same reason. There’s a picture here of one of the coaches who actually trained Alex and Nacho when they were growing up.