Scheduling a game for 8:30 pm on a Sunday in the middle of winter, in the Azores, and on the eve of the Christmas season, is not exactly inviting for fans to go to the São Miguel Stadium. Except for Francisco Esteves, the only Arouca supporter present at the meeting with Santa Clara. Of the 2029 spectators who were in the stands, everyone was supporting the home team, except one, the Arouca Wolf lonely. Being the only one supporting your team in a game is something you hardly forget, but being supported by all the members of your team is indescribable. After the final whistle, players, technical staff and other members of the Arouquense structure went to meet Francisco Esteves to greet him and thank him for his presence. Shortly afterwards, at the hotel, they got together for a photo and, last Monday, Tiago Esgaio, one of the captains, offered him, on behalf of the club, the latest Christmas shirt. «I thank the management of Arouca, it changed my life» Despite having made the plane trip to the continent, and another bus trip to the city of Porto, he was available to talk to the More football the day after the game. Despite the various shares, many people still do not know the fan in question: he is Francisco Esteves, a 24-year-old young man from Arouquá who lives with his parents in Vila Nova de Gaia, where he is taking a Hotel Management course. Like good loves, Francisco's passion for Arouca grew in his heart over the years. Nowadays, with the help of his parents, he goes to various parts of the country to support his club. In the 2024/25 season, the club's gesture of bringing him on the bus, with the team, from Faro to Arouca, and then heading to Gaia again with a ride, but this time with one of the players, also went viral. This season, on the eve of the Christmas season and the club's anniversary (Arouca was founded on December 24, 1952, under the name Ginásio Clube de Arouca), it was graced with moments of communion with the team. «When I saw them approaching me, I thought they were going to do the normal thing, clap. And clapping and recognizing that I went there made me happy, my work was done, they came to thank me. But when I see them getting closer, I notice that they want to greet me. I try my best not to start crying, because I was really... I never expected to cry with happiness, you know? I was really happy and every time I watch the video now, a part of me wants to cry and the other part is very happy», he confessed. Not only the moment itself, but also the media attention it generated, continues to leave Francisco Esteves amazed and happy: «A part of me believes that it happened, because I lived it, but another part of me doesn't believe it either. Seeing that I was recognized by the world and the many positive comments, because I ignore the negative ones. Unfortunately, I will never be an Arouca player, but, as a fan, I will go down in history, I hope.” For many people, football is much more than a sport. It's a state of mind, a way of living life. Francisco is one of those cases, dedicating himself body and soul to Arouca, whom he thanks for all the happiness the club has given him since childhood. «I'll be honest. Now I have them, but growing up I didn't have many friends. School was difficult because I went back and forth, I didn't talk to anyone and I stayed at home for a long time. I watched a lot of television, a lot of cartoons and superhero movies, and there was always that story about the little one, you know? And I was watching Arouca, when he moved up to the I Liga the first time... Such a small town, it seems like a superhero story and there is nothing better for me than the protagonist, who is Arouca, the superhero that no one believes in», he says. «Being president of the club? It’s a dream, it would be the best day of my life.” Of all the sharing that existed about the episode in the Azores, one of them, in Brazil, compared the case of Francisco to that of Tiago Rech, who More football highlighted in 2021. The latter sat alone in the stands to watch his Santa Cruz and, later, became president of the club and was champion for the same. Therefore, the question arose: is there the intention, the dream that, one day, Francisco could become president of Arouca? «It's a dream. If it happens, after supporting the club for so long, I don't know how to put this into words, but it would be the best day of my life", he replied, smiling, immediately expressing all his respect for the current management chaired for several years by Carlos Pinho, who deserves his "loyalty". In addition to the two stories told above, there is another one that was previously unknown. Francisco did Erasmus abroad, in 2023 and 2024, but even that didn't stop him from returning to Portugal and seeing his Arouca on the field. «Two seasons ago, Daniel Sousa was the coach. I did Erasmus and spent a week in Portugal, to spend Christmas with my parents. Arouca played in Amadora and I said to my mother: “Sorry, but I have to go to Amadora and see Arouca”. And I went. I was here for five days and, in two of them, because of travel, I was in Lisbon. I don’t regret it,” he confides. And despite the logistics and travel being demanding, taking up many hours, as well as the costs associated with all these crossings reported here, Francisco leaves a reflection that makes you think: «If I like it and I have this opportunity, why shouldn't I do it?» No matter where you play, at the end of each match the Arouca team will certainly receive the support of Francisco Esteves, alone or accompanied, in the visiting sector of any Portuguese stadium.