MADRID, Spain — Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid in their second-leg UEFA Champions League semi-final contest was indeed the main attraction at the Vicente Calderon yesterday, but Jamaica’s contingent of Heineken “Champion Di Match” winners stole some of the spotlight, outside and inside the venue.

Draped in their Jamaica-branded T-shirts and the black, green and gold flag, the group, while traversing a sea of red and white which flooded the streets of Madrid, were consistently greeted with shouts of “Usain Bolt” and “Marijuana” — two of Jamaica’s famous exports.While inside the packed, 54,907-capacity stadium, the Jamaican visitors shared in the passion of the locals, as they indulged in the riveting contest viewed from fitting seats just a few rows up from the field.The consistent “ooohs” and “awwws”, complemented by loud shouts from disgruntled fans with every play called against the home team and the constant chorus of thousands, gave the Jamaican group a hearty slice of the Spanish culture in this once in a lifetime experience of watching some of the world’s finest players in live action.However, despite the result, it was a little area of black and white representing the Real Madrid supporters, which was left celebrating at the end of the 90 minutes ,as their team progressed to another Champions League final with a 4-2 aggregate win. They are set to face Italian Club Juventus in the final set for Cardiff, Wales, on June 3.The Jamaicans, basking in an all-expenses paid trip courtesy of Heineken, will no doubt cherish the memories as they have been taken to football heaven.Michael Chang shared his joy.“Since we got to the stadium it was quite an excitement; an adrenaline rush overtook me. But I got even more excited when the crowd started cheering for the Jamaicans when we started walking and it was quite an experience. but when we got inside the stadium, it was even more exciting with everybody wanting to take pictures with us,” Chang told the

Jamaica Observer.For Joel Wedderburn, it was an opportunity to see some of his favourite players in action.“It was excellent, the atmosphere was indescribable… I mean, to watch a match on TV and seeing it live is totally different,” he said.Meanwhile, Stephen Strachan, host of the trip and Heineken assistant brand manager, also shared his thoughts.“It was amazing. there was never a dull moment because we were all kept at the edge of our seats the entire time, and it was extremely interactive,” Strachan noted.