Upstairs in a Dublin pub several hundred Spanish fans olé-ed their team on. So too did the Irish, down below them. But the Spanish were to have the last chant, writes Sean MacConnell
It was difficult to know exactly who was supporting who during the screening of the big match in Shooters bar, Parnell Street, Dublin, yesterday afternoon.
Several hundred young Spanish fans who turned up to watch the game were assigned a balcony lounge upstairs.
Downstairs were the colourfully clad Irish fans. Whenever the Irish were not chanting "Olé, Olé, Olé", the Spaniards were.
However, by the end of the match, it was the youngsters from Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, who reclaimed the chant for their own when the penalty shoot-out gave victory to Spain.
The upstairs-downstairs arrangement was sensible considering the tension during the 120-minute- long bruising encounter which was being shown on dozens of screens around the premises.
Maria from San Sebastian said she had "no idea that Irish people were taking the World Cup so seriously. There is little or none of this atmosphere at home".
However, she and her friends were soon caught up in the excitement and were on their feet less than 10 minutes into the game, cheering the Spanish goal.
Downstairs was as quiet as a grave as the Spaniards olé-ed to their hearts content, adding a fast handclap to their chant.
At half time, Seán Doyle from Clontarf was supporting Spain because his Spanish wife, Anna, "would not allow me back the Irish. I feel there is a goal in us but I am saying nothing to herself about it".
The secret Irish supporter had to wait almost to the end of the 90 minutes before he could roar olé to a silent bar full of stunned young Spaniards. During extra time, the Spanish decided to go for a few bars of Viva España while the Irish oléyed their hearts out. At the end of the shoot-out, the Spanish jumped, laughed, hugged and danced above the silent Irish.
Meanwhile, at the Bodega Bar in Cork, soccer mad science teacher Pilar Carnicero hugged her Irish husband Tom Raftery before taking a call on a mobile phone from her ecstatic mother in Spain.
Pilar said she believed her team would go on to win the World Cup even if their performance against the Irish wasn't up to scratch.
"Spain has a chance in the World Cup for the first time in years." Her husband, Tom, was inundated with text messages from his in-laws in Spain, who had expected the second-round match against Ireland to be a straightforward win for their squad.
"They thought they would walk all over the Irish team - destroy us. It was incredible to come so close to beating Spain. It brought the whole country back to the 1990 penalty shoot out."
Susanna Quinones from Alicante admitted Spain were the lesser team on the day and she could understand Ireland's frustration at losing. Like most Spaniards she was shocked at the strength of the Irish team and amazed at the support for her adopted country.
The 26-year-old who works at RCI call centre in Cork would have supported Ireland if they had beaten the Spanish.
Meanwhile, Jose Gonzalez of Saragosse said on paper Spain should have "killed" their opponents. He was surprised that Ireland took control of the match against world-class players such as Raul and Mendieta.