The day Francisco Santamaría was reborn at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga

Saturday, 9 August, was no ordinary day for Francisco Santamaría. His football club - Málaga CF - were playing, which meant it was a day of celebration for him. All dressed up, he headed to La Rosaleda stadium with the excitement of a child. He went for pre-drinks at a bar near the stadium, like every other fan, and finally entered the 'temple' with his brother 'Sule' who, fun fact, was a player for Malaga's now defunct ONCE team for the visually impaired. Two true fans who were about to enjoy an exciting Trofeo Costa del Sol against Betis. However, less than three minutes after the opening whistle, everything changed.

"We were walking up the stairs to the stadium and I was already tired, fatigued, but not like other times. We were already sitting down, talking about the team and, suddenly, the light went out, I felt cold and 'bang'..." That's all our 65-year-old hero remembers before his heart stopped beating. The shocking scene in the upper south end of La Rosaleda brought the match to a standstill for 17 minutes, which for Sule was an eternity.

Being blind, his anguish increased even more. Although he was by his brother's side, he did not know what was happening. The screams of nearby fans echoed in his ears. "I had my hand on his knee and suddenly I felt him fall forward and he collapsed. I got scared, I got down on my knees next to him to call out to him and he didn't answer. People started shouting at me and they told me to put him on his side. In a few minutes the assistance came and I moved to the side. I didn't know if he had a pulse, so I touched his heart and felt that it wasn't beating. I got very worried, I didn't know what to do. It was a friend of my nephew's who helped by also calling for assistance, who were very effective. We are very grateful," Sule says.

Francisco suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest that took him to the threshold of death for more than five minutes, until he was resuscitated. "The next thing I remember is that I woke up in the ambulance and there were people who saved my life. They transferred me to the Carlos de Haya hospital and then to the Clínico. Now I need to have surgery. I hope everything goes well and I can see Málaga CF once again," he says. Strapped to a heart rate monitor and reviewing the press coverage of the match over lunch, Francisco talks to SUR from the ICU at Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria (Clínico).

It is in La Rosaleda where Santamaría has lived the happiest memories of his life. His passion for football, and especially for Malaga CF, was instilled in him by his father, who was once the coach of the San Félix club, although he was a fisherman by profession. Francisco learned the trade at an early age, but later chose to try his luck in a variety of fields, including the hospitality sector. He emigrated to Belgium when he was only 17, hired as a waiter by a business owner. He stayed there for about two decades before returning to his hometown, where he met his wife (who died of a tumour about 10 years ago) and had his two children who, of course, inherited the love for the team in blue and white.

Francisco has considered himself a bit of a tearaway since an early age. He recalls how he used to sneak out of school to go and watch his idols train and still recites the team's chants of the 60s and 70s from memory. His great idols have always been Viberti and Migueli.

Even with the noticeable side effects of his medication, he remembers the results of some of the first matches he went to: the first, a 2-1 Malaga-Las Palmas, one of the goals scored by Pons with a header. Although he believes that no generation can compare to the team back then, he carries the memories with nostalgia, while creating new ones with the team he still supports. "To be a 'Malaguista' (Malaga CF football fan) is to feel your homeland, your team... You get upset sometimes, but then you get over it after three days. Being a Malaguista is something very different and special, it can't be put into words."

His coronary heart disease is congenital. His brother Sule has suffered up to six cardiac arrests and their sister tragically died six months ago during heart surgery. This fear also played a part in Francisco's decision to postpone an operation he had been scheduled to undergo in October. Francisco only hopes that his heart will beat again with the Malaga CF anthem in the place where it all began. "I want to see myself in La Rosaleda, with my Malaga CF shirt, chanting along with all the lovely people cheering."

In the first league game of the season on Saturday, 16 August, Malaga CF will pay tribute to all those who helped save Francisco Santamaría's life, both the Red Cross workers at the stadium and the people who revived him.