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Garcia plays ball at rivals' football stadium
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Garcia plays ball at rivals' football stadium

Sergio Garcia was behind enemy lines at the home of Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano ahead of the Mutuactivos Open de España.

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Real Madrid fan Garcia was alongside fellow Spaniards Rafa Cabrera Bello and defending champion Jon Rahm for their approach challenge from the stands of the 67,829 capacity stadium.

The trio aimed iron shots towards a target situated in the centre circle, with Garcia even praising his team's city rivals' stadia before revealing he will be going to Los Blancos' Champions League encounter against Club Brugge on Tuesday evening.

"It’s a great stadium, I had been at the Vicente Calderón, but hadn’t been to the Wanda," Garcia admitted.

DGS_2019.09.28  Presentacion Mutuactivos Open España 180-min

"It’s a beautiful stadium, I’ve seen it on TV. They’ve done a really good job – that’s why they’ve hosted a Champions League final already and so many great games here.

"We need to win after the unfortunate loss in Paris a couple of weeks ago. We need to have a good game, make sure we get the three points and start going in the right direction. We’ll be out there cheering hard."

Rahm, who sits second in the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex, is also an avid football fan and hopes to compete in a tournament exhibition at his beloved Atletic Bilbao in the future.

"Wrong Athletic, I’m an Athletic Bilbao fan," Rahm said. "It’s a wonderful stadium, we had a fun competition to try and hit a target in the centre of the field – it was impossible to keep the ball on the mat but that would have been impossible with it skidding off.

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"The competition was a fun thing to do to get the week started. Always fun to do those things – I just wish we were in my home town in my home stadium, that would have been really special."

Cabrera Bello also enjoyed the pre-tournament stunt in the Spanish capital ahead of the event at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

"I’m not a huge football fan, sorry to disappoint," Cabrera Bello said. "I follow Las Palmas from Gran Canaria. Of the bigger teams I support Real, so it’s the wrong stadium for me...

"Jokes aside, I’m not a huge football fan, but I do watch a few games a year and keep track of the scores. It was really cool, it’s an amazing stadium and it was very fun doing this competition."

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