‘Everything's great!! What do we think?? We are thrilled !!!’

A Sunderland fan from Italy has spoken of his delight that he will get to see thousands of Mackems in Milan.

Gianmarco and Matteo Fermi at the Stadium of Light. | ugc

placeholder image — Gianmarco and Matteo Fermi at the Stadium of Light. | ugc

Gianmarco Fermi, and his brother Matteo from Lumezzane in Brescia, have followed SAFC ever since they took the Black Cats to Europe on the Football Manager game in 2007/2008.

Now the Lads are set to play in Europe for real and no-one is happier than Gianmarco who is one of the Black Cats of Italy fan members who love Sunderland.

After hearing that Sunderland will travel to face AC Milan at the San Siro in the Europa League, he said: “Everything's great!! What do we think?? We are thrilled !!!”

Even though the brothers have followed Sunderland for 19 years, they had never visited Wearside until April 2024 - and it didn’t disappoint.

Gianmarco told the Echo at the time: “We had tears in our eyes. An indescribable emotion.”

Gianmarco and Matteo Fermi outside the Stadium of Light. | ugc

The Stadium of Light was ‘beautiful’ and the brothers praised the people of Sunderland for their ‘amazing kindness and availability’. Their visit to Wearside included a trip to the Fans Museum, a walk on Roker beach and getting to meet Sunderland ex-footballer Lee Cattermole.

Now the twin brothers are getting ready to experience more memorable scenes with Sunderland.

San Siro Stadium, in Milan, is home to AC Milan. Photo credit Marco Luzzani/Getty Images. | Getty Images

Gianmarco said: “Let's not forget where we come from and where we were a few years ago, the gruelling League One, and the years in the Championship. Going to Milan for a European match, wow!

“For us Italians it's really convenient and beautiful!! We will be a nice group, hoping to spend an unforgettable day!!! San Siro is truly huge and spacious.”

As well as Milan, Sunderland will travel to Belgium where they will face Anderlecht, Poland where they will face Lech Poznan and Portugal where they will face Torreense. Sunderland’s home fixtures are confirmed as AZ Alkmaar, Dinamo Zagreb, Jagiellona and Levski Sofia.

Tell us if you are an SAFC fan in Italy - or even Belgium, Poland or Portugal.

We would love to hear about your plans to follow the Lads and you can share them by emailing [email protected]