La Liga's proposed restart next month has left fans juggling the excitement of football's return and the disappointment it will resume without them.
More than two months after the coronavirus pandemic halted the season in Spain, players have begun training in small groups as they aim to be as ready as possible for the planned reboot on June 12.
Yet goals, saves and tackles will all be greeted by silence or at best, artificial cheers approved by authorities to be pumped out of a sound system.
Even for Sevilla against Real Betis, the usually-heart thumping Andalusian derby that encapsulates the importance of supporters more than any other Spanish fixture, the atmosphere will be non-existent on the first weekend back.
But for clubs, there is a financial necessity given La Liga president Javier Tebas has estimated cancelling the season could cost them 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion).
"People need their dose of football," Adolfo Barbero, a commentator on Movistar, Spain's primary football broadcaster, told AFP.
"There is that want for fans to go to matches but for many now, the priority is to play. They want to see 22 guys, a ball and a green pitch, the rest will be for afterwards."
"But given the exceptional nature of the situation, we have no choice but to accept it."
- 'Without fans it's not football' -
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"Those of us who really feel the colours of a club, what we seek is the best for the team, even if that means seeing your players through a screen."
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