Solitary Udinese fan wins hearts at away game

Arrigo Brovedani stands alone in the away stand for Sampdoria - Udinese (Getty Images)

An Italian football fan who showed up to support his team in an away game has become a national hero - after it turned out he was the only supporter who bothered.

The away stand for Udinese's match against Sampdoria was completely empty - except for the presence of Arrigo Brovedani, a merchant, who clapped and cheered his team alone.

At first, Brovedani was booed by the Sampdoria fans - but soon his lone stand turned their favour. "When I went in and the local fans booed me, I felt a bit offended", he said.

"But in the end they clapped me and invited me for a coffee and a meal".

Udinese never takes more than 50 or 60 fans to away matches - but Brovedani was disappointed at the particularly low turnout: "I went there thinking I'd find five or six other people".

The four hour drive home won't have been so bad though, Udinese finished the match 2-0 winners - and dedicated the victory to their fan.