Football Travel

Local's guide: Barcelona

Andy Mitten — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:50:00 GMT

Sun, sea and splendid football make Barcelona a fitting home for the planet’s finest team – and player.

And from Gaudi’s gorgeous architecture to a buzzing nightlife, the Catalan capital is a hugely popular short break destination. Barça estimate 9,000 foreign football tourists flock to weekend games (which can be on Saturday, Sunday or Monday with timings only announced  11 days beforehand), while Espanyol are excelling in their new ‘English-style’ stadium on the city’s outskirts.

Getting around
Barcelona is well served by budget airlines. Buses from the airport to Plaça Catalunya run continuously and cost €5.05. Best bet is a T10 travel card costing €7.85 – 10 trips on the excellent metro. The Nou  Camp is near many stations: Badal, Collblanc, Les Corts, Maria Cristina and Palau Reial.

Pre-match drink
A strip of bars line Diagonal, close to Maria Cristina metro, to the north of the stadium. It’s a 10-minute walk past the Princess Sofia hotel (which Terry Venables once called home) to the Nou Camp.

Place to eat the local dish
Quinze Nits is a top value first-come, first-served restaurant in Plaça Reial: a three-course meal and drinks is just €20. Avoid La Rambla’s overpriced tourist tapas traps and head instead to El Born. Local tip: during the week most restaurants have a ‘menu-del-dia’ – a three-course menu of the day for €8-17.

Where to nurse a hangover
Go for a walk on the beach  by Barceloneta and get your hangover fix at Buenas Migas at the end of Passeig de Joan Borbo, or enjoy a full breakfast at one of the city’s many Irish bars. The best is Dunne’s on Via  Laietana by the hip Born area.

Where to go with mates
The Nou Camp museum and stadium tour is Catalonia’s most popular tourist attraction, with over a million visitors per year. Alternatively, take part in one of Barcelona’s training camps. The Costa Dorada resort is about an hour away from the city, and is ideal for  a pre-season workout. Via Nickes.com you can request  a tailor-made training camp package to Costa Dorada, including watching a game at the Nou Camp or Espanyol.

Yeah, it's all right...

Where to go with your other half
The hop-on, hop-off tourist buses take in most of the sights. They run on three circular routes from Plaça de Catalunya for €20 per day.

Football shrine
Drink from the unassuming Canaletes fountain – it’s where all the celebrations  for any Barça trophies start.

Best thing to do for free
Walk down the glorious Passeig de Gracia – Spain’s grandest street – then La Rambla to the sea. Follow the coastline to the Olympic village: in total it’s three fantastic hours.

Player’s favourite place
Dani Alves: “A lot of the lads visit an Italian called Da Greco in Gracia. I really like Botafumeiro, a fish restaurant there.” The seafront CDLC,  a cool club/bar/restaurant once owned by Patrick Kluivert, remains popular, while several player functions have been held at the W Hotel.

Don’t make this mistake...
Get blind drunk and walk around La Rambla in the early hours. You’ll be relieved of your cash by someone pretending to be your mate.

Check out FFT's Barcelona city guide.

Three top Barça deals at travelshop.fourfourtwo.com

Bicycle sightseeing tours
Two wheels good, four wheels bad. For an extra £35 we offer a guided sightseeing tour of the city, with a bike, bottle  of water and free drink at the beach. Helmets  and raincoats on request. Tassles on bike handles, not so much.

Take on local opposition
We can arrange a game against an amateur side. Write your requirements in the ‘special request’ box on the booking page when ordering via travelshop.fourfourtwo.com and we’ll organise a game before or after your Nou Camp trip.

Fancy stadium tours
Anyone staying for  more than four nights in Barcelona with the FFT online Travel Shop will have a free tour of the glorious Nou Camp stadium thrown in for free. All of these great offers apply if you order before October 1, 2011.

Train like the pros on the ultimate weekend break

Nick Moore — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:16:00 GMT

Want to whip your Sunday league side into shape this summer? These swanky centres in Spain, Portugal and Italy are the ideal retreats for three days of pro coaching in the sun, notes Nick Moore…

TENERIFE
The lowdown
Nicknamed ‘The Island of Eternal Spring’, Tenerife has arguably the finest climate in Spain (it averages 24 degrees in summer, so isn’t baking). It’s also the perfect place to punish an unfit squad and get them to up their game, because you can train at 2,000 feet above sea level.

The training camp
Located in the picturesque fishing village of La Caleta on the southern coast of the Canary Island, you’ll be based at a training centre called T3. Boasting a beautiful grass pitch, a fine artificial pitch and beach football site, as well as a fully equipped gym and physio rooms, you’ll enjoy coaching sessions with a fully-qualified pro every morning, and a game against a local side on the final day.

Where you’ll stay
Parties can chose from a trio of hotels. Three-star Jardin Caleta is virtually next door to T3 and contains open-plan apartments with sea or pool views; the four-star Hotel Isabel with apartments and villas is designed for maximum comfort; and the Hotel H10 is on the stunning La Enramada beach.

What it costs
£475 per person (not including flights), based on a minimum of 15 persons. This includes transfers.
More details

MADRID
The lowdown
Want to follow in the fleet footsteps of Xavi, Alonso, Torres and Villa? Then visit Madrid for a truly unique training experience at Spain’s National Football Federation training facility, Soccer City. Situated amid stunning countryside in the west ‘sierra’ of the capital, you’ll also enjoy a tour of one of the world’s great stadiums, the Santiago Bernabeu, before spending some free time in the Spanish capital itself.
FFT's Madrid city guide

The training camp
Ideal for semi-pro or ambitious amateur sides. Your squad will truly be put through its paces by the coaches at the centre during this four-day camp. With six different two-hour sessions, it should give any aspiring coach ideas to deploy when you get back to Sunday league training on your return to in Blighty.

Where you’ll stay
You’ll be put up in four-star accommodation at the training camp. The food is first-class, and a buffet breakfast, three-course lunch and dinner are all included.

What it costs
£695 per person, including all transfers but not flights. Alternatively, identical packages at the Alcobendas Sports Complex – with similar facilities, if not the kudos of being Spain’s base – are available from £545 per person.
More details

ALGARVE
The lowdown
The Vilamoura region of the Algarve is famous for lush beaches, lively nightlife and superb golf courses. But it also offers a world-class football training camp situated just 20 minutes from Faro airport, which has already been used by Fulham, Middlesbrough, Benfica, Holland and Russia.

The training camp
With a superb gym and spa (including Jacuzzi, Turkish bath and sauna), this is a great place to unwind. And thanks to two 90-minute training sessions per day, tactics sessions and a match against a local side, your football should improve, too.

Where you’ll stay
You’ll be put up in pleasant villa accommodation (either single or double rooms) on site.

What it costs
£495 per person, including transfers but not flights. Extras, including rounds of golf, paintballing and fishing trips, can be arranged.
More details

UMBRIA
The lowdown
Famous as the ‘green heart’ of Italy, this beautiful region boasts lush vegetation, rolling valleys and a warm climate ideal for a training camp. With trips to Florence and Rome available, it’s a great value trip with a difference.

The training camp
You’ll arrive in the afternoon and settle in. Day two involves a training session and trip to Rome or Florence; day three, light training and a match against a local team. With a five-a-side pitch, outdoor pool, gym and wellness centre, you won’t be bored during down-time, either.
FFT's Rome city guide

Where you’ll stay
You’ll be housed in a peaceful hilltop hotel minutes from the pitch, serving a ‘menu created for footballers’. Rooms are available with modern furnishings and minibar.

What it costs
£195 per person, not including flights.
More details

Training camps available at Nickes.com (not at FFT Travel Shop). Other destinations include Barcelona, Marbella, Rimini and more. Teams will also be able to book places in five-a-side tournaments around Europe via Nickes.com

31 games in 31 days: Just Done It...

Thomas Rensen — Mon, 09 May 2011 11:34:00 GMT

Applause, please, for Thomas Rensen – he's spent a month criss-crossing Europe by rail watching a game of football every single day...

I know I sound like an advertisement for sports clothing, but I just did it! Nothing is Impossible! Well, sorry, but it feels a bit like this. After 31 days of travelling, after 31 matches in 18 countries in 30 different competitions… from the Champions League to the semi-final of the Liechtenstein Cup… I saw it all. It was truly a dream come true.

I’m not a real groundhopper. Before this trip I 'd seen about 20 games in total outside Holland. Most of them were almost accidental, because I was on holiday in that region. It sounds a fantastic idea to see all the stadiums in England, but I doubt I'll ever do it…

So, that was another reason why this month was special for me. During my trip I experienced a real groundhopping experience and I loved every second of it. A tip for all you European groundhoppers – visit Hohe Warte, the stadium of First Vienna. And don’t forget BK Skjold in Denmark, Freiburg in Germany and USV Eschen/Mauren in Liechtenstein either!

Maybe the trip is over now, but I still love football. A lot of people asked me whether I would be fed up with the sport after my trip, but I think it’s quite the opposite. I look for the results of Bangor City (Champions of Wales!), of FC Zurich (they won against Neuchatel when I was there, now they are going to play for the championship against Basel) and of First Vienna (will they get relegated?).

I ended my trip in London, at Chelsea-Tottenham. I saw the game with a few Tottenham fans I'd met before and it was a pleasure to be with those guys, real football fans. And real Tottenham fans – that’s why I didn’t see all of them after the match… disappointed by the result, which they thought was unfair.

It was nice to be able walk to the stadium, even when you support the away team. In the Netherlands, that isn’t possible: you have to travel together from your club's stadium to the away ground, by bus or train. Buying a ticket on your own is simply not possible. A good thing that there's enough respect (and police) around Stamford Bridge that I felt safe enough as an away fan.

And now my conclusions… how is football in Europe? Well, no surprise to say that despite the TV coverage, it’s still a very popular hobby to visit the stadium in person. Especially in Germany, it’s madness. The biggest crowd I joined was 75,000 at Hertha Berlin… for a Second Division game! And in Germany's third tier I saw a match with 30,000 others.

Another thing I noticed is the calmness of strikers when they have a big chance. Nine out of 10 are fixated on getting the ball past the goalkeeper – logical, but most times they miss the goal. The few that concentrated on getting the ball on target were more successful; most times the keeper is too late to save a ball within reach, purely because of the quality of the strike. It sounds simple, but like Johan Cruyff once said: easy football is the hardest there is.

What’s next, after this once-in-a-lifetime experience? Well, next season I'll be back following my club Willem II even now they're in the Dutch second division, and I'll try to see a few games in other countries as well. I won’t try 40 games in 40 days (although it’s possible) and I won’t try this on other continents (I guess it's impossible). But if you ever want to make a trip like this, don’t overthink it, because it’s really amazing. Just do it!

How to watch a successful team

Guest Writer — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:50:00 GMT

Fancy seeing someone win some silverware this month? It's easy with ticket-and-hotel deals from our travel partners Nickes. We sent Vithushan Ehantharajah to assess your best options – and there's loads more at our ever-expanding Travel section...

Sat 14 May: AC Milan v Cagliari
Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro), Milano, from £240 
The Rossoneri are on course to win their first Serie A title since 2005, while Cagliari will be content with their mid-table finish; all in all, a recipe for an end of season exhibition of football. If you don’t go, you’ll regret missing out on Berlusconi’s celebratory Scudetto ‘bunga-bunga’ party with the likes of Robinho, Cassano and Zlatan. On second thoughts… 

Sun 15 May: FC Barcelona v Deportivo La Coruña
Camp Nou, Barcelona, from £265 
Come on, they’re going to win it, and there is nothing that Jose and The Empire can do about it. It would take a superhuman c**k-up from Messi et al to relinquish their position at the top, so join the party, take in the atmosphere and stick around for the celebratory parade to see if the La Liga trophy gets dropped under a bus. Our money’s on Busquets…  

 Sun 15 May: Ajax v FC Twente
 Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, from £263
Last game of the season. The top two teams. Winner takes all. What else needs to be said? FC Twente lead Ajax at the top of the Eredivise by a single point, so a draw would give them consecutive titles for the first time in their history. An impressive achievement, especially given that last season was their first-ever Dutch league title. The first game of the season between the two was an entertaining 2-2 draw back in September. Expect a more tentative, yet equally engrossing game when these two do battle in Amsterdam.
FEATURE: Top two clash – twice – in biggest games of the season

Sun 15 May: Fenerbahce v Ankaragücü
Sukru Saracoglu, Istanbul, quote on request
It's tight at the top in Turkey; Fenerbahce are currently level on points with Trabzonspor. The Yellow Canaries (see, they’re not so scary) are looking to add an 18th Super Lig title to their trophy cabinet – and they won't let up after last season's disaster, when they missed the title on the last day by a solitary point – drawing their last game while Bursaspor beat Besiktas. Another league slip up would be unimaginable for Fenerbahce, so expect a gung-ho approach for their last home game of the season.

Sun 15 May: Trabzonspor v Istanbul Büyüksehir
Hüseyin Avni Aker, Trabzon, quote on request 
Trabzonspor have nothing to lose in this scenario… not that their fans see it that way. Having not won the Turkish league since 1981, many are relishing the prospect of a sixth league title as they look to revisit the glory days of the late 1970s, when the side win five titles in six years.

Wed 18 May: Braga v Porto (UEFA Europa League Final)
 Dublin Arena (Aviva Stadium), Dublin, from £435 
You're certain to see glory here… Dublin's new Aviva Stadium, sponsor-soothingly renamed the Dublin Arena for the night, hosts the Europa League final. Brush up on your Portuguese for what should be a brilliant game. Porto have dominated their domestic league this season, winning the title by early April, and crushed Villarreal 7-4 in the semi. Braga are no slouches, though: ask fans of Liverpool, Arsenal, Celtic or Sevilla, all of whom have recently fallen to the fast passing and dangerous counter-attacking of the 'Arsenalistas'. We won't make a glib quip about trophy droughts.

Sat 21 May: Marseille v Valenciennes
Stade Velodrome, Marseille, quote on request
Didier Deschamps' Marseille trail Lille by a point, so with four games left, the onus is on l'OM to power through for consecutive titles. Valenciennes themselves will have it all to play for as well: they're currently one point above relegation, despite being 13th… Squeaky-derrière time at the top and bottom of Ligue Un.
FEATURE L'OM get their fourth trophy in 13 months

Sun 22 May: Manchester United v Blackpool
Old Trafford, Manchester, from £329 
They'd looked to have it sewn up before now but in the long run United would be content to wait another week or so to win that record 19th league title and finally allow Sir Alex Ferguson to "knock Liverpool off their perch". Visitors Blackpool have their own battles at the other end of the table, and may need victory to survive. Expect Ian Holloway's men to go for it, death-or-glory style, to preserve their top-flight status.

Sun 29 May: Lille v Rennes
St. Grimonprez-Jooris, Lille, quote on request
Lille are in front by a point after they thumped Arles 5-0 while Marseille could only draw against Auxerre. On paper, they have the easier run-in, with Marseille still to face third-placed Lyon (who themselves will be looking to mount a late, yet almost certainly futile, charge). Meanwhile, visitors Rennes will still harbour ambitions for Europe with the Europa League and Champions League spots well within their grasp. Can the small-town club from the Belgian border win their first league title since 1954? Be there to find out…

For all manner of travel info, features and offers, do peruse our Travel section. It's glorious.

Beer in Slovenia and birdseed in Hungary

Thomas Rensen — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:02:00 GMT

Watching a match tonight? Dedicated Dutchman Thomas Rensen will be – he's watching 31 games in 31 days across Europe...

When you hear Maribor and Slovenia, you might expect an old stadium full of grumpy people somewhere in a grey area of the former Yugoslavia Republic. OK, they play European football occasionally and even beat Hibs home and away this season – but that was because the Edinburgh side underestimated them, right?

No, it just isn’t true. Maribor's stadium is mainly very modern and good-looking. The nickname is ‘the wedding ring’ cause you have the old main stand (the crown) and the rest of the stadium which is build new and has a round roof in the shape of a wave (the ring).

There's the crown…

The plan is to rebuild the main stand as well, but well… like everywhere, they need money first. That’s why their European form was so important. They even won at home against Palermo, the biggest win for a Slovenian team since independence in 1991, but went out on aggregate.

Nor are there any grumpy people. The press chief is there to welcome me and gives me a club scarf. Someone from the Fan Store will watch the match with me, in the modern part of the stadium.

…and there's the ring

The match itself, a cup semi-final between Maribor and Koper, is full of incidents. Maribor striker Velikonja Etien, 22, may have a bright future: he's like a Slovenian Filippo Inzaghi… but without the goals. Three times he has one-on-ones with the goalkeeper, and he misses them all, including open goals. Then he scores the fourth for the game's only goal – and he's man of the match. Koper can only stop Etien with bookable offences, and suffer two red cards.

After the match I see Slovenia legend Zlatko Zahovic, now Maribor's sporting director and happy after the win. Maribor will probably win the double, so it's another step forward to getting a new main stand.

"We are all drunk on love of Maribor." And why not?

The next day, I'm off to Szolniki in Hungary. Again, you may expect an old stadium and grumpy people. Wrong again – well, partly. They have big plans for building a new stadium, but only a quarter of it is finished. Then there's the fans: just 500 in total. And they all eat bird seeds. It’s normal in Eastern Europe but it’s strange to me. The fans just talk and eat – there's no singing, no atmosphere. And it's a boring match as well.

So, a boring match, and it makes me miss Real Madrid v Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. Oh well, I saw the Man United game the day before, so no complaints. Now I'm ready to see another match in my 18th (!!) country. I’m in Zurich now… and where are you?

How to become a celebrity and buy a football club in just three weeks

Thomas Rensen — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:16:00 GMT

A paper from Luxembourg did the math for me. According to them I have travelled 13,000 kilometers on my journey so far. An amazing number but I’m not done yet. There’s one final week to go!

But first, let me tell you about the amazing few days I’ve just had. This last week took me to Genk (Belgium), Freiburg and Cologne (Germany), Tilburg (The Netherlands), Auxerre (France) and Differdange (Luxemburg). Again, five countries in six days – phew!  

I’m also now the proud new owner of a football club - well, sort of. Like Ebbsfleet United before them, German lower league outfit Fortuna Köln are owned by a large group of fans - they decide who to buy, who should play and the fate of the manager.

It’s a good way for the club to raise money and to make the fans feel involved, but for the manager it’s difficult. The current boss, Matthias Mink, knows this all too well. Just this season the fans conducted online polls to determine whether the manager should be sacked on no fewer than three occasions!

Each time Mink managed to avoid the chop, but he has since decided not to chance his luck again, and will instead step down at the end of the season.

A presumably rather brave new manager has already been lined up, but with the ambition of the club and its 9,000 owners, the pressure will be high from the off. And yes, I am now one of those 9,000 baying for blood – the club has to be playing in the Regional Liga in two years!

Seeing as I was splashing my hard-earned cash on another football club, I thought I should probably go back to my homeland and see my one true love in action. 

Willem II are going to be relegated - even if I were in charge there too it would be unavoidable. Yet they still managed to overcome AZ Alkmaar to just about keep those last lingering hopes of survival alive - It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings, after all…

It was nice to be home again and not quite as strange a feeling as I had expected, which is more than can be said for my experience in Luxembourg.

This trip has evidently made me a bit famous. Well, for one day at least. In Luxembourg some locals recognized me in the pub and at the stadium lots of people asked me whether I was ‘that crazy Dutchy’.

Ok, me wearing a huge backpack into the stands was a bit of a giveaway, but they had heard of my arrival nonetheless. The club I had come to see, Differdange, gave me an authentic match shirt and I was interviewed for radio, television and a local newspaper – but most importantly I got a free beer!

Differdange won their cup game against RM Hamm Benfica 3-1 after extra time, so all by all it was a great experience.  

Now I am in Slovenia. Waiting for another cup tie, this time beteween NK Maribor and Koper - and it’s a huge match for the people of Maribor. That’s the beauty of travelling around Europe - I always get to see a match that means the world to the people I’m watching it with.

Politics, WAGs and cup semi-finals

Thomas Rensen — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:56:00 GMT

Watching a match tonight? Dedicated Dutchman Thomas Rensen will be – he's watching 31 games in 31 days across Europe...

Ever heard of the Bad Blue Boys? They are the Ultras of Dinamo Zagreb, and they are unhappy with the vice-president of their club (and the man who actually runs the show, nobody ever hears from the real president). They have therefore decided to boycott their own club as a show of their displeasure.

Of course I had to see that by myself, in Zagreb. So, after taking in matches in Belgium and Austria, I was off to Croatia.

Zagreb is a nice town, with nice people and nice weather, but an empty stadium. I spoke to Igor about this boycot: “We have been boycotting this club since August. All the Bad Blue Boys see the matches downtown, in a cinema. We all still have a Dinamo-heart, we’re just really against Zdravko Mamic. He buys and sells players, the profit is never going to the club, he only cares about the money and, above all, he is fan of Yugoslavia and clubs in Belgrade. For us, that’s impossible. He is bringing disgrace on the club. We won’t go back there until he’s gone.

"Are we going to get this Mexican wave started or what?"

Strong words, but their actions are yet to have the desired effect. Josipa, who I met at the stadium, explains: “[Mamic] earns too much money to even bother about the Bad Blue Boys. He will never stop just because of the boycott. My nephew and I disagree with his politics, but we’re still coming to games because our love for Dinamo is bigger than our dislike of Mamic.”

The Maksimir Stadium is not the most beautiful in the world, especially when it’s almost empty. There is room for 40,000 fans, but on the day I was there only around 2,000 showed up.
The match isn’t that special either.

The day after I’m in Serbia to see Proleter Novi Sad. The show was stolen by three girls who appeared to be supporting one particular player (who I assume was probably the boyfriend of one of trio) rather than the team.

Serb WAGS don't get the same luxuries as their English counterparts...

Three beautiful girls in the middle of 100 older men. I didn’t understand a word of the conversation, but the dialogue between the girls and the men sounded very entertaining. The men won though, the girls’ favourite player was substituted after 70 minutes and the girls promptly left the stadium.

Another train ride brought me to the capital of the Czech Republic, where it was derby time again as Sparta Prague faced Slavia Prague.

It was a shame there were so many tourists in Prague, as there was no real atmosphere in the city until I reached the stadium itself for what is for the locals the most important match for them of the year, in a 19,000 sell out.

And if an English club is looking for a striker, they could do a lot worse than Sparta’s Kweuke Leonard – an impressive, fast and strong forward who scores his fair share of goals, including the only two of the derby match.

"Anybody got a light...?"

While it was a different derby in the FA Cup which hogged the limelight in England this weekend, in Liechtenstein last Tuesday it was all about the FL1. Aktiv Cup. The seven competing teams normally play in Swiss competitions, but enjoy this rare chance to compete solely against teams from their own nation.

I went to see USV Eschen play for the right to reach the final. It was raining and just 200 people turned up to see the game. Eschen were the favourites, playing one division higher than their opponents, FC Balzers. But you wouldn’t have guess who the higher ranked team were in the first twenty minutes, Balzers started well and got a few chances.

But, like happens so often in cup ties, one breakaway was enough. Balzers goalkeeper doesn’t have any other option but to bring the Eschen striker down. The result was a red card, a penalty and ultimately a 1-0 lead for USV, who eventually won the tie 2-1. Those with USV allegiances in the clubhouse are delighted – they’re in the final!

The Liechtenstein cup semi-final - certainly more scenic than Brent

Then, 24 hours later after a night in Liechtenstein, I’m in Germany - Gelsenkirchen to be precise. Schalke’s season has been a weird one. Their league form has been terrible. They likelihood is that they will end up in mid-table, and that’s not really considered good enough. But it has been an altogether different story in the Cups. They are in the final of the German Bokal, and even more impressively they are in the semifinals of the Champions League – and I was there to see them do it by eliminating the holders, Inter Milan.

The weather was pleasant and more than 50,000 fans showed up to the stadium waiting to see history written. Schalke 04 had won the away leg 5-2, so should certainly have been confident of completing the job.

I meet Olivier, a dentist and huge fan of Schalke 04. He even has a waiting room with Schalke memorabilia. No Borussia Dortmund fans allowed! Before the match he’s as nervous as his patients before a long and painful bout of root canal surgery. Never trust the Italians, he says. Never think you’re already there. He says you have to be nervous before a cup tie, otherwise it’s not important.

Yeah, but we bet he's not got a Schalke drain cov....oh, he does...

Afterwards, he’s over the moon with another win against the Serie A champions. That was until the next morning when he heard the date of the semifinal match against Manchester United. “I’m still on holiday”, he says. “Can you believe that? We never expected Schalke in the semi final of the Champions League when we booked our holiday to Turkey. But now, we fly back to Germany the day after the game. That’s not possible right?”

He looks to his wife. “Please baby, please call them. Please ask them whether it’s possible to go home one day earlier. Please!” His wife doesn’t complain but you can read her mind – “football again! Never a peaceful holiday…” But she will call. Olivier knows how unique this cup is.

I prepare to board another train, this time back to my own country, to see PSV Eindhoven against Benfica in the Europa League quarterfinals. Everybody in Eindhoven is praying for a miracle as PSV lost the first leg 4-1. In the league that’s terrible but ok, it happens. In the cup, that almost always means elimination. That’s why they all hope for a miracle. They are praying.

Some 36,000 fans showed up, most of whom bought their tickets before the first leg hammering. Sometimes praying helps. PSV rush into a 2-0 lead but, just as the locals start to believe the miracle could be about to come true, Benfica pull one back and it’s all over. Maybe next year.

Third Division isn't always third-class

Thomas Rensen — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:39:00 GMT

Intrepid Dutchman Thomas Rensen continues his Europe-wide campaign to watch 31 games in 31 days...

In England, they call it the First Division. In Holland it’s called Topklasse. In Denmark it’s the 2.Division. Only in Germany do they give it the right number: Die 3.Bundesliga. The third level of professional football. And I didn’t even realise, but I saw two consecutive Third Division matches, first in Denmark, then in Germany. But the differences couldn’t be bigger.

On Tuesday I travelled from the Swedish capital Stockholm to the Danish equivalent Copenhagen – a five-hour train journey. I arrive on time but with no time for sightseeing: I've got some movies to send to my local TV station back in the Netherlands. It takes forever, but of course I'm on time for the game betwween BK Skjold and BGA, two teams from Copenhagen and its suburbs.

I walk down a straight road from the station to the stadium. The stadium is... huge. I already know it won’t be a popular match tonight, so why such a big stadium? It turns out that this is the national stadium Parken, and right next to it there's the smaller Osterbro stadium. And yes, there's the match I’m going to watch.

Except I can't find the entrance. I walk through a door and all of a sudden… I’m in the BK Skjold dressing room. The players are out on the pitch already, so I turn around and find the right way to the stands.

Indeed, just 50 fans turn up for this game, including four teenagers who set off a small firework for the kick-off. It's cute, but the club disagree and throw out the four young men. What a difference from Monday: during the Stockholm derby, all I saw was fireworks and smoke. Now, one small smoke bomb is too much.

Copenhagen Ultras

In the stands, I meet Stuart Fuller. He’s the writer of the book Passport to Football, about his foreign trips to Zagreb, Amsterdam and Minsk among others. He also has his own blog: The Ball is Round. [Ed.: He also wrote FourFourTwo's Copenhagen travel guide.] A real football fan, otherwise he wouldn't be in the stadium for matches like these. He tells a few stories and he listens to what I have to tell about my first days of travelling. The match is actually not too bad: BGA wins 3-1, and they can even afford to miss a penalty.

A rather grand backdrop

The next day I’m on a train again, of course. But between Denmark and Germany is a lot of water. What’s the solution then? Put the train on a boat and ship it all to Germany. For 45 minutes I’m on the boat, then the train brings me to Berlin and Dresden.

With just one hour to go I arrive at the stadium. The game is sold out, but because of an interview I had in SportBild some people have arranged a press ticket for me. A very nice gesture, but where do I have to pick this up? Nobody knows anything about a ticket for me… I wait five minutes, I wait 10 minutes... just half an hour before kick-off a man asks my name. He gives me a ticket and that’s it. I’m in!

And again I see a game in the third division. But it’s very different to last night: instead of 50 fans there are 30,000. It’s a clash between Dynamo Dresden and Rot-Weiss Erfurt, two clubs from the former Eastern Germany. Then they were the big clubs in the league; now they still are, just in a lower league, battling for promotion to the 2.Bundesliga.

The Ultras of Dresden are impressive, their noise taking the home team to a higher level – for five minutes. Dresden score first but then it’s over. Whether the pressure is too much or whether Erfurt are just better, I don’t know, but Erfurt win 3-1 and remain in the battle for promotion. For Dresden it will be a difficult story: another year of the 3.Bundesliga awaits.

For me, that’s not the end of the day. Because I gave an interview to SportBild before I left, people know that I’m coming. A local radio station grabs this opportunity. I have to give an interview, completely in German. I hope everybody understood me with my Dutch accent. I end the day being photographed on the Dresden team bench, in a dark, empty stadium.

Fame at last... on the Dresden bench

And that was my first week of 31matches. I saw eight games, 24 goals, two red cards, a lot of fireworks and still… I hope the best is yet to come! Next I'm off to Belgium, Croatia (Dinamo Zagreb), Serbia and Prague. So, read my blog again next week, to hear all about my adventures in Southeastern Europe!

31 games in 31 days? Oh alright then...

Thomas Rensen — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:33:00 GMT

Watching a match tonight? Dedicated Dutchman Thomas Rensen will be – he's watching 31 games in 31 days across Europe...

Did your partner – or ex-partner – never say it: “Football? Not again – it seems like there's a game every bl**dy day...”

Well, we all know that’s true. And I’m going to enjoy that to the fullest. Because last week I left my home in the Netherlands to see 31 matches in 31 days, all across Europe, travelling by InterRail.

So on Friday I was in Wales, at Bangor City. The day before Bangor I'd been in Belgium watching the best young talents from England and Spain as the countries' under-17 teams clashed: England won 2-1 and qualified for the European Championships in Serbia later this year.

Fri 1 Apr: Behind the goal at Bangor

A match in Belgium was an easy start for me, as a Dutchy. And it was wonderful to watch the identity of both teams. The Spain players dribbled all day long, with great technique; the England players were stronger, smarter and worked harder. In the end, the smartness won against the "I want to run past five defenders" style.

I don’t know yet how many countries I will visit during my trip, but by the second day of the trip I'd already been in four different countries: England, Wales, France and Belgium. On Saturday I went to West Ham v Manchester United (you may have read about that game); on Sunday I went to Berlin; and then I headed for Scandinavia...

It’s quite a distance between Berlin and Stockholm. Maybe not if you go by plane, but by train, it’s a big trip. But who cares if that trip means you can see three beautiful games within two days! I started on Sunday afternoon with a stroll in the Olympic Park. It was beautiful weather, the sun was shining and I was an hour early for the kick off. Life is good when you have a Bratwurst and a Coca Cola in the sun, with the prospect of Hertha.

Hertha BSC is the biggest team in Berlin, one of the biggest in Germany – and, if you go by attendances, one of the biggest in Europe. And yet, they play in the second Bundesliga. But where else in Europe do you have a 70,000 sell-out in the second division? The match against Paderborn ended in a 2-0 win for Hertha, who moved three points closer to promotion.

Sun 3 Apr: The Hertha wave

Unlike before the game, I had to hurry off after that – because in less than two hours Wolfsburg would kick off against Eintracht Frankfurt. And Wolfsburg is an hour by train. I managed to catch my train and just 15 minutes before the game started I was at the stadium, sat on the side with the local fanatics.

Fittingly, the match was the most hectic (and entertaining) I'd seen so far. There wasn't a moment of peace, just flying, running and fighting. The 1-1 draw wasn't enough for Wolfsburg, who could with better finishing have won 5-1.

Then the big train trip. I started at 23.00 in Wolfsburg and ended at 17.00 in Stockholm. And what for? To see a goalless draw: Djurgardens vs AIK. But the atmosphere made up for the lack of goals: fireworks, singing, jumping, all you could expect of a real Stockholm derby. At the Rasunda Stadium it was quite an experience. Just too bad it was my first 0-0 of the trip.

Mon 4 Apr: The Stockholm derby

Now I'm off to Copenhagen, Dresden, Vyle-Theroul and Vienna for the next part of my journey. Quite a distance again, but I don’t mind: I've done six matches now, and still have 26 to go before the end of the month. It’s Football on Rails!

You can follow me on my journey across Europe: I'll write blogs for FourFourTwo twice a week. Of course I’m on Twitter as well (@31matches) and you can read my own blog at www.31matches.eu.

And for everyone who was wondering... Yes, I have a girlfriend. Yes, she knows about this journey. Yes, she’s still with me. Yes, I know... I'll never let her go!

The A-Z of Spanish Football

FourFourTwo Team — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:28:00 GMT

To mark the opening of FourFourTwo.com's spanking new Travel Guide section, we look at surely one of the world's best footballing destinations: the mesmerising world of Spanish football, as described by Simon Talbot...

A is for… Anti-Madridismo
Loudly boasting the world’s greatest players whilst armed with a giant chequebook, a sycophantic media and a self-professed ‘universalism’, Real Madrid’s mission is to ‘evangelise’ the world. Which not only makes them Spain’s most loved club, but also its most loathed, the alleged ‘government’s team’ and cheating recipients of refereeing favours. Anti-Madridismo has become a defining feature of Spanish football, not just at Atletico and Barça. If you can see Madrid away, do. And brush up on your swearing before you go.

B is for… Bocadillo
Never mind the scarf, hat or replica shirt, what truly marks the Spanish football fan is the bocadillo and the pet food [see ‘S’]. All over the country, fans arrive at games armed with a giant bocadillo (French bread sandwich) wrapped in tinfoil like a silver baton, and ready to observe the strictest etiquette: nobody touches their bocadillo until half-time (not a single second before). That whistle is the cue for everyone to rip greedily at the foil. Open too soon, too late, or go without and you’ll be forever marked out as an amateur or a foreigner. Or, worse still, both.

"Hands off, it's mine"

C is for… Cantera
Spanish fans always seem to be banging on about rock-face excavation, for cantera means quarry. Happily, it also refers to locally-mined talent or a club’s youth team. Athletic Bilbao only use players from the cantera vasca (Basque quarry; those born or brought up, in footballing terms, in the Basque Country), while Real Madrid’s policy is often referred to as cracks y cantera (superstars and quarry).

D is for… Día Después, el
An institution for 15 years, until cruelly cut in 2005. Monday nights aren’t the same without El Día Después (The Day After), the show that revolutionised football coverage and made producer, director and presenter Michael Robinson Spanish television’s biggest star - he remains very much in demand on other TV programmes. Part Fantasy Football League, part Football Focus and part Match of the Day, El Día Después was a brilliant celebration of the politics, culture, society, theatre and madness of Spanish football. A show that put everything else [see ‘E’, especially] to shame.

E is for… Estudio Estadio
Spain’s painfully ’70s Sunday night round-up and tackfest, a national institution despite ‘trendy’ graphics that might, just, have looked avant-garde when the programme first aired over 30 years ago. Hosted by the wet Juan Carlos Rivero and the cheesy Iñaki Cano with his brilliantly bushy moustache, it’s also the home of uber-interviewer and camera-lover Quique Guash – the self-styled players’ friend with the kind of nuclear orange tan normally reserved for stiletto-tottering 45-year-olds at a Doncaster disco.

F is for… Fútbol sala
Why do Spaniards have such silky skills and tiny balls compared to the lump-and-hoof, battling English? Maybe the key is the ubiquitous fútbol sala – virtually non-contact, technique-dominated five-a-side with handball-style goals and a ball that doesn’t bounce or lift; that can’t be hoofed or headed; that one ex-Oviedo star aptly described as "like a pudding".

G is for… Galáctico
Inspired by Real Madrid’s out-of-this-world superstars, galáctico became the most overused word in Spain and an infuriatingly easily wheeled-out headline. According to the sports press, at the height of the craze there was a ‘Galactic Welcome’ every time Madrid’s players arrive anywhere, president Florentino Pérez's daughter getting hitched was a ‘Galactic Wedding’ and the club's healthy economic state was, really, a ‘Galactic Superavit.’

"We have lift-off..."

H is for… Hijo de ***
Son of a b*tch; a phrase you’ll need to really enjoy any match and certainly the first thing you’ll learn, as David Beckham testified. According to one overcome writer, Becks “arrived barefoot, like Christ” only to end up like Beelzebub nine months later having tried out his one bit of Spanish on a linesman. And been sent off.

I is for… I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Spanish fans might have some comedy chants, but there are few real songs, aside from the official club hymns, which – Atlético apart – nobody actually sings during the match. One the Spanish do enjoy, though, is I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, adapting the ‘I love you baby’ chorus to any suitably named player.

J is for… Jornada
The jornada (literally 'working day') is the latest round of games. So, Jornada 7 is the seventh week of the season; like UEFA speak’s ‘Matchday 7’ only without sounding completely stupid.

K is for… King’s Cup
The Copa del Rey, Spain’s devalued cup competition, experiences something of a revival whenever big clubs get to the final stages – especially if they lose. Real Madrid's defeat to Deportivo, in the final, on their 100th birthday, in their own stadium, with Depor fans singing ‘happy birthday to you’, was an Anti-Madridista’s dream come true.

"Ee-aye-addio, we've won the cup" (repeat to fade)

L is for… Lo que el ojo no ve Or
‘What the Eye Doesn’t See’. The most emblematic section of El Día Después [see ‘D’], where cameras catch what you didn’t – like the linesman who told a player to ‘go and take it up the *rse!’

M is for… Maletín
The star of every season’s final weeks. As teams with nothing to play for face the direct rivals of teams with a lot to play for, the infamous maletín (suitcase) makes a sneaky appearance. Supplied by an interested third party, the suitcases are there to encourage otherwise unmotivated teams to try a little harder and are, so the allegations go, stuffed with food, wine and cigars. And sometimes even bundles of cash.

N is for… Newspapers
Spain’s best-selling newspaper – by miles – is the sports daily Marca, shifting well over two million copies. Meanwhile, AS, Sport and El Mundo Deportivo, also sports (ie football) dailies, outsell most real newspapers too. Marca and AS make no secret of their preferences, dedicating eight pages a day to their beloved Real Madrid and sniping at their rivals, while Sport and Mundo Deportivo do the same for Barça. Even if there’s nothing much to say: when Madrid travelled to freezing Moscow, Marca helpfully published some photos of woolly gloves, scarves and hats.

O is for… Olé
OK, so everyone’s doing it these days – if and when their side manages to string a couple of passes together – but the Spanish started it. And they say it right. Olés aren’t the only thing taken from bullfighting, either: football stadiums also meet extreme brilliance and complete rubbish with a pañolada or hanky wave.

It's Spanish for "booooooo"

P is for… Peña
Even the most useless Spanish clubs have countless peñas, or supporters’ associations, usually based in a local bar with hams hanging from the ceiling and often named after a player (who’s then expected to donate shirts and turn up smiling at least once a year). In a country with a limited culture of away travelling, peñas based in enemy territory are often the only ones supporting their team, while they also arrange trips, show the games on telly, and dish out tickets. A great place to watch the match if you can’t get in.

Q is for… Quiniela
Spain’s football pools. Spanish dictator General Franco was one famous winner and so would Iker Casillas’s dad have been – had his son only remembered to post the coupon.

R is for… Real
As in Real Madrid. Just don’t call them that – Real on its own means nothing more than ‘royal’ and Madrid are not alone, far from it. There are Reals from Oviedo, Mallorca, and just about everywhere else. No one is simply Real: Madrid are ‘el Real’, but normally just Madrid, while ‘la Real’ are Real Sociedad [de Fútbol] (Royal Football Society), never just Sociedad. And while we’re at it, a few more pointers – place names tend to get dropped where the title is snazzy and not just ‘Real’ (Zaragoza, Valladolid, Betis) or unless someone else got there first. So, it’s Deportivo (which is simply Spanish for Sporting) not La Coruña, while poor Deportivo Alavés are just Alavés (ie from Alava province). Likewise, it’s Celta not Vigo, Rayo (bolt of lightning/stripe) not Vallecano (from Vallecas), and Racing rather than Santander. Athletic are from Bilbao while Atlético are from Madrid. Oh, and finally, there’s no such thing as the Primera Liga. The Spanish haven’t yet gone in for this ridiculous tournament name-change business – it’s La Liga and/or Primera (Division).

S is for… Sunflower seeds
Pipas in Spanish. Every ground is littered with empty sunflower seed shells. Skillfully shelled, separated and scoffed by Spaniards, sunflower seeds take some getting used to and most Brits give up, defeated and whining about rabbit food. But the Spanish can’t get enough: when Valencia visited Manchester United, Trafford’s pet shops sold out. Honestly.

T is for… Tosh
John Benjamin Toshack – Spaniards call him JB – has become a legend, even altering the official Spanish dictionary with his comedy habit of translating English idioms into Spanish. Literally. Like the time he got sacked for saying that pigs would fly over the Bernabeu, or when he had the poor, confused hacks hacking at their wrists with his bread and butter, water off a duck’s back and headless chickens.

"Give it little eyebrows back stick early doors"

U is for… Ultras
Normally wise to avoid this lot, even if all too often they’re the only ones making any noise. Every club has its ultras – hard core fans, usually with a political edge and sometimes (although not as often as the press would have it) a taste for fisticuffs. Amongst the most famous are Real Madrid’s Neo-Nazi Ultra Sur and Barça’s Catalan Nationalist Boixos Nois – the self-styled ‘Crazy Boys’ who spelt their own name wrong and accidentally became the ‘Boxwood Boys’.

V is for… Vinny Samways
Really. Vinny Samways is a superstar at Las Palmas, where he played for six years. Like Eric Wimp eating a banana, England’s Skinny Sideways underwent a dramatic transformation in Spain, where he was sent off on his debut and became a hardman, a headcase hero to thousands. Owns a football bar in Marbella.

W is for… Wembley
Yes, Wembley. It’s not all white horses, people on the pitch and Stanley Matthews; Wembley is also very special for FC Barcelona, whose museum boasts an old team bench and turnstile. For it was there in 1992 that Ronald Koeman’s free-kick secured Barça’s only European Cup in their first 97 years of history – a record that, until their second win in 2006, put the Catalans on a par with Aston Villa.

X is for… Xabi and Xavi
Alonso and Hernández, two of Spain’s most creative midfielders, with touch, vision and pretty passing … and, let’s face it, it was either them or Xylophone.

Y is for… Ye-Ye
As in She Loves You, Ye[ah], Ye[ah]. A Beatles-inspired transliteration, Real Madrid’s Ye Ye Team won the 1966 European Cup, becoming the first in a long line of strangely enduring nicknames – the father of Madrid’s Emilio Butragueño-led ‘Vulture Squad’, Johan Cruyff's Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ and the Galácticos [see 'G'].

Z is for… Zamora
Every year Spain’s statistically best goalkeeper is presented with the Zamora award named after Ricardo Zamora, the Divine One. So famous was Zamora, who played for Barça, Madrid and Espanyol, that Stalin allegedly said of Spanish President Niceto Zamora in 1931: ‘Wasn’t he a goalkeeper?’ While the best goalie is the Zamora, the season’s top scorer is the Pichichi, but P was already taken.

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