Luxembourg 1-0 Belarus (Stade Josy Barthel, World Cup Qualifier, att. 2,752)
Welcome to ....
There's no such thing as an easy game in international football - especially if you're Luxembourg or Belarus. Certainly, during the 1st half of this game, both sides attempted to make football look as difficult as possible. The old adage about 'football being a simple game' looked anything but. These sides were absolutely terrible. Of course I expected it of Luxembourg, perennial no-achievers, but I knew less than nothing of Belarus. I s'pose one good thing about the break up of the old Soviet Union...as well as the admission of 'countries' such as Gibraltar and San Marino...are that Luxembourg are no longer the whipping boys of everyone in a World Cup qualifying group. They might even muster a goal!
An inauspicious national stadium.
I was in Luxembourg as part of my holiday with my partner; she's made it her mission to visit every country in the EU, a task made more crystal by the moronic 52% who voted our country out of the gang (yes, I am a 'Bremoaner'). And Luxembourg City is a bit of a gem as it goes, a geographical phenomenon, built on a winding gorge and containing many an old battlement. I loved it, though it's on the pricey side. Nevermind the food and drink, or the hotel, what was I doing paying €40 for THIS? Well, I s'pose it is (technically) international football, but I'd put the level at Conference North. I ought to have a look and see who these people play their club football for...
(Closed) ticket booths outside the Main Stand.
Also, before folk claim I'm responsible for trying to ruin my partner's holiday...it was SHE who spotted the game was on! So I made my way to the Stade Josy Barthel, a 15 minute walk from the city centre up Avenue Emile Reuter, about 4 hours before the match, to guarantee my ticket. One walk around the stadium later, no ticket booths were open. At least the sight of TV trucks and a security guard allayed my fears that I was in the wrong place. Tickets were 'on sale from 7pm'. With no hostelries in the area, it was time to retreat back to the centre.
A bungalow backing onto the national stadium.
With kick-off at 20:45, I returned about half an hour before kick-off. I wasn't the only one walking from the city centre; as many as 10 others were doing the same. The anticipation, the excitement, the buzz....Luxembourg had none of it. I ventured to the 1st ticket booth, on the corner of the stadium as I arrived. 'Are you Belarus?' 'No,I'm from England.' 'No, do you want a ticket for Belarus? I only sell tickets for Belarus.' After a mini-panic that I wouldn't be let in, turns out I just needed to go to the next booth, to buy a ticket for the home end. €40. I nearly fell over. This was for a ticket by the side of the pitch, in the open. Perhaps the tickets behind the (far) goal, or the away (near) end were cheaper? Who knows. I went in anyway.
The pre-match rush.
The Stade Josy Barthel (named after Luxembourg's only ever Olympic gold medallist, fact fans) is a basic affair. Brutalist in design, concrete rules. There's one covered stand, and open seating surrounding an athletics' track. And looking at the seats, I think many haven't seen much use over the years. Most fans sat where they liked, though a fair few stood at the back, leaning on the barrier. Making it early, for once, I was able to take in the atmosphere (!), as well as the national anthems. Weirdly, the Luxembourg fans made more noise applauding the Belarus anthem than they did in greeting their own team coming out: silence, 'cept for a bit of applause in the main stand. I nearly missed the teams appearing out of some hole in the ground in the far corner, near where the 30 or so away fans were situated.
The teams pop out of a hole in the ground.
All this is to denigrate the efforts of the 'M-Block Fanatics' and the half a dozen or so making noise on the halfway line near me. The Fanatics, about 50-100 in number, kept up a racket throughout, despite an athletics track lying between them and the goal (possibly an advantage, if you support Luxembourg).
But lo! I was there when...Luxembourg won a game of football! After the ineptitude of the first half, where I despaired of ever seeing a goal, Luxembourg won it when a backpost header back across goal was hooked in. Well-worked, if out of kilter with everything else.both before and after. Earlier, Luxembourg had rode their luck when a Belarus cross hit the far post and came back for the centre forward to hit the bar with the rebound when it was easier to score. Luxembourg, are, indeed, no longer the whipping boys of yore.**
The Damage:
€40 ent
**Indeed. A few days later they gained a goalless draw in France, in another World Cup qualifier. Winners of the 2018 World Cup? France. The mind boggles.
Stade Josy Barthel panorama (I)
1st view of the stadium
Welcome to ...(II)
Anyone...anyone??
Entry into the Pleasuredome.
Where to sit...?
Sunset behind the goal.
Sunset over the Main Stand.
An interesting structure at the back of the terrace.
Fola Esch 1-2 Ostersunds (Europa League 3rd qualifying round, 2nd leg, att. 1,590)
Welcome to ....
For the first time
ever, I was seeing a game in Luxembourg.Nothing against the place but their sides are normally knocked out by
the third qualifying round of European footie.Not this year.Hot on the heels
of Progress Niederkorn’s toppling of Rangers, Fola Esch were hoping to overcome
another surprise outfit, Ostersund of Sweden, conquerors of Galatasaray in the
previous round.Fola had given
themselves half a chance, only losing the first leg 1-0.
I was stationed in
Trier for this one so needed two trains to reach Esch.I was due in 15 minutes before kickoff,
cutting it fine as usual, but the stadium was virtually next to the station
according to Google Maps.What it didn't
point out was the hill in between and therefore the circuitous route to get
there.So I was late and joined the
queue of other latecomers.
The queue was going
down nicely when there was some kind of ruckus at the front and people started
dispersing towards the main gate.Why,
the stewards were only opening the gates to let everyone in for free!How bizarre.Had they run out of tickets and decided to let the rest of us in anyway?Once in, virtually every seat was taken but
there was space to stand.Against UEFA convention
but no-one minded, and before echoes of ‘Hillsborough’ are invoked, ‘busy’ at Fola
means a crowd of 1500.
The pitch, surrounded
by an athletics track, had one stand which stretched about halfway into each
half, while opposite, seats were bolted onto an open terrace.With room to stand at the back, that’s where
I perched.I surprised myself by bagging
a spot close to the halfway line.The
ultras were to my left near the corner flag.I think they numbered three, plus one of their sons.Basically, it was a bloke and his mate on a
megaphone while a third beat a drum while barely anyone else joined in the
entire time.You have to start
somewhere.
Crowd segregation.
As for Swedes, I
didn't think there were any till they scored, when about 20 or 30 in the main
stand erupted as well as a few odds and sods in the open seats.There was no segregation to speak of.Another advantage to a stadium of such limited
facilities was that one could queue up for a bratwurst while watching the
action, which is how I came to see Fola take the lead at the start of the
second half with a looping header.The
scorer then celebrated by cupping his hands to make the sign of a heart. I’d
have chalked the goal off there and then.Fola had though been excellent in the first half and deserved their
lead.Could they hold on?
A couple of wily scamps sneak a view.
Well, we got the
answer within 5 minutes.Ostersunds put
a ball down the left and while the keeper went down far too early, the striker
lifted it over him with ease.7 minutes
later, Ostersunds won it, a header off a corner.Fola had been more than a match but they were
out.
One of the downsides
of getting in for free is that you don't back a souvenir match ticket. I saw someone holding his, so I know I saved
€10 tonight, but on the way out I saw the box full of the tear-offs from
the match ticket.So I helped myself to
a couple and headed back down the hill to the station. I still had to get to Trier…
Looking toward the Main Stand.
The Damage:
€0 en
€3 bratwurst
€0 programme
= €3
The Tunes:
If You Leave (Daughter)
Careless Love (Madeleine Peyroux)
Fold Your Hands Child, You Look Like A
Peasant (Belle and Sebastian)
Every Valley (Public Service
Broadcasting)
Endtroducing (Ephemera) (DJ Shadow)
Evening Star (Robert Fripp and Brian Eno)
Dig, Lazarus, Dig !!! (Nick Cave and
the Bad Seeds)
Diversions Volume 4 – The Songs and Poems
of Molly Drake (The Unthanks)
