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| Poznań city centre |
On the face of it I made a quite bizarre decision to go and see Lech Poznan v Cracovia in Poland. Yet there was method to this madness.There was an overnight train DIRECT from Karlsruhe. What luck! It's a sign! It was full. Typical. But if I was to go via Cologne and Dortmund, I could get one from there. No I couldn't. I got as far as Dortmund, found out it was impossible to get to Berlin at that time (it was pushing midnight) so I thought I'd head back to Cologne and crash at a nearby hostel. No such luck. Trains to Cologne were heavily delayed, to an extent they were being cancelled. So I sat on the platform for a couple of hours before jumping on train to Frankfurt...partly cos I'd get a faster connection to Berlin, mainly so I could have snooze. The plan worked to perfection and 2 trains later I was in Poznan at 16:25. I checked in, looked up where the stadium was and shower an shaved. My true reward was the offer of a cheap beer. A token from the hotel meant my 1/2 litre of Lech was the equivalent of 60p instead of £1.20. You can't give money away in this place.
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| 1st sighting of the stadium |
I
ambled towards the stadium, no rush. But I became increasingly aware that
there was nary a football fan in sight. I was becoming concerned.
My haste in printing something off Google maps was proving my undoing
once again. Wherever the stadium was, it wasn't here.
So I decided to remedy the situation by going to the railway station and flagging a taxi. '20 zloty' he said. The stadium was MILES away, too far to walk. (I caught 2 trams back, but I couldn't tell you their numbers.) But I did learn from the cab driver that the weather was too hot even for Poles (33°c according to the car's thermometer) and that Muslims were the cause of too much trouble in the world. I wouldn't like to say...
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| A bedouin tent, Poznań |
The stadium was a marvellous sight, like a giant, white armadillo (it would be a blue armadillo later on). With about 5 mins to kick-off I didn't have time to walk around, merely finding the nearest ticket booth. Where would I like to sit? 'Wherever's cheapest.' I found myself in the lower tier at the opposite end to the main home end.
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| Odd layering of seating in the corner |
The
INEA Stadion (AKA Stadion Miejski) is a strange construction. Strange in
a good way. It'snot some symmetrical bowl, a la Arsenal, or Man City, it has a
few quirks. While one end is two-tiered and the other three, the two side
stands have grand upper tiers, a la Elland Road. (And just like Elland
Road, they're mostly empty, ho ho.) Then in some corners, the upper tier
of seats is raised still further, looking almost temporary, on some form of
scaffolding. Part of me knows this cos in any stadium 1/3 full you can
generally wander about without too much grievance from the stewards regarding
the checking of tickets.
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| Why don't more stadia have lifts installed? |
Then
there's the roof, which is dragged over the stadium like some giant canopy,
like Munich's Olympic Stadium, only white. I bet it costs a fortune to
make a roof what looks like a tent. How ironic.
The
match was between two sides going nowhere fast. But it must be difficult
for players when each team's fans are chanting for the OTHER team. (It
seems Poznan and Cracovia have one of those 'friendship' things going on, very
common in Poland.) It did look great when the home end and away corner
synchronised their chants to each other, followed by applause all round. Though did I really hear a chant along the lines of 'Wizla are Jews'?
('Wizla' being Cracovia's rivals in Krakow...which is not too far
from...Auschwitz-Birkenau). In fact, wasn't the factory in 'Schindler's
List'in Krakow? So, if we imagine 'enemy of my enemy is my friend', shouldn't
Poles get along nicely with Jews, what with their shared experience of the Nazis?
I'm confused.
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| Camera gantry behind the goal |
The match? There was a match? Few incidents occurred as I pondered a second nil-nil in a row. I wondered what the world record was for attending goalless draws. Then on 75 minutes Cracovia had a man oddly sent off. Or an odd man sent off. The centre forward obstructed the keeper, preventing him firing it up the field quickly. Second yellow, it turned out. Then, as my mind drifted and I took a few pics, the crowd's sharp intake of breath made me quickly look up to see someone drill the ball in low from the edge of the box. That'll teach me. 1-0 to Poznan. In truth, I was willing a home goal. Would the Poznans 'do the Poznan'? No. Despite fantastic support throughout from an entirely white-clad lower tier and blue-clad upper, tonight was no night to turn your back on the opposition. Respect for Cracovia? Or merely saved for the 'big games'?
Behind the goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua4L3KzKwg4
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| Blue on top, white below. An opposite smurf', if you like. |
With two minutes left I received my true reward for my travels, one of the strangest goals I've ever laid witness to. Cracovia curled in a cross from the left...it was on the floor the whole way...everyone swung and missed it, leaving a flat-footed keeper to watch it creep into the far corner. Note to self: must try to look this one up on youtube or somesuch. Even the Poznans laughed (well, a few). One each and everyone's happy.
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| The retractable roof |
Oh,
prices. 40 zloty for the match, 8zl for a beer and 12 zl for a fabulous
sausage in bread. It was huge. And help yourself to gherkins
(essence of McDonalds burgers, those things) as well as those strange crispy
sprinkles you get on your hotdogs in Poland. Like when you get 'scraps'
in a northern chippy.
Attendance: 14,663 (INEA stadion)
The
Damage:
match: 40 zl
match: 40 zl
beer:
8 zl
sausage: 12 zl
programme: 3 zl
sausage: 12 zl
programme: 3 zl
taxi:
20
83zl
= £16. Bargain.
Tunes:
Trance Atlantic 2. (A trance compilation).
Tunes:
Trance Atlantic 2. (A trance compilation).
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| Interesting structures IN the stand. |
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| This could be Elland Road (even down to the empty seats). |
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| The far end. Note empty upper tier. |
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| The far right, so to speak. |
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| Right of centre... |
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| The opposite corner |
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| Sunset over Poznań |
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| Stadium lit up after the match |
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| Poznań by night |
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