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.
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