Hradec Kralove 2-1 Pardubice (Czech FNL, att. 2,551)
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| Welcome to ... |
Whatthehell just
happened there? One minute I was minding
my business, next thing you know a masked policeman is pointing a semi
automatic rifle at fans on the terraces at point blank range. Who was he going to shoot? Cos even if he was trying to protect his own unfirearmed
police mates, there would have been multiple casualties and probably a lynching
(his). As it was, several members of the
crowd laughed and openly mocked. It
didn't seem real.
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| WTF? |
Earlier, the ultras
had had a banner with a message on confiscated by the stewards. They must have dumped it somewhere, whereupon,
with about 10 minutes left and Hradec having taken the lead, a couple of rapscallions
grabbed it and ran down the terrace. With
help they unfolded it as stewards pounced and they began a tug of war. Cue beer and various objects being thrown at
the stewards, while the ultras clambered over the adjoining fence or came
running down the terrace from the back.
Then the riot police arrived, soothing nobody, and a stand-off and
occasional skirmishes followed. One fan,
possibly one of the rapscallions, left covered in blood. A storm in a teacup, but quite what a
semi-automatic rifle was doing in the midst of it, I've no idea.
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| Hradec ultras. |
The match could have
been forecast as tense and likely to have bad blood - Pardubice is 20 odd
minutes away by train. However, this was
far from the case, since Pardubice brought negligible numbers (less than 100)
and the chants didn't seem particularly directed at them.
Perhaps followers of FC
Hradec Kralove are naturally bitter? It's a sizable enough place (95,000 inhabitants,
the Czech Republic's 8th biggest), yet they're perennially in the
second tier. Maybe it was the heat, but
that's why we were all sat in the shade.
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| The away end. |
I arrived in Hradec
Kralove at 17:22 for a 18:00 kick-off and I just about made it on time. I’d taken the precaution of leaving my
baggage where I had to change trains (ironically, Pardubice), so all I had to
worry about was directions and I followed my notes to a tee. Pleasant walk too, crossing a couple of
rivers, skirting a park and circling around an old bit of wall. Shame then that I took a wrong turn on the
way back, got completely lost and missed my train. Only a bus saved the day and I was able to
catch a later train, to stay in Prague for the night.
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| The sweep of the stand. |
There were plenty of
ticket booths to choose from and queues weren't huge. I was in and to my joy I had a proper old
school European stadium, elliptical, benches chucked on the terraces at either
end and 2 stands by the sides of the pitch.
One was a large cantilever, though the seats once again were on the old
terrace, benches in the bottom half, proper chairs higher up. The main stand, which the players decanted
from, had a smaller propped roof, though the sun was also directly in one's
glare. Most were in the stand opposite.
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| Welcome to...(II) |
Having a chat to the
guy on the merchandise stall, he said they'll soon be pulling down the stadium,
possibly one stand at a time, to make way for a new one. The Všesportovní stadion is one of a dwindling number of
it's kind so visit while it's in its (reputed) 25,000 glory.
Pardubice went one up. This was the second time this holiday I've seen
someone able to stroll forward 10 yards before having a pot shot. Again it went in, as the keeper was beaten to
his left. A decent strike but you don't
get this amount of time in England.
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| Floodlights towering over the Main Stand. |
Half-time and I
queued up for my second beer and first klobasa (sausage). Very nice too, albeit
Hradec equalised and the ensuing smoke from the smoke bomb made me move
sharpish. Penalty it was. The stewards were straight down the terrace
to extinguish said item.
Thus, they were
doubly ready when, a few minutes later, Hradec scored again, a scramble off a
corner. Same scenes again and maybe a
factor in the later skirmish as the stewards were then ordered to stand by the
ultras, bringing various chants towards them and so it was till the
rapscallions and riot police got involved.
It was all quite surreal.
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| They don't make 'em like this anymore. |
The Damage:
CHK 80 ent
CHK 55 klobasa
CHK 30 beer (x2)
CHK 40 badge
CHK 25 bus
CHK 80 locker
= CHK 340
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| Panorama from under the stand. |
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| Panorama from the corner. |
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| Behind the goal. |
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| The entrance. |
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| Coming through the entrance. |
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| Where most of the fans sat. |
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| Behind the goal (II). |
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| Looking toward the Main Stand. |
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| Note the layout of the benches. |
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| Some parts have seen better days. |
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| A huge press box. |
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| Fans standing at the back of the stand. |
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| The club mascot. |
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| A jagged roof frames Všesportovní stadion. |
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| Welcome to ...(III). |
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| A coach in front of the 'tunnel'. |
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| A floodlight dwarves the miniscule away support. |
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| Match action. |
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| A penalty is despatched. |
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| Looking toward the old scoreboard. |
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| Hradec Kralove kneel before the ultras. |
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| Welcome to...(IV). |
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| Zapadni Tribuna |
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| Looking towards the Main Stand (II). |
