Belgium and the Netherlands

KV Mechelen 0-0 KAA Gent
Pro League, 12th December 2014

PSV 2-0 FC Twente
Eredivisie, 14th December 2014

A pre-Christmas getaway was my plan here. In an ideal world I would have liked to do three countries - the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, but that plan appeared to go down the drain when I found out Luxembourg was on their winter break. Don't you hate that when it happens?

Anyway, first of the two games was a glamorous trip on a cold wet Friday to Mechelen. A half hour train journey north of Brussels, the rain had thankfully subsided a bit (walking around the capital during the day felt like a continuous Ice Bucket Challenge).

The main gate at KV Mechelen

The hosts were struggling in the Pro League, Belgium's top flight, and were welcoming Gent, who finished the weekend in fourth place. Nothing could separate the two sides on the night though, in fact, Mechelen had the ball in the net in second half stoppage time, but the effort was disallowed.

Achter de Kazerne, named so as the ground was once behind some army barracks, is an old-school venue, almost like what you would get in a lower league game in England. For 16 euros I took my place on an old-style terrace - four rows running the length of the main stand. The most vocal Mechelen fans were on the far side, sharing a stand with the visting fans, which made for a decent atmosphere in a crowd of around 10,000.

Eindhoven
Sunday was taken up by a trip north of the border, to see the Eredivisie leaders PSV take on FC Twente. Going down the 'official' route, I had to buy a match package - which gave me a match ticket, 40 euros to blow in the club shop, and enough tokens to buy a couple of beers, a burger and a Mars bar. I can't gain weight so no guilt there.

A full-sized chocolate football

The 40 euro voucher did mean I ventured into the club shop, where amongst all the usual shirts, scarves and flags offered up some weird and wonderful things. Not thinking the PSV shaving gel would make me some sort of magnet for the ladies (except to repel I suppose), or a Memphis Depay cushion, I ended up buying a football made out of chocolate. The story is, if you have to buy some useless tat, make sure it's edible.

In news that will probably horrify the Against Modern Football brigade. you can also buy Man City, Man Utd, PSG and Barcelona shirts in the store, perhaps linked to Nike's sponsorship of PSV and those clubs.

The atmosphere around the game was stereotypically Dutch. Teams warmed up to electrohouse, you could drink and have a smoke in the stand and it was all pretty relaxed. PSV fans seemed relatively quiet, but I was sat under the travelling Twente contingent who were in full voice 35 minutes before kickoff and never seemed to go quiet.

The set piece from which Luuk de Jong puts PSV 1-0 up

On the pitch, PSV were in top in the first half and goals from Luuk de Jong and Gigi Wijnaldum gave the hosts a 2-0 lead which proved to be the final score. Twente had chances in the second half but Philip Cocu's men retained their lead in the league at the start of what was a big week for them, with a clash against Feyenoord just days away.

A few other things
Dutch people are pretty forthright it seems.
"Hi, could you please take a photo of me"
"Of course"
"It's just the big butto..."
"Ja, I know, I know"
I half expected the steward to start telling me how all Dutch people are trained to take beuatiful photos from an early age and how Rinus Michels invented the selfie.

A special thank you to Fat Boy's bar in Brussels, who managed to put on the Bolton v Ipswich game for me. I wasn't expecting that.

When the Belgians strike, they strike. Absolutely no publlc transport on Monday was a pain, but good luck to them anyway.

I quite enjoyed the European Parliament Visitors Centre, it's a nice little interactive tour through modern Euopean political history, and it's something o do for free if it's lashing it down. There are lots of nice buildings too, especially some of the churches.

Next stop: Might do an easy one. Ireland or Scotland. Quite shockingly I've never stepped foot in Scotland.

Flat pack three - Tour of Denmark and Sweden

Brondby 1-1 Bolton, Friendly, July 10 2014
FC Vestsjaellands 0-1 Bolton, Friendly, July 13 2014
Mjallby AIF 3-2 Bolton, Friendly, July 16 2014

Upon the release of Bolton's 2014 summer pre-season friendlies, one couldn't help think it was just the usual fayre. A few trips down the road to the likes of Tranmere and Port Vale, crowned off with a single game at home to Vitesse of the Netherlands, a fellow Macron sponsored team to welcome to our newly renamed home. That was until the addition of three games in Scandinavia to start the whole thing off. Two in Denmark, one in Sweden. Excuse for a holiday right there.

Brondby
Basing myself in Copenhagen, I flew in the day of the first game, with a short trip to the Western outskirts. One of Danish footballs more famous names, the club has had financial problems recently but finished 4th last term and has new investment. On show was a familar face as Johan Elamnder had recently re-signed, and predictably scored the opener. Jermaine Beckford missed a penalty before Craig Davies showed him how it's done.

The Brondby away ticket 'office'

The ground is quite tidy, although fencing spoils the view a little and the lights weren't working in the toilets. Even Burnley has electricity. We also were talking to some Brondby fans who seemed decent, and even called us a cab when we got a bit lost looking for a pub after the game. Cue loud music as we had a mini rave back to central Copenhagen. As you do.

FC Vestsjaellands

Harboe Arena, Slagelse

Sunday saw me travel west for about an hour, to the town of Slagelse (yep, we made those jokes) for the game against FC Vestajaellands, who finished 9th last season, building on promotion to the Superligaen in 2013. A quiet place, but again with decent, friendly fans, the Harboe Arena had the feeling of a lower league ground, with a covered and uncovered terrace for us visitors. An outdoor kiosk sold the beer that the ground is named after, as well as hot dogs. In the style of a famous Scandinavian retailer, they gave you the sausage, the bread, then you had to work it out for yourself. At least they cooked it.

As for the game, Bolton won 1-0 through a Liam Feeney goal. The PA announcer called him Liam Freeney which led to calls of "Freeney, give us a wave" and "Freeney. Freeney." Arguably it wa the most fun day out of the three games. The hosts missed a penalty, and at least two balls went over the fence. And yes, we all got back to Copenhagen for the World Cup final, the second biggest game that day.

Mjallby AIF
The tour finished with a game in Sweden, about four hours from Copenhagen  After the train to Solvesborg, a town which claims home to the leader of a far right Swedish party, it was then a half hour bus ride through the countryside to the middle of nowhere. Strandvallen is near a caravan park, and that is it. It's a nice, relaxed ground, and had no segregation, although you couldn't buy beer. Indeed afterwards I saw some Mjallby players chatting with fans.

Jesper Gustasson chats with a fan after the game

As for the game itself, Beckford and Rob Hall had Bolton 2-0 up very quickly, before caving in and conceeding three. Wanderers looked threatening going forward, but myself, the single digit number of travelling Wanderers, and the dozen or more Swedish Whites were to be left with a defeat. There was no bus for an hour too so I had to console myself with an ice cream, which was a bit different.

Waiting for a bus in the middle of nowhere after Mjallby

Out and about
Malmo is an hour away from Copenhagen, which gave me the chance to briefly meet up with some friends from university - in fact one was performing, you can see highlights here. Their friends in turn offered to show me around Copenhagen the following day, which was nice of them. Here are few things I did, or can recommend in the Danish capital.

Tivoli - A theme park right outside the central station, with gardens and restauarants as well as number of rides. I didn't go in, purely as I have a dodgy lung. But I've only been told told good things about it.

Just some of the bottle collection at the
Carlsberg Visitor Centre

Carlsberg Brewery - Have a look around the old brewhouses, sample the produce, see their assive bottle collection and even ride on a horse drawn carriage if you want. It costs 80 kroner to get in (about £8) and with that you get two inclusive sample beers (or a soft drink if you're too young, or don't fancy alcohol). Carriage rides, actual guided tours, and sampling sessions cost extra,

Parkenstadion - The national stadium, and home of FC Copenhagen, I paid about £6.50 to tour the ground. Dates are limited so perhaps contact the club beforehand. Tours appear to be Danish only.

Street Food - Quite a nice find, thanks to Jess and Pierre, my unoffcial tour guides, this place basically offers stalls with different types of world food (including fish and chips) all under one roof on the harbour front. By Copenhagen standards it's reasonably good value too.

Botanical gardens - A free attraction - a nice place to have a walk around on a nice day and lots of nice scenery, not too far from the city centre.

There are also lots of buildings, the royal palaces, the Little Mermaid Statue, Nyhavn, and even the Lego shop on the main shopping street. Just save up.

Me doing touristy stuff

NEXT STOP - I reckon Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg in one weekend. Maybe next year, or late this year if I have time and money.

Portugal: FC Porto v Benfica

Liga ZON Sagres, 10th May 2014, Estadio do Dragao
FC Porto 2-1 Benfica

My first ever game on foreign soil. This was a weekend when I particularly wanted to watch a game. The English Championship season had finished the previous weekend, and with Bolton nowhere near playoff contention, it seemed like a good opportunity to go. I looked at some of the fixtures and this one stood out.

Some ugly person, oh wait it's me.

One, I quite like Benfica. Knocking Man Utd out of the Champions League at the group stage in 2005 helped a lot I suppose. Secondly, it was O Classico, one of, if not the biggest fixture in Portuguese football.

This wasn't the biggest clash in the fixture's history, however. On the final weekend of the season, Porto were consigned to third, whatever the result, in what had been a poor season by their standards. They sacked Paulo Fonseca and Julien Lopetegui had just been installed as the new boss. Benfica meanwhile, had already wrapped up their first Liga since 2010, ending a period of Porto dominance, and had the Europa League final to look forward to four days later.

Mosaic in the concourse, which includes the names of all
who attended the first game at the stadium.

With that in mind, Benfica played a weakened team. Porto duly won 2-1. Ricardo Pereira gave the Dragaoes the lead in the fourth minute, before Enzo Perez levelled things for Benfica from the spot. Six minutes before half time, Jackson Martinez scored a penalty of his own, which proved to be he winner.

Although I wanted to go in the away end, I had to settle for the home section. I was sat behind the goal with the Super Dragaoes, one of the ultra groups. I was a bit concerned when I entered the ground and there lots of broken seats.

It was fine though. The Porto fans were loud, and the stood on top of their seats, hence the breaks, but it was just good old enthusiasm. Despite the ground not being full, it was a great atmosphere, even if one fan tried to charge me like a bull when Porto went 2-1 up. Think Zidane on Materazzi, but quite gentle. Then he apologised straight away. In English. Odd.

It's a great ground too, and the day before I did the stadium and museum tours. It's 15 euros in total to do both, the stadium tours take you pitchside, to the presidential suite, the concourses, the away changing room (since legendary manager Jose Pedroto's reign, no-one is allowed in the home room), and all sorts.

Lots of trophies

The museum comes highly recommended from me, with loads to see documenting the club's history. There are loads of things to see with some interactive stuff and understandably, a massive trophy section. It's in both Portuguese and English too, though you should always in my opinion try and learn a bit of the language.

The ground is easily reachable. There is a Estadio do Dragao stop on the Metro, and a shopping centre next to the ground with your usual fast food outlets and some more local food and drink offerings.

It's a lovely city too, with loads of riverside bars, cafes and restaurants, a night spot and great views if you're bringing someone who wants more than football. You also can't go far without being offered a free wine tasting session.

If you need a sports bar, I quie happily recommend the White Hart on Rua do Breyner,walkable from Trindade metro stop. I watched the final day of the Premier League season in there and it was great, with loads of screens, nice staff and comfortable seating. Just what you need really.

NEXT STOP: Flights and hotel booked, off to Copenhagen in July for Bolton's week long tour of Denmark and Sweden. There'll be a blog post about that next month. (Yes, this blog will be a slow burner)

Welcome

Hello everyone, a first post, just an overview of what this will be about.

I always wanted to see a football match abroad and it took me a while to do it. As a Bolton fan I saw my team play in Europe, but I never got to a European away game (a bit too young with no family supporting them) and that is a bit of a regret.

My Swansea ticket, if you really need proof.
A 12 hour round trip from Sheffield where I lived at the time.

Anyway, I went to Portugal to watch O Classico in Porto in May, and I loved the experence and the whole weekend. I wanted more, and came up with the stupid idea of wanting to watch a game in all 54 countries of what football classes as Europe (basically everywhere in UEFA). After mentioning it to a friend the other week, this blog became an idea. And now it's a thing.

Now I'm not after a record, someone has probably managed this already. I'm not after official accreditation off anyone. I've obviously been to quite a few grounds in England. I've watched Bolton play at Swansea (and we were rubbish that day) so England and Wales are already ticked off. Portugal too and I'll blog about that tomorrow.

I will be off to Denmark and Sweden next month as Bolton are there for three pre-season friendlies.

Enjoy.