Italy and San Marino: International away days

San Marino 0-2 Slovenia
European Qualifier, October 12 2015
First up on a very quick trip abroad was the first game for me in a micro-state, as I watched Slovenia's game against San Marino in Serravalle.

Landing in Rome, it was a long and fairly complicated journey to get to the ground. A four and half hour train journey to Rimini was first (Rimini was where I stayed that night)

The entire nation of San Marino doesn't have a train station. In fairness there isn't much of it. Therefore the only way of getting from Rimini to Serravalle was via a bus which is generally every hour or so. A single trip cost three euros and it dropped me off outside the ground. The trip back was more expensive. There were no buses going back after the 8.45pm kickoff, and with my phone battery dying, I had to rely on a steward phoning me a taxi and that trip cost me 40 euros. The local people were all very helpful and warm though.

I was actually within the small cotingemt of Slovenian fans. It sort of happened by accident, I reached the ground via the Slovenian end and asked for the ticket office. I'm not sure that two ticket offices were needed at the San Marino Stadium, but I ended up with an away ticket, which was 20 euros for an uncovered seat and 30 for a covered seat. Those prices did surprise me.

View from the away stand at the San Marino Stadium

It is not the worst ground I've ever been to. There are two stands, with the Smmarinese fans in the near side to the dugouts, often singing about captain Andy Selva, and the away fans in the far side stand. Having said that, take away the camera operator I could see and the adverts for the likes of Carlsberg and Konami and I would have felt ;ike I was an amateur game.

As for the game. Slovenia needed a win to confirm third place and a playoff spot. They weren't great, often passing sideways too often. San Marino had a golden chance to break the deadlock, and it was goalless at half time. Second half headers though from Bostjan Cesar and ex-Sheffield Wednesday man Nejc Pecnik gave Slovenia their needed but expected three pioints.

Italy 2-1 Norway
European Qualifier, October 13 2015
The second game was at a much bigger ground. Italy took on Norway at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. The Azzurri were looking to complete an unbeaten qualifying campaign, while unless Croatia dropped points at home to Malta, Norway needed to win to secure qualification for a major tournament for the first time since 2000.

Due to a Norwegian friend going, I got to secure a ticket in the away end. After going through the choas of the areas surrounding the famous venue, we made our way for the watertight security. Watertight doesn't cover it, as I swear I was searched four times before reaching my seat. And I complain about English stewarding...

The Stadio Olimpico pre-match

There were lots of empty seats in the Olimpico, but that didn't detract to a tremendous amount of noise made by both sets of fans as you could feel the foundations moving. The Italian national anthem was also brilliant to witness live.

Norway needed the win more and they were very close to achieving it. In the 22nd minute the ball fell to Alex Tettey who hit it perfectly from outside the area to put the away team ahead and sending the travelling Norwegians absolutely bonkers.

As the game went on, the Norwegians stayed ahead and the fans were getting confident, and the players too. Perhaps too confident. The Norwegians were doing the ole thing all fans have done at some point, and the defenders were offering upsome heart in mouth moments as they tried playing out of the back.

In the end, it proved to happen once too many. and it fell to Alessandro Florenzi, who as Barcelona know can score 60 yards out,a nd in this case, he equalised from six. The left back was at fault and he was again as Graziano Pelle scored the winner 11 minutes from time. With Croatia winning, Norway will have to go through the playoffs to reach Euro 2016.

Scotland: Probably the latest match report ever published

Celtic 2-0 Ross County
Scottish Premiership, August 1 2015

First of all, this will be a quick and somewhat lazy entry, as I was busy in the days after and then forgot to write a blog entry. Until now.

A number of legends of the club appear on this brilliant design
around the outside of the stand

Anyway, Scotland was ticked off the list with a visit to Celtic Park on the first day of the Scottish Premiership season. Starting a week before the English season (and therefore Bolton's first game) it was an ideal time to visit.

Being also the first day of the season and the fact that Celtic unsurprisingly won the title last season, it was a chance to see the unveiling of the champions' flag at Celtic. Maybe winning the title is just too easy for Celtic these days, but the ceremony of raising the flag on the pitch did seem as much a formality as wrapping up the title was.

As for the match itself, Celtic ran out fairly comfortable winners without being truly impressive. The Hoops were in front in the fourth minute after Leigh Griffiths converted a spot kick, then Stefan Johansen made it two towards the end of the first half.

Celtic Park pre-kickoff, abd the flag ceremony

Celtic Park is a great ground and a grand place, there were snippets and glimpses of the famous atmosphere, the Green Brigade supporters group constantly kept going in the one corner of the ground, but it was largely passive.

Norway: Goals, bankruptcy and Apollo 440

Lyn 1-6 Senja
2. Divisjon, Saturday 4 July 2015

Odd 1-2 Valerenga
Tippeligaen, Sunday 5 July 2015
A double header of a weekend. Norway is one of a handful of European countries which season takes place over a calendar year, so it was a rare chance to watch teams in the full swing of a domestic season in summer weather conditions. And there happened to be a heatwave while I was there.

The long road back
My first game was as unplanned as they can get. My plan was to walk up to the Ullevaal Stadion, Norway's national stadium. I happened to walk past the Bislett on my way there, with half an hour to kickoff and happened to notice there was a game on. So I handed over my 100 kroner (about £8) and went in.

Lyn had a disastrous few years at the end of the last decade. Once a top flight club, who boasted the likes of John Obi Mikel, Ali Al-Habsi and Chinedu Obasi, the team from Oslo, typically supported by the better-off, went bust in 2010 and had to start again in the seventh tier. They have since risen up to the third tier, but 2015 has been a shambles. Going into their clash with Senja, a team from the northern island of the same name, they were bottom of the league, having picked up a paltry two points from 11 games.

Now playing at the Bislett Stadium, known mainly as an athletics venue that hosts one of the most prestigious Diamond League meets each year, there was a small but vocal group of Lyn fans. The attendance though, was just 347, with one or two Senja fans (or sympathisers)

A rare moment in Lyn's season. They were holding a team
to a goalless draw when this photo was took

They got goals though. Lyn took a shock lead through Mahmod Hejazi in the 20th minute, but that was as good as it got for the home side. Ole-Oscar Ross equalised almost immediately. As Lyn's defence seemed to be carved open at will, particaularly with four second half goals, Ross with another, a hat trick from Christer Johnsgard, and a penalty from Isak Furu Krogstad, made it another sorry Saturday for the home team. Even when Senja missed a shot in the second half, it found the back of the net of a spare goal resting on the running track.

The result kept Senja in mid table, with Lyn a relegation in waiting, even with 14 games still to play.

The cradle of Norwegian Football
Next was the game I had planned in advance. It was another Oslo team, Valerenga, but they were away at Odd, Norway's oldest football club, who play in the southern town of Skien, around two hours' drive from the capital. A club with history, they have more cup wins than any other club in the country, and strive to be a club for the entire county of Telemark. It also happens to be the club a friend from university supports, and he was able to get back from Norway from the match to give me a grand tour of Skien, and then helpfully translate any chants. In return I revealed to him that one of the club's pre match anthems is the Apollo 440 track ITV used for their France '98 opening titles. I can't think of a word to describe that.

The Skagerak Arena seemed a modern facility, with 8,100 there that night out of a possible 13,000. There are three steep, modern stands, with the fans close to the pitch, making for a decent din. The away fans were housed in the older Domino's Tribune, which reminded me a bit of Carlisle United's far too long stand built in the Michael Knighton era. This was because it was once a main stand, before the three new stands were built, and the pitch was turned 90 degrees. Odd were the first club in Norway to use an artificial surface too.

There seems to be an effort from the club to connect with young fans though, with a pre match ceremony involving lots of kids running along the pitch, which was nice.

The Skagerak Arena before kickoff

On the pitch, there were just the three goals. Both sides were in the top half of the table, but off the pace of league leaders and once perennial Champions League participants Rosenborg. Odd had just won their first Europa League qualifier 3-0 at Sheriff Tiraspol. They weren't to win this though. While they looked to play the ball on the floor, they often gave it

away and defended poorly and deep. Valerenga took the lead in the first half through Icelandic forward Elias Omarsson.

Odd were proving a threat from crosses and set pieces though, and had a free header at one stage. Eventually, they levelled in the second half, with Eintracht Frankfurt loanee Olivier Occean heading in from a corner. In the final few minutes though, Valerenga won it, with Omarsson breaking down the left unchallenged, and beating the young goalkeeper at the near post, sending their travelling fans, including the Clan fan group, into raptures, and insulting the hosts as "fucking farmers."

Other stuff
Norway, if you didn't know, is too expensive. You can budget accordingly by eating from the bins at your local Lidl for a month after you come back. However, there is apparently a decent, cheap steakhouse near the parliament building, but I was told this AFTER I came back to the UK.

The fjords are beautiful. You can take a boat tour, like I did, or you can get water taxi type things and visit the different islands just a short hop from Oslo.

View from the boat trip

The national football museum at Ullevaal is apparently only open to groups, so bear this in mind before you walk all the way uphill from the city centre like I did.

An Oslo pass is a good way of getting dicounted and free access to a lot of the city's museums and attractions.

Next Stop
Celtic Park for Celtic v Ross County on August 1