Summer doubleheader: Estonia and Finland

Nomme Kalju 8-0 Sillamae Kalev
Premium Liiga, 16 June 2017

HIFK 0-2 PS Kemi
Veikkausliga, 17 June 2017

One of the real upsides of this challenge, hobby, project, whatever you want to call it, is you go to countries you probably would never otherwise go to. And with all due respect to the people of Estonia, that country would be one of them,

Indeed, first and foremost, Finland was the 'main' destination for this trip. With the whole withdrawal from the European Union (I have some sort of irrational dislike for the word Brexit) I've decided to do as many of those countries while it remains as simple as possible. With a summer league as well that was the more obvious trips to make at this time of year. Tallinn, the Estonian capital, can be reached by ferry from Helsinki in two and a half hours, so those two countries could be done in one weekend.

Estonia would be the destination for the first game of the weekend. After getting into Helsinki on Friday lunchtime, it was then a ferry journey (which is a decent way to travel, with a few bars and cheap beer and food available) over to Tallinn, an argument with a reckless tuk-tuk driver in Tallinn which nearly could ended up with punches thrown, the picking-up of my keys for an apartment to have overnight, then onto Nomme Kalju v Sillamae Kalev.

Nomme play in the Hiiu area of town, from the city centre you can get a train straight to Hiiu then walk about 10 minutes to a very suburban, but charming little ground. As I was staying closer to the port, I picked up the tram and then changed at Tondi for the train, which took about 40 minutes.

I was slightly late, but got in after handing a young lady at a table 10 euros and went into the ground.

Only the 'main' stand was open, which was series of benches rather than actual seats, A  Le Coq, the national beer was available at 3 euros for about a pint, as well as some burgers and other food which I didn't try. There is a similar stand behind one goal, the other end had some activities for kids and families and the other side had no stand. There were also some optimistic 'advertising' boards with soundbites in English, like "WELCOME TO HELL"

Having said that, visiting side Sillamae Kalev probably thought it was hell. The home side were 5-0 up at half time, completely in control and at times walking the ball into the net. Three more second half goals made it the most one-sided professional game I have ever watched, and I've seen San Marino live.

Hungry, but having seen loads of goals, I headed back into town. The Old Town and the area near Viru are both quite good for places to eat and drink. I settled on Scotland Yard, a police themed bar that had live music while I could stuff a burger down me.

If you want to see highlights of the game, they're here

Back to Helsinki

I travelled back to Finland early on Saturday afternoon, for what was originally slated to be a teatime kickoff between HIFK and Kemi, from the north of Finland. HIFK are one of Helsinki's two top-flight teams, lesser known than city rivals HJK. They do have on their books however Mikael Forssell, formerly of Chelsea and Birmingham, and Mika Vayrynen, once of Leeds. Neither would play for the struggling side in this game though.

Annoyingly, kickoff was moved to an earlier time of 3pm, which meant a rush across the city to the Telia 5G Areena, which is in what I suppose would be Helsinki's Olympic park, with the Olympic stadium and an indoor arena both a stone's throw away. It's a 10,000 or so capacity stadium, shared with HJK. Tickets ranged from 10 euros for the 'fan stand' behind the goal, which contained a small group of noisy, colourful fans, to the 25 euros I splashed out on the main stand, I actually thought I had blagged my way into hospitality, the main stand has a nice open concourse where you can get food and drink, with some tables with a view from the half way line. It is however the Nordic countries, so a Carlsberg set me back EUR7.50.

As mentioned, HIFK are struggling, and half way through the season are in danger of dropping out of the top flight. They would lose 2-0, as Filip Valencic bagged a brace, the second a lovely effort lifted over the keeper after he was drawn to the edge of his box. One thing which I've never experienced before was adverts being played over the tannoy during the match. Admittedly that's one thing from abroad English football would do well not to import.

I've always had a soft spot for the Nordic countries and enjoyed my visits there, despite the cost of everything. Helsinki was no exception with friendly people and a relaxed  vibe around the city.

Germany: Hertha Berlin v Augsburg

Hertha Berlin 2-0 Augsburg
Bundesliga, April 9 2017

Nearly three months later, I finally summon the effort to write about my trip to the German capital. A game in Germany is often spoken of as a great way to experience a football match, so this was one of the trips I was keener to tick off sooner or later.

I decided on an April date, initially the plan was to see either Borussia Dortmund or Cologne in the preceding midweek set of fixtures, but before I could sort out any plans, a rearranged Bolton game was moved to that date, and with us in the promotion race I didn't want to miss any of our games where I didn't have to.

So I looked at the following Sunday, saw Hertha at home at 3.30pm and thought that was a perfect opportunity to fly to Berlin in the morning, watch the match, have a few more beers in the evening and then some sightseeing on Monday before going home. Perfect.

Lots of positive things are said about the German matchday 'experience' (a horrible phrase, I do apologise) but the set-up is so fan-friendly.

Firstly, with a match ticket, you can get around the city for the entire day using public transport for free. I paid 22 euros for my ticket, so that's the same price for Bundesliga action as I paid for an average League One away game last season. This was for an upper tier ticket at the Olympiastadion. Tickets were 15 euros for the standing section below me but I seemed unable to buy those online, maybe they aren't generally available.

On getting off the S-Bahn at the stadium, there are lots of little vans and stalls selling reasonably priced beer and sausages, very German, but again a great area and a great idea for fans to enjoy themselves pre-match. There were also stalls with an impressive range of football merchandise, including badges and scarves from a number of British clubs, right down the leagues. Wigan. Yep. Grimsby. Yep. Newport? Oh yes of course.

Once I went through the turnstiles the design of the stadium meant there was more open areas, where food was plentiful, and beer was available by the litre at reasonable prices. You can also take it into the stand.

As for the match, Hertha were in the European reckoning while Augsburg were struggling down the other end, which showed. John Brooks scored the opener before Valetin Stocker doubled the lead before half time after decent work from Salomon Kalou in the build-up. The standing fans below me jumped up and down from 15 minutes before kickoff until the final whistle, aided by some guy with a megaphone, and despite the running track still managed to create a decent noise that didn't get lost in an open ground.

Getting away after the game was easy, and I did some of the usual tourist stuff for the rest of my time there, including a look at the GDR Museum, Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate. 

Spain: Barcelona v Gladbach

Barcelona 4-0 Borussia Moenchengladbach - 6^th December 2016

It’s nearly two months since I went to Barcelona, but finally I’ll get around to posting that blog post. Actually, it was written weeks ago, then my laptop quite literally died. So, I had to start again. Not like people actually read this, it’s more a chronicle for myself.

Anyway, I was off to Catalunya, to tick Spain off the list. After a delayed flight, I got into Barcelona the afternoon of the match, and it was not only a chance to tick off a great club, but also my first live taste of Champions League football.

Luis Enrique’s men had already won their group, and as such rested players. But it was still a team packed with talent, with Lionel Messi starting, so I can say I’ve seen both Messi and Ronaldo live.

As you may or may not know, Barca ran out 4-0 winners with Arda Turan bagging a hat trick. The Camp Nou is one of those places you get that feeling when you go in it. Before going there, I stopped off a small bar on the walk from Collblanc metro station to the stadium, and had a few reasonably priced beers.

Gates seem to open just over an hour before kick-off, and after a body search at the gates, well away from the ground, you can take the walk up to the ground. I had great seats, in the lowest tier of the Gol Nord (if you watch a game on TV, it’s the goal to the left) and was behind the ultras, who sang songs mocking Espanyol, probably, and definitely sung chants of Catalonian independence. I imagine if not for them, it would be a flat atmosphere, with too many tourists like myself, but they were great and didn’t stop.

After the game, I stayed around the grounds of the Camp Nou. There is an outdoor café type establishment serving beer and hot snacks, that the locals largely stay away from, so it was a reasonably empty space to get another Estrella and let the metro get less crammed. They also have Barca TV on screens so you can watch back the match highlights. After about an hour, I went back to the city centre, where the metro wasn’t too crammed.

Other highlights of the trip included having a look at the Sagrada Familia and the expensive La Rambla, which like Nicky Wire, I have now walked. If you’re fit enough, have a walk from town up the Estadi Olimpic too. The views looking down on town from Montjuic are well worth the pain of the steep walk up. The former home of Espanyol and the main venue for the 1992 Summer Games is now a community facility. It’s free to walk around the concourses and take photos, while there is a sports museum, and for a small fee there are activities locals can take part in on the pitch and track, which seems a nicer legacy than handing it over to some mate’s football club on the cheap because they have the same political affiliation (hi London).

(NB, I’ll put some photos up at a later date!)