So that’s it, Euro 2016 is over. In truth, not too many tears will be shed as a bit like this blog, the whole tournament was pretty underwhelming, and only punctuated with brief bits of quality. As much of the football has been forgotten I will instead write a few words about my Euro 2016 experience which may have been slightly more interesting!
I actually landed tickets for what turned out to be the quite a good
game between Croatia Vs Czech Republic in Saint Etienne but thankfully this was
trumped by my friend Rob having snaffled tickets for both the Quarter Final in
Paris and the Semi Final in Marseilles.
A quick glance at my wall chart told me that both of these games were
for the right hand side of the draw. This in essence meant that for me to see
England play in Paris they would have to finish 2nd in their
group. This was clearly never going to
happen as England were expected to top the group in comfortable fashion.
However, England did the inevitable and made a right pig’s ear of
things and finished 2nd behind Wales. A game against Portugal
beckoned only for a last minute Iceland goal in their final game to set up a
tie with England. So as we saw it, the footballing gods had conspired to ensure
that England only had to beat Iceland to mean that I would get to see them in
Paris.
I don’t need to remind anyone what happened in that game. So down to
that diabolical performance I would instead be watching France vs Iceland at
Saint Denis, Paris.
Prior to that though, on Saturday, the day of our arrival, was the
Germany vs Italy game so we headed over to the fan park under the Eiffel Tower
to sink a few beers and take in some of the atmosphere. The game itself was
hardly a classic and with the game heading towards 90 minutes, it was clear
that extra time beckoned.
Now anyone who knows me that well (which is not that many of you) will
know that I have had some possible nearish death experiences such as the Asian
Hillsborough, near Death on Death Road in Bolivia and also the Tsunami scare in
Thailand.
Little did I know that another would be added to the list as a Human
Tsunami all of a sudden appeared out of nowhere and starting charging towards
us, with hundreds of people falling to the ground. I managed to stumble to
safety whilst Rob managed to turn into Usain Bolt and spring it out the park
A quick look around suggested to me it was a false alarm so I wanted to
watch the extra time and penalties. Rob was less certain so I arranged to meet
him again after the game
This didn’t seem to make the news everywhere so to prove I am not fibbing,
here’s footage of what actually happened.
The next day was the France vs Iceland game so we did a bit of walking
around and saw some of the sights. Bizarrely, in the morning, Jermaine Defoe
made a brief appearance to serve us breakfast!
Prior to leaving the hotel, a news article alerted us to the fact that
a suspect package had been detonated outside the stadium, just exactly the news
that we wanted to hear.
The game itself was right at the other end of Paris and the weather
took a turn for the worst as approached the stadium. As expected, security was
tight so had to go through about five security searches before being let in which
was understandable
The stadium was better than I had anticipated, and Rob had landed
absolutely plum seats, right in amongst the French fans. Fantastic atmosphere
and a goal fest to boot with a rampant French side putting aside a plucky
Iceland side 5-2. Queue wild
celebrations in Paris.
The next day I covered a bit more of Paris and caught up with my old
flat mate Ryan for some food in the Latin Quarter. I then managed to
successfully sprint it back to see the Arc de Triomphe in all its glory.
Beautiful
The next day we headed to Marseilles via the train to watch the Germany
vs France semi-final. The apartment we
stayed in was as French as they come, and was being let out of French artist,
who we never actually had to meet thanks to the wonders of Air B and B. The
apartment was in a really nice area called Le Panier, if you think of a
Shoreditch/Camden type area except with less beards and skinny jeans.
A short stroll from the Old Port area I was hoping to catch up on some
Chair Throwing Olympics as seen on the news a couple of weeks earlier but with
few English and Russian fans, things were pretty serene. We did pay a trip to the Queen Victoria pub
as of course we had to.
However, drowning our sorrows over England’s terrible
performance was not particular cheap as the pound had taken a battering after
Brexit. Talking of which, we saw this
place there just to rub my nose in it even more.
Having arrived a little late we didn’t managed to get any food until
after 10pm and the initial restaurant actually was unable to serve us food so
we moved to the next one we could find. As we were tucking in, Rob mentioned
that he had heard a group of lads shout out the name Chris Kamara. I looked over and there was the moustachio’d
legend, cunningly disguised in a trilby
Being the loser that I am, I immediately rushed over for a photo and a
quick chat. “What did you make of England?” I asked him. “Well there where shit
weren’t they” was his retort.
I went back to finish off my meal and it seemed that one of the lads he
was chatting to was from Norway. “ I signed a Norweigan once when I was a
manager” said Kamara, “And he was shit”. Classic Kammy!
The next day we did a bit more sightseeing and ventured up to the local
cathedral to get some great views of the city as you can see below. At night time, we buried a few more beers
with the big game just 24 hours away
The next day we went to see one of the Islands of the Count of Monte
Cristo fame (look it up) and caught some rays. A slight panic ensued when we
returned to find we could not get in the flat but we managed to sort it out to
make sure we picked up the tickets, although we were unsure if we would be able
to get back in after we returned from the game. Boy do I love a bit of drama.
The Velodrome was again quite from us so we decided to get the tube
there. However, poor organisation meant that the tube became quickly
overcrowded and before you know it, I was close to succumbing to another human
tsunami. At least 10 tubes went past
which were so packed that not one person could get on. Rob decided to pull rank
so we gave up and instead walked the rest of the way which turned out to the
right decision as it allowed us to have a couple of beers on the way and soak
up some of the atmosphere.
A ridiculous walk eventually got us inside the stadium and again we had
some great seats and we surrounded by a mixture of both French and German
fans.
The game itself was largely dominated
by the Germans but the game turned when the penalty was awarded in the 45th
minute. I would say that about 99% of the people inside the stadium did not
know why it was given but Griezemann notched and he added another just after
the break to seal the win. I would say that without doubt it was one of the
best atmospheres that I have been involved in (not quite topping WBA vs Palace
though in 2000) and arguably we had seen the biggest game of the tournament. The French squad finished with a nice rendition
of the Volcano Clap
We headed back into town and the streets were really pumping. The walk
was pretty long but we managed to sink a few beers with the locals, although
most of them seem partied out. The German fans had also disappeared pretty
quickly after their defeat but fair play to the majority that stayed out.
Of course, there were some English fans as well, here with a rendition of the Kolo/Yaya Toure classic
Of course, there were some English fans as well, here with a rendition of the Kolo/Yaya Toure classic
So that’s it, my Euro 2016 excursion was over. Probably the first and last football and
tournament I will be going to. Qatar and Russia? Do me a favour!
On a personal note, it’s time to hang up my boots with regards to this
blog. It’s been a fun 10 years but it’s now time to consign this to the
footballing cemetery in the sky.
Thanks for reading!
Sunil
(P.S I had to omit some of the details of what actually happened as
this is a family friendly blog!)
