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Going to games on holiday
Making_all_the_noise
Posts: 240
I’ve travelled overseas expressly to watch a match a handful of times (El Classico & Madrid derby etc) but usually football doesn’t cross my mind when I book trips abroad. However….once they’re booked, I sometimes take a peek at whether the local team has a home game and occasionally pop along.
Interested to hear other people’s experience of attending games overseas that just happen to coincide with holidays/trips.
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This weekend as an example, I was in Tirana and noticed KF Tirana had a local derby with Dynamo City. Cost me £9 for a VIP ticket but could get entry for about £2.50 if you wanted. They had a section for ultras, about 100 school kids all wearing black and singing terrible chants all game (might sound familiar).The match was cracking, like football used to be. End to end. KF took the lead after 30 seconds with the first attack. Dynamo won a deserved pen and contrived to miss the target. A melee ensued with flamboyant histrionics from KF leading to a ridiculous red card for Dynamo and six bookings. Then in the second half after mounting pressure Dynamo equalised. Beer in the stands was allowed and the Dynamo fans (who I was judiciously given a ticket to sit with) were a right bunch of characters, making weird noises and wanting to abuse the referee most the game.They had cars parked behind the goal like the old days at Stamford Bridge. Attendance was about 2,000 I’d guess in an 9,000 stadium. A fair few were weekend tourists looking to kill some time in what is a fantastic city but one that’s lacking tourist attractions. Rival fans were barely sat apart and heckling each other a bit but it was good natured and the police were laughing along. Fun match to attend and really enjoyed myself.
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@OhMyGodden does plenty of this.0
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When I was in Rome with a mate in 1990, we managed to get tickets for Lazio v AC Milan.0
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Not on holiday but spent a lot of time working in Frankfurt and saw Eintracht a few times.Also I worked in Singapore a lot and managed to see the Singapore Lions a few times.0
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Been to a few in Spain @ Seville and Palma (Majorca)- interesting experience, and walking out through mountains of Pippas shells (sunflower seeds) which are constantly been nibbled throughout the game.0
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Yes, in 35 countries plus I have Japan and Finland in the next 2 months.
We have a groundhopping thread though it's quite sparse these days
https://forum.charltonlife.com/discussion/76691/groundhopping/p392 -
I saw Selangor when KL years ago. A lively bunch is about all I remember.I also went in a coach from Anju a in North Goa to the biggest stadium they had in South Goa to watch India play Norway. What a day out. Crumbling old stadium. Pitch invasion from 2 of the Indian lads we used to knock about with drunk on Feni and far too many stories for here now.When I was living in Goa we had a Sunday football league with various local teams and one with us the Italians Germans and yids. Played at all sorts of dust ridden liabilities of pitches. If that counts😂1
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I once saw Exeter versus Chesterfield whilst staying in Paignton.13
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I do love a game on holiday, been to Toronto v Orlando, AC Milan v Torino, Barcelona v Antwerp (at the Olympic stadium), Wieczysta Kraków v Piast Gilwice (for free). I'm in Valencia at the moment but tickets for the Real Madrid game tonight were just too expensive, started at £129 and sod that. Did a tour of Levante today instead.0
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I went to See Barcelona v Mallorca a long time ago, it was the equivalent of the Charity Shield.
Barca were poor and my chant of Worse than Crystal Palace went down well in the section I was in - a tourist section. It was the year we beat Sunderland in the championship playoff.1 -
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Going to a football match or some other sporting event is something I love to do when on holiday. My wife will normally put up with one per trip and I’ve subjected her to some proper nonsense - Finnish Premier division, Austrian second division, Japanese third division and a match in Mauritius when we were on holiday there once. All that said she enjoys football at any level more than the baseball games I’ve taken her to in the States over the years!
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When I was living in England I would go on city breaks often, almost without exception it was tied in with getting a game in.
Prague was my most successful trip, 5 games on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.0 -
I went to see Perth Glory while in Oz1
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Several times. The first I remember was in Munich. We arrived at our hotel about 7pm to see loads of 1860 fans around. We decided on the spot to go, as the ground was about 5 minutes walk away, much to the amusement of locals, who expecteed tourists to go to see their more glamorous neighbours. One even said to us "Why are you here?".
Best experience was going to Slavia Prague in the early 90s. A beer in the local bar beforehand, hot dog, program and upgrade to the best seats...the whole lot cost about £1!
Have done several others and likely to go to Utrecht later in the year.1 -
Used to go on holiday a fair bit to Belgium, pretty much always used to catch a match at the local side.Sint-truiden I think the town was called.5
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The first time I went abroad with my Mrs she sat through a Club Brugge game. She's been to a Vienna derby, Serie D (Treviso) and gave up a Toronto FC ticket because it was too cold.se9addick said:Going to a football match or some other sporting event is something I love to do when on holiday. My wife will normally put up with one per trip and I’ve subjected her to some proper nonsense - Finnish Premier division, Austrian second division, Japanese third division and a match in Mauritius when we were on holiday there once. All that said she enjoys football at any level more than the baseball games I’ve taken her to in the States over the years!It works out well, usually I go solo and get a bonus football tick, she can souvenir shop without me moaning, then we have more to talk about during dinner.
We also have Stockholm in May and AIK's stadium is next to Westfield
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I remember we went Greece in the 90’s and my old man took us Olympiakos v Panathinaikos. Absolute helmet. I was about 5 and people were throwing not only stones but stuff like kettles. Nothing on the Valley but a learning curve.6
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1970s friendly, Blackpool vs Saudi Arabia. The El Sandico...1
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Once saw an Aussie Rules game while statying with family near Melbourne.
It was brutal. 👊0 -
Just one in 1997 while on holiday in Gran Canaria. Las Palmas v Lleida (Spanish second division).0
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Haha, I’ve taken my wife to Club Brugge too!!RedPanda said:
The first time I went abroad with my Mrs she sat through a Club Brugge game. She's been to a Vienna derby, Serie D (Treviso) and gave up a Toronto FC ticket because it was too cold.se9addick said:Going to a football match or some other sporting event is something I love to do when on holiday. My wife will normally put up with one per trip and I’ve subjected her to some proper nonsense - Finnish Premier division, Austrian second division, Japanese third division and a match in Mauritius when we were on holiday there once. All that said she enjoys football at any level more than the baseball games I’ve taken her to in the States over the years!It works out well, usually I go solo and get a bonus football tick, she can souvenir shop without me moaning, then we have more to talk about during dinner.
We also have Stockholm in May and AIK's stadium is next to Westfield1 -
I went to see Dundee at home on holiday once.
It was 1989 or 1990, living and working in Maidstone and just happen to mention to Ronnie Smith (a Dundee supporting Jock called Smith !!) that I was going on hol to Scotland next week. Well he said "oh come to the match, Dundee are playing Clyde", and he was going to be there. Well it was September/October time but Clyde were top of the table and Owen Coyle had already scored something silly like 15 goals !.
I was staying in a cottage near Inverness (not exactly down the road from Dundee, but ..) I drove down to Aviemore (easier to park the car at the station there) and got the train down to Dundee. Ron and his mates picked me up from the station, straight in the pub, I had one they sank god knows how many and then we went to Dens Park. Now Dens reminded me of a bit like the Valley before it was rebuilt. As far as I remember it had a big terrace on one side except that it had a bit of a lid on top and like the Valley was opposite the main stand. Ron and his mates stood in the middle in a big bunch and I stood in front of them (I couldn't understand them properly anyway).
So, the match kicked off, not much happened but about half way through the first half a Clyde player kicked a Dundee man who promptly got up and gave the Clyde lad a big bunch of 5s. Unfortunately right in front of the ref, who got his red card out straight away and off went the Dundee man.
Well, this was a disaster listening to Ron's mates, he was our best player so "we've got no chance now". Nothing much else happened until about 10 mins from the end when up popped Owen Coyle who stuck the ball in the net, so it finished 1-0 to Clyde.
Before the game started, for some unknown reason I somehow thought it would be different in Scotland, but it wasn't, it was just like watching Charlton (except for the "bunch of fives").
Cant remember his name, but the lad who was sent off ended up at Glasgow Rangers, so he must have been quite good !
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was on a lads weekend trip to Palma Majorca about 12 years ago and on the Sunday lunchtime we decided to wander up to watch Real Mallorca v Villarreal. Paid €50 for a ticket to sit in the boiling sun and drink non-alcohilic beer.
Crap 0-0 draw and after we found a bar to watch Man U v Chelsea0 -
The only game of football I've ever been to whilst on holiday was West Coast v Collingwood at the old Subiaco Oval back in 2007.CaptainRobbo said:Once saw an Aussie Rules game while statying with family near Melbourne.
It was brutal. 👊
It was West Coast's first home game of the season and their were unfurling their latest Premiership flag having beaten Sydney in the Grand Final the previous September (revenge for the year before).
I was sat with my aunt in their usual seats - front row of the top deck of the three-tier stand behind the goal at the Subiaco End - whilst my brother was sat with my uncle down at ground level at the opposite end.
My seat was a similar height and distance from the near goal-line as my seat in the Covered End but, bugger me, Subi was a big ground. From my seat at The Valley to the Jimmy Seed goal would barely get beyond half-way at Subi! No wonder my aunt had taken her binoculars, as did a lot of other people. I watched most of the play at the City End on the big screen!0 -
Early 1980’s I was on a lads holiday to Rhodes. There were a dozen of us. One day with nothing to do we noticed that AS Rodos were playing a pre season friendly so we decided to take ourselves off to the very basic stadium to watch. Got talking to a local who told us about the history. Don’t think they were very old at the time. Probably and 15-20 YO. Anyway, it was the usual chit chat .. what team do you support. What are your songs etc. we asked him to teach us to say ‘Come on you Greens’ in Greek. Not sure we mastered it fully but the locals found it amusing.0
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I know families like that.CaptainRobbo said:Once saw an Aussie Rules game while statying with family near Melbourne.
It was brutal. 👊3 -
Me and Mrs H took my mother-in-law to Rome....they went to see the Pope and I went to Lazio v Sienna (5-3)...45,000 pay on the day sat where I liked, cracking game but not the same as watching Charlton.2
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Doing a little European road trip so taking my eldest to PSV v Utrecht on the way through Holland in a couple of months.
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I went to see Wacker Innsbruck play when I was a teenager on holiday with my parents in the seventies, and then also saw USA play Paraguay in DC about 30 years ago. I was also at the Real Madrid vs Marseille Champions League game 20 years ago when Drogba scored twice but the Galacticos (Beckham, Zidane, Raul, Carlos, Figo, etc etc) won 4-2.1
