Modern football is rubbish. We’ve all heard that and at some point we have all bemoaned fixtures being moved by Sky, the rising cost of a bit of plastic to sit on and those football tourists who turn up at grounds and just take lots of pictures rather than watching the game (shocking). But sometimes it is actually bloody great.
With our footballing authorities doing everything possible to ensure that every “big” country qualifies for major tournaments, the International Break now lasts for six days, every month. Premier League clubs (and the fans) must hold their head in their hands, holding that the underpaid, over stressed footballers return safe and sound on their private jets from 20 minutes of exertion against Andorra or San Marino. Of course, there are no such things as easy games in International football, and the qualifying games for France 2016 are taken very seriously indeed. With 53 nations competing for just 23 places it means that countries have to win at least three games to get a playoff spot in all honestly. And there were those who thought that it was tough when the tournament used to be just 8 teams!
But, with the new structure of qualifying games there was the opportunity for an ultimate road trip, if you are interested in that sort of thing. Six games, potentially six different countries? Sounds rubbish I know. I mean who would fancy seeing Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Norway and Denmark on consecutive days? Well me for a start.
Alas, this was one trip that I was never going to get official sign off for. Despite being the most understanding wife in the world, even I could n’t swing that trip, especially as it was the Current Mrs Fuller’s birthday in the middle of the set of games. But being the good lady that she is, we reached a compromise that would see me jet off to the Baltic’s before heading back in time for jelly and ice cream. I was happy with that – after all I’d seen enough of Norway and Denmark in the past five years, yet never set foot in Lithuania or Latvia. That’s enough to get anyone’s pulse racing.
My plan quickly came together – afternoon flight to Vilnius, capital of Lithuania where I would take in the game against Estonia. The following morning up before the dawn chorus and on a bus to Riga where Latvia would be taking on Iceland. Two new countries, two new grounds. What could possibly go wrong?
One downside was that I wouldn’t see much of Vilnius, landing as the sun went down. It’s supposed to be a beautiful city but from touch down to departure on my executive bus it would be 11 hours of darkness. My taxi driver from the airport offered to show me the sights of the city on the way to the hotel.
“There is Ikea. Now we go to McDonalds and then a brothel” I managed to convince him that McDonalds, being opposite my hotel was actually a better alighting point. “But no titty-titty?” He looked crest-fallen that I preferred a McFlurry to a “naked help-yourself buffet” but soon cheered up when I gave him a 10 Litu note as a tip (which incidentally had a picture of the Kemp twins on).
I’d struck lucky in picking a hotel not only because it was opposite a 24 hour fast food outlet but because it was a 5 minute walk to the LFF Stadium. Oh, and a bar offering 50 pence beers open until everyone had gone to bed, which as I learnt later, was about 6am.
In terms of current UEFA rankings, Lithuania are down in 41st place, alongside the likes of Albania, Moldova and Cyprus. Drawn in a group with England, Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia and San Marino they would have targeted games such as the visit of Estonia as a “must-win” if they were to stand any chance of qualification. A 2-0 win in San Marino in the opening game was all that could have been asked. Now was the time for Igoris Pankratjevas’s team to step up to the mark and get one over on their Baltic rivals.
Lithuania 1 Estonia 0 – LFF Stadium – Thursday 9th October 2014
Good job the weather was a little bit kinder in Lithuania than back in London. The LFF Stadium would be a brilliant place to sit back and top up your tan in the middle of Summer, but in mid-October where temperatures and rain can fall there is little shelter from any of the elements. This stadium, which wouldn’t look out-of-place in the Conference Premier, albeit a three-sided, 3G version. Despite their apathy for the domestic game, the national team was a different story. By the time the teams had lined up for a UEFA sponsored “Say No to Racism” PR photo, the ground was almost full.
With the game finishing a few minutes before England’s game with San Marino, Lithuania leaped to the top of Group E. Was that the high point in Lithuanian football history I asked the coach in the press conference? It appeared my question got lost in translation as his answer was “Our football may not have been beautiful but three points are the most important thing,” Thanks for that.
I headed back down the hill to the hotel. Despite the Estonian fans with bulging wallets queuing for the bar, the hotel decided that a 12pm closure meant just that. Boo.
5.30am was a cruel mistress on Friday morning but I had a bus to catch. The Lux Express rolled into Vilnius bus station bang on time, looking like a tour bus used by rock giants such as REM, The Rolling Stones or Right Said Fred. I’d paid a whopping €25 for my “executive” seat which turned out to be almost airplane Business Class quality. Throw in free drinks, free Wi-Fi and free movies on demand and you couldn’t have spent a better four hours. Well, perhaps if they had a few stewardesses wandering up and down selling….best stop there.
First impressions can be wrong. A five minute walk from the confines of the bus and train station and the outstanding beauty of the Old Town (another UNESCO Heritage Site) revealed itself to me. Wow. I had “New York Neck” after 30 minutes, constantly looking up at the stunning architecture. Lunch (£3.50) was a huge local dish of chicken and potatoes, washed down with a pint of Livu (35p). After an afternoon snooze it was time for dinner – huge steak, pepper sauce and more beer (£8). Good job the plan was to walk to the Skonto Riga stadium although a couple of bars along the way were too good to miss, for local aesthetic reasons. I passed one of the Irish Bars in town. With England playing next door in Tallinn in 24 hours, a number of England fans had descended on Riga and taken up residence in the Irish Bar, belting out almost note-perfect versions of Wonderwall and Park Life.
Latvia 0 Iceland 3 – Skonto Stadium – Friday 17th October 2014
It seems to be a common theme developing here of incomplete stadiums. Whilst the stadium in Vilnius had three sides, Riga’s national stadium had 2 3/4. At one end the present of a large sports hall had taken up part of the stand giving the stadium a strange unfinished look. Latvia haven’t had the best of times since their appearance ten years ago in the European Championship in Portugal. That team featured Marians Pahars and Aleksandrs Kolinko and impressed the watching world, coming away from the sunshine with a 0-0 draw with Germany. A decade later and the dynamic duo were back together, although Pahars had swapped his magic boots from a snazzy black raincoat and was now the national coach.
The game wasn’t a classic but once again it was good to see the home fans had turned out in big numbers. Over 6,000 home fans were in the Skonto Stadium, about 5,700 more than would normally be in here for a domestic league game. Like their neighbours in Lithuania, football isn’t the biggest leisure activity. Excluding tucking into the superb food and drink, Ice Hockey is the sport of choice here with crowds for domestic games often topping five figures.
I headed back to the Old Town for a nightcap. Some of the quaint pavement cafes and bars had been replaced by megatropolis-style clubs, all touting their wares through women wearing nothing more than strategically placed flannels. This was the Riga that I had read about not the one I had enjoyed earlier in the day. I resisted the temptations on offer, with that small voice in my head reminding me I had to get up in four hours for my flight home. See, sometimes I do listen to common sense!
Luton at most times of the day isn’t something to sing about, but after a nearly three-hour flight, squeezed in between Mr Sweaty and Miss Fidget I felt like getting down on my knees and kissing the tarmac. Welcome home. As the saying goes, the greatest journey starts with the smallest step. Two new countries ticked off the list, two decent cities that ticked all the EFW boxes. Go, before it’s too late!
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