Groundhopping

[boots60]

On 16/10/2024 at 16:36, boots60 said:

Off to Bilbao early November, hoping to see Athletic v Betis,

 

5 of us going but at present the available tickets are mainly lone seats scattered across the stadium. The athletic website states that the 'Taquilla's' are open the day before & on matchday & I have bought tickets this way previously at Barca, Real & Valencia, albeit quite a few years ago.

Has anyone any experience or tips on ticketing at San Mames recently as things have possibly changed this past few years. I am hoping that there will be returns/extras on sale of the weekend of the game.

 

On 16/10/2024 at 20:38, CosbehFox said:

Basically you assume right. 

 

Couple of weeks before hand - you'll start to see a load of tickets become free because the season ticket holders and member clubs have given their places up. Bilbao specifically have a chat with Pentland Club online - they have access to tickets, it's the English supporters club. The chap behind it was ready to get us 15 tickets for a stag do but the fixture got moved annoyingly. I went the day before out on my Tod instead. Best modern stadium I've been. Incredible atmosphere around the ground. 

 

Really want to go back to the city (and the region) - it's brilliant. The fourth tier game I went to was superb fun as well. 

Thanks Cosbeh,

 

Went onto Athletic's website last night & a batch of 40 or so tickets has suddenly appeared, all in one group. Bagged 5 of those, worries over.

[Voll Blau]

Bochum via Eurostar in February, so hoping to fit in at least one new ground as well while over there. Hoping for Düsseldorf if kick-offs fall alright, as I was meant to go there when the pandemic happened.

 

Crossing the border for the Limburg derby is a tempter, having been to Maastricht before, but not sure I'd be in a state to get there for 12.15 on a Sunday. Also pretty sure Roda fans are banned.

[CosbehFox]

Yeah they are not many Dutch derbies where away support are allowed any more. 
 

When I went Feyenoord, a fella told us their best atmospheres are always European game given the presence of away fans. 

[Sir Steve Howard]

19EUR for a gen sale ticket to Milan-Empoli, let that sink in

[CosbehFox]

Sunday night was quiet 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCWVpAyIEv9/?igsh=MXVnanBwdGh0dzY5OQ==

 

 

[grobyfox1990]

Boca stadium was a great sight, very steep so all the noise travels downwards. Lots of colour and flares. The ‘dangerous barrios’ surrounding the stadium is a myth, there are loads of tourists at every game, no safety issues. 
Argentina match was moved away from the river plate stadium so could only do a tour there. It’s huge 

[CosbehFox]

2 hours ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Boca stadium was a great sight, very steep so all the noise travels downwards. Lots of colour and flares. The ‘dangerous barrios’ surrounding the stadium is a myth, there are loads of tourists at every game, no safety issues. 
Argentina match was moved away from the river plate stadium so could only do a tour there. It’s huge 

San Lorenzo is the problem one (and a couple of the lower division ones). I'll get there one day - Huracan as an architectural structure is superb 

[grobyfox1990]

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

San Lorenzo is the problem one (and a couple of the lower division ones). I'll get there one day - Huracan as an architectural structure is superb 

Nice. San lorenzo had a derby match on Sunday but I was pushing my luck with two matches as it is so didn’t float the idea. Not one for planning to go back to a city but I would do a dedicated football trip to BA, if already elsewhere in South America. There are 18 grounds in the city 

[Leicesterpool]

Keen to do Wrexham again, not done it in over 12 years. Imagine back then they could only attract 2,700... then they sell out every week. Only way to get tickets is go in the away end with poorly followed team... waiting till Burton play away there or something.

[bovril]

On 09/10/2024 at 14:00, Chris_OGrady said:

 

I'm planning to check out Atalanta's new stadium sometime between January and March, and hopefully catch a good game at the San Siro too. Ideally, I'd see Inter, but I’d be happy with either team. I've been wanting to visit Bergamo for a while since it’s supposed to be a great city, and Atalanta’s new stadium and the whole set up of the club looks great. There are a few possible dates, but can’t commit until the fixtures are confirmed. I’ve made an account on the Atalanta website, but it looks like they are selling out every week atm, so need to assess how easy it is to get tickets. Annoyingly, it looks like East Midlands have stopped flights to Bergamo, but there are some decent options from Birmingham.

 

My previous trip to Italy was last October. One of my mates lives in South Tyrol and had been onto me to come to an FC Südtirol game since they got promoted to Serie B. Three of us flew into Verona on the Friday night (which is a top city) and then headed up to Bolzano on Saturday morning for their game against Sampdoria, who were struggling in Serie B at the time. The train ride was about two hours but absolutely stunning through the Alps. Bolzano is a beautiful city, with more of a German feel than Italian, and you can tell it's wealthy. South Tyrol was historically part of Austria and then was incorporated into Italy after WWI. Mussolini tried to push Italians into the area with limited success, and today it’s about 70% German-speaking and 30% Italian. You can see that split in FC Südtirol's fanbase- there’s a small group of Italian and German ultras, who are in different stands, and I think they’ve even clashed before.

 

FC Südtirol are a bit tinpot, and their ground only holds about 5,000, but the setting is incredible. Sampdoria had a good away following, and they were as loud as you’d expect. Pirlo was managing them at the time, with Fabio Borini up front. We had a nightmare getting into the stadium, so we missed the first 10 minutes or so. The Samp fans were in our stand, and you could mix with them easily in the concourse without any issues. I wrote “Genoa Merda” on my phone and showed it to one of their fans, which got a great reaction . The game was actually pretty good. FC Südtirol reminded me of watching Leicester back in the early 2000s - very negative and direct - but somehow they came back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 with late goals, which was brilliant to see. After a few beers in Bolzano (another top city), we headed back to Verona before going to Milan on Sunday for Inter vs Roma.

 

Excellent stuff. I went to see Sudtirol a few times when I lived in Trento. They weren't in Serie B at the time, I think the first game I saw them play was against Gorgonzola, so they've come a long way. As you say it's beautiful sited with the Dolomites in the background. Didn't know that about the ultras, but makes sense. 

 

I always associate that area and Bolzano particularly with us winning the league. I was living in Trento in 2016 and watched us lifting the Premier League trophy in a Bolzano hotel room with a takeaway pizza and a few beers, before going for a long hike the next day in the Tiers valley in all its early spring glory. Was a wonderful weekend. 

 

It's a shame the Italian cup is so crap because with the diversity of regions in Italy you really could get some great and unusual ties - Napoli coming up for a replay in snowy Trento, or Inter having to go down to Monopoli in the 3rd round. Real missed opportunity. 

[Sir Steve Howard]

13 hours ago, bovril said:

Excellent stuff. I went to see Sudtirol a few times when I lived in Trento. They weren't in Serie B at the time, I think the first game I saw them play was against Gorgonzola, so they've come a long way. As you say it's beautiful sited with the Dolomites in the background. Didn't know that about the ultras, but makes sense. 

 

I always associate that area and Bolzano particularly with us winning the league. I was living in Trento in 2016 and watched us lifting the Premier League trophy in a Bolzano hotel room with a takeaway pizza and a few beers, before going for a long hike the next day in the Tiers valley in all its early spring glory. Was a wonderful weekend. 

 

It's a shame the Italian cup is so crap because with the diversity of regions in Italy you really could get some great and unusual ties - Napoli coming up for a replay in snowy Trento, or Inter having to go down to Monopoli in the 3rd round. Real missed opportunity. 

Coppa Italia is absolute shite, why do they only have Serie A, B and then 4 teams from Serie C involved? Top 8 Serie A don't enter till last 16 either. Considering it's their only domestic cup it's so boring

[Stuntman_Mike]

15 hours ago, Leicesterpool said:

Keen to do Wrexham again, not done it in over 12 years. Imagine back then they could only attract 2,700... then they sell out every week. Only way to get tickets is go in the away end with poorly followed team... waiting till Burton play away there or something.

I had to tick it off by going a Wales game! 

 

As you say, there are plenty of teams with a small following in that league so you'd probably just need to register to get tickets. 

[bovril]

1 minute ago, Sir Steve Howard said:

Coppa Italia is absolute shite, why do they only have Serie A, B and then 4 teams from Serie C involved? Top 8 Serie A don't enter till last 16 either. Considering it's their only domestic cup it's so boring

And there's seeding! Makes you realize again how great the FA Cup is and how we need to protect it. The Italians don't know what they're missing. Would love to see Roma having to negotiate a hard pitch and hostile crowd at Ascoli on a freezing January afternoon. 

[Sir Steve Howard]

8 minutes ago, bovril said:

And there's seeding! Makes you realize again how great the FA Cup is and how we need to protect it. The Italians don't know what they're missing. Would love to see Roma having to negotiate a hard pitch and hostile crowd at Ascoli on a freezing January afternoon. 

Seeding is even worse, all the big boys at home as well! Diabolical. So by the time you get to quarters it's invariably just the same teams each year.
Edit: Seeding continues into the quarters so team finishing 1-4 at home again?!

Edited 22 November 2024 by Sir Steve Howard

[Dan]

Zimbru Chisinau.

 

 

Any of you got this one?  

[CosbehFox]

Good Christmas present for anyone - https://www.amazon.co.uk/European-Footballs-Greatest-Grounds-Must-See/dp/1801507511

 

I thought the grounds selected in the top ten were pretty much spot on. 

[CosbehFox]

It looks like the Belgrade dream is over for this year. Will have to wait and see if any late bargains pop up for February - Nantes is tempting for a quickish in and out - lots of decent clubs in that region of France. 

 

Dundee derby - March with a possibility of Tynecastle 

 

[SemperEadem]

14 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

It looks like the Belgrade dream is over for this year. Will have to wait and see if any late bargains pop up for February - Nantes is tempting for a quickish in and out - lots of decent clubs in that region of France. 

 

Dundee derby - March with a possibility of Tynecastle 

 

Just watch Nantes, I read something on the ultras are facing huge sanctions for their protest actions. 

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, SemperEadem said:

Just watch Nantes, I read something on the ultras are facing huge sanctions for their protest actions. 

Yeah. Second time in memory as well they’ve done it. So can see a four/five game stadium ban

[SemperEadem]

6 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

Yeah. Second time in memory as well they’ve done it. So can see a four/five game stadium ban

 

[rugbyblue]

I didnt realise this thread existed until it was pointed out to me......so .....

 

My daughter and i are going to sweden next year and id love to take in a Stockholm derby while we are there.  We are flexible on dates so i will look at fixtures.

My question is does anyone know of any reputable football tour agents that aren't rip off merchants and i will actually get genuine tickets for a game.  Any recommendations most welcome 

[Voll Blau]

5 hours ago, rugbyblue said:

I didnt realise this thread existed until it was pointed out to me......so .....

 

My daughter and i are going to sweden next year and id love to take in a Stockholm derby while we are there.  We are flexible on dates so i will look at fixtures.

My question is does anyone know of any reputable football tour agents that aren't rip off merchants and i will actually get genuine tickets for a game.  Any recommendations most welcome 

Once you know which fixture you're going for, I'd advise joining the European Football Weekends Helpdesk Facebook group.

 

Fans all over Europe helping each other out with ticket requests... helps if you can offer help in exchange, for example with Leicester tickets.

[rugbyblue]

9 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

Once you know which fixture you're going for, I'd advise joining the European Football Weekends Helpdesk Facebook group.

 

Fans all over Europe helping each other out with ticket requests... helps if you can offer help in exchange, for example with Leicester tickets.

Good to know thank you.  It will be the first time going to a foreign game so im starting from scratch 👍

[Voll Blau]

23 minutes ago, rugbyblue said:

Good to know thank you.  It will be the first time going to a foreign game so im starting from scratch 👍

There are plenty of fans out there who will help you, instead of being charged by a tour company. Keep checking in on here - hope you get to have the experience you're hoping for!

[rugbyblue]

11 hours ago, Voll Blau said:

There are plenty of fans out there who will help you, instead of being charged by a tour company. Keep checking in on here - hope you get to have the experience you're hoping for!

Thank you.  I hope so too.  It looks incredible from footage ive seen.