Reply With QuoteI think it's the Euro 2016 semi-final against Portugal.
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Never been abroad to watch Wales play, so can’t comment personally, but this ties in with what I’ve heard from regular Wales away supporters.
https://www.theguardian.com/football...ture-euro-2020
I think it's the Euro 2016 semi-final against Portugal.
Think he is over-egging it a little. I was in Elbasan for the Albania game. There may have been 1800 fans who bought tickets but there were only half of that number in the ground. The tickets were £5 each from memory and lots of fans bought them to retain their "loyalty points" for bigger more important games. To give the FAW their dues they have tightened up on this for the last few games. In Azerbaijan for the last qualifier all tickets needed to be collected from a designated hotel in Baku.Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
He is right that it is a great experience though. Unless you are TBG then you don't immediately flick through a TUI brochure and pick trips to places like Albania, Serbia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. All memorable for different reasons and really friendly receptions in most places (the ground in Belgrade being a bit of an exception).
You can add Milan for the Italy game in the San Siro 2003 to that.
Far from friendly people and that included the police!
Very strange experience wasn’t it in Belgrade. Walked to the ground from the town centre, laughing, joking and having photos taken with the Serbs. Three segregations in the ground, us and, we presumed, Red Star and Partizan fans being kept apart. Serb fans running across the no mans land ripping Welsh flags and banners down from the fences, then other Serb fans remonstrating with them and bringing them back and fixing them back to the fences. Being kept in until about midnight or even later, for our safety we were eventually informed, then put on free buses and taken back into the town centre to mix and drink with the Serbians again. Those few hours on the match night were weird, otherwise a lovely few days there. Tel Aviv was the eye opener trip for me.
Yeah similar experience. Really liked the Serb, great sense of humour but it was like they had some kind of Jeckyl and Hyde moment when they got into the ground. There was a lad close to us in the ground who got hit by a flagpole thrown as a javelin then an exploding fire cracker. Whilst we were locked in the ground someone threw their trainer as the Welsh delegation was walking around the pitch. Lucy hurled it back and it hit the guy again. Lucky John his new monicker apparently!
The Rossiya Hotel in Moscow for the play-offs was still the most intimidating.
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I think one of our lads nearly wore the stair carpet out, I think it was that hotel, Russians bouncing off the doors outside yet he was up and down to his room with, ahem, company!!
Apologies to Bob in advance for hijacking the thread. Wales away games, win, draw or usually lose until recently have been amongst the most memorable of my football career.
Splott, My memories of that night were along these lines. Four of us stayed in a hotel a distance from Red Square. There were a few warnings from "Russkies" on this site that they were indiscriminate and would pick us off when we went to the ground. As a result travel was arranged from the Rossiya Hotel, just off Red Square and the biggest Stalinist Hotel in the world at the time. Me and my mate were up for the Metro to the ground but the others were more wary..
Coaches drew up outside the hotel a few hours before the game. We were wandering around the front of the building when a couple of hundred Russian hooligans ran across Red Square throwing flares and fire crackers. Moscow's finest held them at bay and placed a cordon around the hotel.
Unbeknownst to us. The Russkies had come into the hotel seeking out the well known "Soul Crew". All was quiet for about 30 mins when suddenly a "Charge of the Light Brigade" type rush came from about 20 Welsh lads up a grassy hill. Not only did they tumble back like Humpty Dumpty but caused the Russian Hoolies to break through police lines and assault the hotel in the way you describe.
In fairness. My mate had bought one of those faux fur hats in Red Square with a Soviet Star on the front. If we had tried to make it to the ground on our own you could have just placed a sniper's red dot on his heart as no Russian would have worn one!
Agree about Serbia. Thought it was going to be a bit rough and ready all weekend but bar 5 hours in the ground where it was a bit heavy it was great and not one bit of trouble. Amazing city, great experience the game as well but keeping us behind for 2 hours was way over the top.
The article is bang on for me. Some great trips in recent years, Moldova/Osijek/Aarhus etc one of those where only ever going to go for the football so a great excuse. Been spoilt for great trips the last 6 years.
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No need to apologise Cyril, you've helped turn it into a very good thread
In a bit of a rush this morning but here’s the first experience, bouncers outside most pubs, ok with us mind. You push the first door open, then the second but this one has a heavy, thick curtain you had to encounter. Asked the barman what the curtain was for, “Oh, that’s a bomb curtain, it’s hard to push it open with a bomb in your hands!!”. Political rally going on in that pub as well.
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