ELBASAN ARENA (Albania vs Wales)

INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE MATCH, ALBANIA 1-0 WALES,
ATTENDANCE: 3,000 (est)

Mr Grimsdale! Mr Grimsdale!

For my final oversees trip of 2018 I found myself bound for The Balkans, Albania being my destination.

The only well  known fact about Albania, that I was aware of, is that Norman Wisdom was a comedy god there. Sir Norman's were the only Western films that were allowed to be shown during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha who considered proletarian Norman's ultimately victorious struggles against capitalism, personified by Mr Grimsdale, as a Communist parable on the class war. He was made an honorary citizen of Tirana in 1995.

I am happy to report that despite my reputation for falling over when under the influence, just for once I did no inept Norman Wisdom impression by tripping over flat on my face, though the same couldn't be said for a few fans seen drinking in the town!


Joking aside, there is more than Sir Norman to Albania and I would certainly recommend a visit. Although my visit was brief I thought Tirana was brilliant. It is a very cheap country to visit. I will return. It was Christmas fair time in the main square with the stalls offering local beer around 80p and a very good food for a couple of quid. What more could you ask for?

The journeys both there and back were eventful to say the least. The flights from Manchester to Tirana and vice versa were both via Milan. The times were altered on both trips resulting in a tight connection going to Tirana, which was made with just minutes to spare, and a missed connection in Milan due to our flight time from Tirana being changed from 0600 to 1645. This led to a reluctant overnight stay in Italy and extra expense to a trip which up until that point had been very reasonable. The pizza in the restaurant near to the hotel was fantastic though! However I digress...

Tonight was all all about watching Wales play Albania. The game was being played in Elbasan, which is about 25 miles from Tirana and is the fourth largest city in Albania. The city is famous for it boulevard and castle ruins. The city is located where the ancient city of Skampini once stood and is built on the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine fortifications by the sovereign Ottoman Mehmet II, which gave the city the name of Eli-Bashan which translates as “I put the hand”.

Coaches were organised to transport fans for the hour trip from Tirana to Elbasan. The journey involved going up some mountainous roads. Safe to say I wouldn't have fancied driving it as parts of the route were at bit tight to say the least.

The Elbasan Arena, a short walk up the boulevard from the castle, was opened in 1967 and is the home Albanian first division side KF Elbasani. The ground was originally named after famous the player Ruzhdi Bizhuta.

The ground is currently one of two UEFA standard stadiums in the country (the other being in Shkodër) and was extensively refurbished in 2014 to meet UEFA criteria. Elbasan was selected for the venue of national stadium whilst the Qemal Stafa stadium in Tirana is undergoing major redevelopment. There was no cover at the ground, apart from one stand, and luckily after a day of heavy the rain it stopped for the duration of the game. Nonetheless a local entrepreneur did make a few quid selling plastic ponchos to the Welsh supporters! 

The stadium has a capacity of 12,800 but it was by no means full tonight. About 1,900 had travelled from the Principality and there were certainly more away fans than home fans. The home fans apparently disapprove of manager Christian Panucci and they were boycotting the game in protest. They want his predecessor, the coach who led them to Euro 2016, Gianni De Biasi back. There were even rumours that Panucci had been sacked earlier in the day.

Wales fans (pictured above) and the

Albanian ultra's (pictured below).

The game was poor from a Welsh point of view as it was a struggle against a stubborn home side that had lost 4-0 to Scotland 72 hours previously.

I know these days there a very few whipping boys, as most teams are well drilled, but a 1-0 defeat to Albania was a tad embarrassing. Most neutrals agree though that Wales were robbed through a penalty that was given and one which wasn't. Derby County loanee Harry Wilson was adjudged, harshly in my opinion, to have fouled Taulant Xhaka, who went down very easily, to concede a 58th minute penalty, which was converted by Bekim Balaj. Wilson himself was later fouled in the box but the referee from Macedonia waved away the appeals.  

Wales should have been out of sight in the first half but, despite dominating the game, a combination of poor finishing and poor decision making in the final third proved Wales downfall as the chances went begging. Not even the second half introduction of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey could lift the team and, listening to some comments of some supporters on the bus back to Tirana, Ryan Giggs' honeymoon period is probably over.

To end on a happier note, Welsh football history was made in this game as Chris Gunter made his 93rd appearance for his country to overtake the legendary Neville Southall as Wales most capped player. Congratulations Gunts!

It was back to the bar to sink a few more beers and

reflect on another enjoyable trip abroad,

despite the result...

...and at least the beer was very cheap!

UEFA EURO 2016 (Bordeaux)

Saturday 11th June 2016
UEFA Euro 2016 Group B
Stade de Bordeaux
Wales 2-1 Slovakia
Attendance: 37,831

Joe Jordans's handball, 1977. Paul Bodin's penalty miss, 1993. Egor Titov's failed drug test, 2003. The history of Welsh football has been littered with injustices and bad luck. Well, finally, after 58 years of heartbreak these can finally be consigned to the dustbin of history. After 58 years, Wales have once again arrived on the scene of a major international tournament.

The last time Wales took part in a major tournament was the World Cup in 1958 when a 17 year old Pele inspired Brazil to a 1-0 victory. Wales did reach the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships, but in those days it was played on an home away basis up until the semi-finals, when the last four teams played the tournament.

Wales' Euro 2016 campaign kicked off at the "New" Stade de Bordeaux in, err, Bordeaux, the home of Girondins de Bordeaux. The ground was opened last year and replaced the Stade Chaban Delmas. The capacity of the stadium is around 42,000 and the roof is supported by over 1000 poles, designed to give the impression that it is floating. It is a sight to behold.

I was undertaking a day trip in order to watch this game today, so my journey began with a couple of beers at Cardiff Airport before a (slightly delayed) direct flight had me in Bordeaux just before midday. Once through passport control, a coach was waiting to ferry me to the ground.

The ground is a good 7km outside of Bordeaux, so I faced with a dilemma. Do I jump on a packed tram for the 45 minute journey into town, with little time to do anything, or stay where I am. In the end the choice was made for me as there was a sudden walk out by tram drivers meaning no trams were running to and from the city centre.  C'est la vie.

I am back in Bordeaux next week, though I will not be watching any football. I have read that the historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century. I will hopefully get a chance to look at this architecture on my return. Or maybe just another alehouse!

Bordeaux is the world's major wine industry capital but there was only the official urine of Euro 2016 available at the ground (and virtually alcohol free at that) so I made do with a soft drink, but at least it was in a commemorative cup for you to take home!

The only evidence of heightened security I saw was armed soldiers at the airport and blockades around the ground checking cars and buses. On entry to the ground there was a pat down and a cursory check of my bag and ticket but nothing too invasive.

Unfortunately being on a day trip I missed the massive Welsh party that took place in the town over the previous 24 hours, but as kick off approached I could feel the atmosphere in the stadium building. I would estimate there was a good 20,000 Wales supporters in the stadium for this game. It looked like a sea of red all around me and the noise was tremendous.

Slovakia were also playing their first European finals tournament as an independent nation and it was they who almost made the early breakthrough when Marek Hamsik burst through and beat Danny Ward in the Welsh goal, but Ben Davies had spotted the danger and covered back in order to clear the ball off the line.

It was Gareth Bale, who else, that opened the scoring when his free kick from 25 yards found the net. Admittedly Slovakia goalkeeper Matus Kozacik did not cover himself in glory and maybe should have saved it. Wales had the better of the first half and deserved to be 1-0 up at the break.

Slovakia came back into the game in the second half and it was no surprise when they equalised, substitute Ondrej Duda applying the finish with his first touch of the game. Wales were on the ropes after this goal but an inspired double substitution by Chris Coleman (and a fantastic rendition of 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau' by the Welsh fans which echoed around the ground) helped turn the tide and create the winning goal.

Joe Ledley played a defence splitting ball to Aaron Ramsey, who flicked the ball into the path of Hal Robson-Kanu who scuffed the ball into the back of the net. They all count and it sent the Welsh fans into absolute raptures.

There was still time for Slovakia to hit the post, Adam Nemec's header coming back off the upright, but after all the years of heartache then maybe Wales deserved that little bit of luck. This result meant Wales were the first British side to win their opening game at a European Championship finals. It must have been the day for history!

VALENCIA CF (Mestalla Stadium)

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 32, VALENCIA CF 6-0 SK RAPID WIEN, ATTENDANCE: 28,831

With a couple of days holiday left to take, I booked myself a long weekend in Spain. The plan was to try and get in a game at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium, but the fixture planners were not kind to me once again. So,after landing in Madrid, I took the high speed train from Atocha across to Valencia for a visit to another iconic stadium, the Mestalla.

The Mestalla was inaugurated on 20th of May of 1923 and originally had a capacity of 17,000. During the Spanish Civil War the stadium was used as a concentration camp and storage warehouse. In the 1950s the Mestalla was renovated, resulting in a stadium with a seating capacity of 45,500 spectators. The ground was severely damaged by the floods of 1957, when the River Turia burst it's banks, and was not used again until 1959. The current capacity of the ground is around 55,000.

The club is planning to move to a new ground, but when this will happen is anyone's guess. Construction on a new ground to the north of the city began 2007 (the shell of a ground is there) but is yet to be completed, due to a lack of funding. The new stadium is due to have a capacity of 61,500.

Valencia assistant coach
Phil Neville

The club were founded in 1919 and play in the colours of the Valencian flag, namely red and yellow stripes with a blue trim. The club have won La Liga six times, the most recent title being won in 2004 under the management of Rafa Benitez. They also won the UEFA Cup in that same season.

Valencia Head Coach
Gary Neville

Prior to that the club were runners up in the Champions League in 2000 and 2001 but did win the European Cup Winners Cup in 1980 when they beat Arsenal 5-4 on penalties, the team included the legendary Argentinian striker Mario Kempes.

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville is the current head coach at Valencia, being surprisingly appointed in December 2015. Ex-Everton skipper Phil Neville, who was already working at the club, is one of his assistants. Under their management the club have been on a wretched run of form with one win in 9 La Liga games and also 7-0 hammering at the hands at Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.

There was also a defeat to Lyon in the Champions League which saw Valencia drop into the Europa League, which is the reason for my visit tonight. Valencia were drawn against Austrian side Rapid Wien (a famous name in the eyes of Everton supporters) but actually went into the game on the the back of a first league win under Neville against Espanyol.

Wien fans relax in Plaza de la
Virgen before the game

If there was any doubt that the players weren't trying for their coach, then they were certainly dispelled on this evidence. Valencia comprehensively took the Austrians apart and were 5-0 up at the break.

Wien fans inside the Mestalla

Goals from Santi Mina (4 & 25) Dani Parejo (10) Alvaro Negredo (29) and André Gomes (35) have almost certainly won the tie for Valencia. Every time the home team broke they looked like they were going to score.

The entire Rapid defensive unit were dreadful in the first 45 minutes. They tightened up in the second period to avoid a more embarrassing scoreline but Rodrigo added one more goal in the last minute of the game.

After the match I headed back into town (about a 25 minute walk from Mestalla) where I found a superb craft ale bar and was able to sink a few beers into the wee small hours.

Santi Mina prods home  André Gomes' cross
to open the floodgates after just 4 minutes.