A week of groundhopping the U21 Euros in Poland: 7 matches in 7 days (LOTS of pics)
Last week the Yesteryear Football Podcast crew headed north and east respectively to meet up in Kraków, Poland. The plan was simple: catch as many football matches, at the Under-21 European Championship or other, as possible. We packed the recording equipment to tell of our travels but shouts for pictures were raised. Well, have at it then.
We almost didn’t get the show on the road. Schedules had been cleared. Work had been handed over. Loved ones had been kissed good-bye. But at least on my end an early 5am start still proved nearly inadequate. Even for cab drivers the Maltese road network seems to be a quagmire to navigate. It took twenty minutes and a number of phone calls to direct the cabbie to the desired location. All the while check-in time drew nearer. Crowds at the airport were mercifully sparse for a morning in mid June, though, and so I was aboard an A320 taking a few dozen passengers to Vienna on Sunday, June 18th. Kraków was to be the final destination after a three hour lay-over.
By the time the YYFP crew had met up, secured a rental car, and arrived at the apartment, afternoon had turned into early evening. A brief excursion through the immediate surroundings confirmed our first impression: Kraków seemed a city of many layers with a young and bustling population. Alas, hardly anybody looked to be geared up for some football. A theme that would span the whole week, only nearing the stadia would any sort of Under-21 Euros buzz develop.
Denmark vs Italy, Kraków
The first match we went to, still in Kraków, was destined to be Italy vs Denmark. Gianluigi Donnarumma drew cheers from the moderate support, and ire from the die-hards. Italy looked a sturdy proposition on defence but lacked a bit of punch going forward. Lorenzo Pellegrini saved the Azzurrini’s day with a beautiful overhead kick before Andrea Petagna converted from short range to provide the final scoreline of 2:0.
We hadn’t brought the podcasting equipment for naught. So Monday morning was spent recording the first of three episodes on the road, re-capping all of the matchday 1 action.
Slovakia vs England, Kielce
Kraków to Kielce, in retrospect, turned out to be the perfect introduction to travel on Polish roads. At 120 or so kilometres the trip to watch England take on Slovakia offered a taste of all intricacies which we would encounter: roads in dire need of repair, correspondingly endless road works, and speed limits serving as mere suggestions more so than actual law to be followed. Most of the fellow drivers on the day, however, were boasting Slovak license plates. Of the 12.087 spectators who filed into Kolporter Arena at least 12.000 will have been supporting the Sokolíci. A raucous crowd saw their team throw away a lead somewhat unnecessarily. Alfie Mawson levelled Martin Chrien’s opener, both coming via corner, while Nathan Redmond created an opportunity for himself over the left wing. England’s 2:1 win drew rather muffled cheers from the YYFP crew; too numerous the Slovak fans around us, too red their faces — owing to a mix of beer, sun, and supposed refereeing injustices suffered.
For some reason we had decided to go and see Portugal vs Spain on Tuesday. “Asensio”, I hear you say. “Bellerín, Renato Sanches, Saúl!” Those are all valid points. But our base of operations being Kraków, the match could hardly have been staged further away while still being played in Poland:
While hatching the idea for the trip, in February and March, this seemed somewhat closer… Even this “fastest route” took some eight hours to complete. The “usual traffic” involved constant lorry overtake battles, gratuitous traffic lights to allow for crossings on the highway, and an astounding array of services rendered roadside — from freshly picked mushrooms to companionship for the lonesome driver.
A German saying claims, the journey itself is the reward. Bollocks, we went to watch some football. Would the match live up to the drive, though, was the question.
Portgual vs Spain, Gdynia
The Iberian battle provided the giddiest neutral crowd we encountered. 13.832 football enthusiasts wanted to see two talented sides clash. Few seemed to be travelling fans from Portugal and Spain. Kids were sporting Barça or Real Madrid shirts. People filed in early to watch the warm up. The crowd as such felt more focussed on the football on display than the, also rather neutral, crowd in Kraków had been. And dutifully Spain provided. La Rojita produced a clinic. Saúl and Sandro had put the tournament favorites 2:0 up after an hour of play. Bruma pulled one back with an impressive volley from 25 yards out. Spain’s victory was never in doubt, though. Their slick passing, coupled with great anticipation and off-ball movement made them undeniable. With Iñaki Williams’ 3:1 came the final whistle.
A note on the spectator numbers at the Under-21 Euros in comparision to attendance numbers for local matches: During the 2016/17 season Arka Gdynia, for example, drew an average crowd of ~7.700 fans. Their arena holds ~15.000. For the Euros Gdynia hosted three matches. Twice the Arka average stood, while Portugal vs Spain boasted an impressive 13,832. No group stage match without Polish involvement drew more fans.
Some others: Korona Kielce drew an average crowd of ~7.200. Their stadium holds ~15.500. That 7.2K average was well beaten for all three matches staged in Kielce: 11.6K, 12K, 13K respectively. The largest contrast comes when one looks at Lublin. Only ~3.6K fans want to see Górnik Łęczna on a given Saturday. That is the lowest average in Ekstraklasa. While the Arena was nearly sold out for the two Poland matches, even attendance for Slovakia vs Sweden soared (11.2K) — no doubt helped by the large sets of travelling fans both teams brought with them.
Czech Republic vs Italy
What comes up, must come down. Or rather who drives north, must drive south again. So that’s what we did with our fourth day in Poland:
Inexplicably this worked much better than the day before. We arrived in Tychy with quite some time to spare. A walk around the surrounding area revealed few highlights so we were among the first few dozen people inside the stadium. For a change this allowed us an opportunity to indulge and actually get our hands on some stadium grub. A common feature in almost all grounds were insanely long and slow-moving lines at the concession stands; one of admittedly very few irks we had with the organization of the tournament.
One huge plus point goes to the planning team for staging the Czech match(es) in such close proximity to the border. While the travelling contigent wasn’t as numerous as the Slovaks had been, those who made the trip were treated to the upset of the tournament. Trávník, Havlík, and Lüftner shocked the Italian back-line, who weren’t helped by their keeper. Only Berardi got on the scoresheet for the Azzurrini. A 3:1 Czech win promised a furious finale in Group C.
After a couple of days spent almost exclusively on the road it was time for a bit of reprieve in Kraków. Idle time on Thursday was spent on producing the second of our Under-21 Euros podcast episodes. On Friday sightseeing and culture were the focus. Kraków is very much a destination to sample. In the city’s centre architecural epochs blend together. Fin de siecle, communist era and modern day buildings form an inimitable mix. In between numerous churches nestle into the cityscape. Above everything else towers Wawel Castle. The National Heritage Museum does a fine job of chronicling Kraków’s development through the centuries.
Two days without any live football almost proved fatal. Therefore a rather ambitious plan was developed for our final day in Poland: a Saturday triple header.
Hutnik Kraków vs Okocimski Brzesko, Kraków
Due to unfortunate timing most of the local football was on hiatus. Lower league play had been wrapped up the week or so before. Some Ekstraklasa teams had only just taken up their pre-season preparation. We did, however, unearth a couple of additional matches.
For a number of years my hometown team of Magdeburg has been upholding a fan friendship with Hutnik Kraków. In the large shadow cast by Wisła and Cracovia Hutnik languish in fifth tier obscurity. Nevertheless a side tour to watch the club in action was imperative. Fortunately one of Hutnik’s youth sides (Yr. 2004) was still battling for promotion into the highest league.
After a bit of poking around the massive grounds, and a detour to some youth handball, we found the match already underway. Sadly Okocimski proved to be the better, or craftier, side on the day. Played on a downsized pitch, 8 versus 8 with 35 minute halves, their was little actual football on display. Perhaps owing to the occasion and the stakes most of the contest was hampered by fouls and stoppages.
The away side created more chances on the whole. In the end a penalty saw Brzesko prevail and gain promotion by virtue of a 2:1 win. As the game wore on the atmosphere had gotten testier, with the referee apparently making no correct calls going off crowd reaction. By the time the full time whistle sounded some 50 or 60 people were on the field seemingly at odds with anybody who was near. We didn’t stick around long enough to find out whether the match had to be replayed.
Wiślanie Jaśkowice vs Limanovia, Skawinie
Next up was a trip to the Southern outskirts of Kraków. Another promotion finale awaited us in Skawinie. And at the senior level too. Wiślanie Jaśkowice and Limanovia Limanowa were trying to get into the fourth division. They had won their respective regional leagues and now determined who would gain promotion via a two-legged playoff round. The first leg had finishes 1:1 with a last minute penalty by Paweł Szwajdych to level the score for Wiślanie. The return leg was played at TKS Skamina’s ground which was tucked in between a railway and a lorry parking lot. Krakovian outskirts indeed.
The match turned out to be much better than anybody heading for a fifth tier Polish football match had any right to expect. Limanovia cultivated a snappy style focussing on short passes. Wiślanie took the lead from a corner header combo — as you were. For a while this derailed Limanovia who were given a leg up by the dismissal of a Wiślanie player. Ten minutes from the end a soft penalty gifted Limanovia the equalizer which was about the worst result for us. A 5pm kick-off time with a half hour drive to the ground meant we could not stick around for extra time, did we not wish to miss the start of the Under-21 Euros match between Italy and Germany. Rest assured Wiślanie gave creedance to the football truism of ten men sometimes proving a harder to play against opponent than eleven, as Dawid Białek provided the winner.
Kiełbasa bonus round
Every once in a while we did manage to snatch something off the concession stands in the stadia:
The hotdogs were on the whole rather dire, always being dished out already slathered with too much ketchup. An oldtimer was in charge of stoking a huge grill at the fifth tier promotion battle and handed out the best sausages we had while on tour.
Italy vs Germany, Kraków
Turns out we followed Italy around during the tournament. Their clash with Germany always looked the perfect finale for our tour. But with both sides not yet assured a semi-final spot we figured to be in for an epic encounter. Alas, Germany were surprisingly poor, belying their fine form of the previous matchdays. Italy outsmarted them in most battles and snatched the lone goal from an error in build up. Bernardeschi tucked away the 1:0 after half an hour. Soon enough the realization that both sides would thus advance set in. Germany were hardly threatening, Italy cruised, and the crowd entertained itself with boundless Mexican Waves — one is too many. With fifteen minutes left a silent deal had seemingly been struck. The ball was recycled among the back-lines. Not the send off we had hoped for.
You can follow the podcast on Facebook and Twitter, and catch our latest episode including a preview of the Under-21 Euros semi-final over on Soundcloud.
