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In Italy, the blackmarket football merchandise is the more frequently available - even outside stadiums! The handiest store is at Piazza Colonna on the left as you walk north on Via del Corso. It is also a ticket office for games in the Stadio Olimpico but make sure to bring your passport for ID.
As the security restrictions have made it almost impossible to buy tickets online in advance of your trip to Milan - try this! You can purchase the tickets through Tonino who meets you in person at the no.67 ticket office on the north of the stadium. The service charge is around ten euro per ticket but in fairness it's better than getting one from a tout as the tickets are legitimately purchased through the club with your name on them. Made my recent trip over for the Milan derby possible.
I've added an article on my website about going to watch a football match in Bilbao, a great alternative to the Bernabeu in Madrid or Barcelona's Camp Nou.
Fantastic local pub - especially for homesick football fans. Good atmosphere and friendly staff, the Globe will even open at 6am for midday premier league kick-offs.
1934 W Irving Park
A museum of everything red! See stuff from the start of Liverpool Football Club's history, funny old kit, a HUGE trophy room, a model of the first ground and pictures of the original Kop. See the Shankly Gates and be photographed by his statue, respect the Hillsborough memorial and see the ground (the tour guides are great). The ground won't be there much longer. Sit where Owen sat or kneel by Gerrard's seat in the changing rooms. Respect!
A true Red doesn't need to ask! Get a taxi or walk (about 40 minutess) from the city centre. Alternately, shout out "Anfield" and God will part the clouds and point to it for you!
Belgrade has everything to offer on a night out, from hardcore clubbing to intimate bars to chill out and relax in.
The Club of World Travellers is the coolest little place I've ever been. A 'secret' bar, it took us a while to find but it was worth it. Extensive cocktail list, good prices and weird decor all make it a place worth visiting.
For those into their history, how can anyone look past Tito's grave and museum? A definite must and, if you're into football as well, a mere 5-10 minute walk from both Red Star and Partisan Belgrade's ground (and the kindly staff even let you have a look around).
In summer 2006, 10 of us took a villa in the tiny village of Vizinada in the central hills of Croatia's Istrian peninsula. This is a beautiful spot looking across to the medieval hill town of Motovun and within easy travelling distance of great coastal locations such as Venetian-styled Rovinj to the south.
We went there principally however to watch the World Cup amongst another passionate footballing people and the local Croatians did not disappoint. What made the holiday memorable however was the wonderful warmth and hospitality extended to us everywhere we went, not least when watching games in the tiny local bar on a beat-up TV in an alien language, and where £16 stood a round for most of the village on a packed Saturday night.
Were I not already committed to a holiday in Turkey next June I'd be looking to return to Vizinada or somewhere nearby to watch Euro 2008. I know I could expect great value and genuine friendliness along with the excitement of following a team with a real chance of victory. Since it was Croatia who sent England packing last month it might also soften the blow more than a little were Croatia to pull it off.
Brazil Expedition is a team that provides guidance and vehicles for many different sorts of tours.
They drive you to Tijuca Forest, a completely reforested area of Rio. There you will get to see all kinds of vegetation, some wildlife, and a waterfall. You can also make a light hike up to the top of Pedra Bonita, one of Rio’s nicest views. There you will enjoy a view of Rio few people have had the privilege to see, and watch the hanggliders and paragliders jumping off the ramp. And last but not least, the Brazil Expedition staff take you to great soccer games in Maracana, the bigger soccer stadium in the world.
They are very professional and language skilled.
www.brazilexpedition.com
tours@brazilexpedition.com
21 9998 2907 (Eduardo)
Expats and tourists have the opportunity to play football for a team in Latvia's top amateur league!
It is possible to play against or for league team Riga United.
If you are planning to move to Latvia to live and work, then you can join a Riga United training session and, who knows, you might be turning out for the red and white of United!
Alternatively, if you are interested in playing Riga United FC while on your holiday, then you just need to contact the club through their sponsor's website.
On an afternoon's journey, you'll meet local football professionals whose lives and stories are woven into the soccer history of Cape Town.
Their infectious and heartfelt enthusiasm for their game will prime you to get caught up in the spirit of training sessions (and when possible, matches) of clubs big and small.
Even if you're not a United fan, Old Trafford is still a great place for a day out. I strongly recommend The Tour of Old Trafford. You will discover the trophies, dressing room, tunnel and pitchside- to mention just a few!!
Or - if you are a Red's fan, you can of course be right in the action by booking tickets to a match!
For a fun day out- VISIT OLD TRAFFORD!!!
Visit www.MANUTD.com
If you like colour, passion, noise and friendly people try to get a ticket for a game at the Millerntor.
Age, race, sex and fashion sense matters not one bit. There are families, skinheads, anarchists, hippies, punks and office workers all there having an enjoyable time, win, lose or draw.
The vast quantities of beer consumed in the local bars pre-game only serves to make people more amicable. This is not a club to come to if you think going to a football match is all about you displaying your macho aggression.
A ticket for the terrace costs about 12 euros. As the Reeperbahn is just round the corner, why not pull yourself away from the strip clubs for a couple of hours, and let St Pauli fans show you a good time.
Millerntor Stadion, Budapester Str, U-Bahn stop St Pauli (line U3).
In Paris with two boys, one our cheerful seven-year-old, the other our stroppy 15-year-old "Little Englander" who was determined to be unimpressed by anything French (it was just a phase - he is now studying international relations at Bradford University's Department of Peace Studies). The Eiffel Tower was "OK", the Pompidou Centre was "torture". Paris in the company of a teenage grump was turning out to have been the trip from hell when we saw the posters for tours of Le Stade de France. Ok, about the last place I would choose out of all the many places and sights in Paris which I may never see, but hey, this was supposed to be a treat for all of us.
We found our way to Le Stade in an uninspiring suburb. It was a comprehensive tour, taking in changing rooms, stands, pitch and presidential box and loads more. It felt like we got to look in every storeroom.
Most of it bored me silly but it was worth every minute to see the transformation in the boy. He was so appreciative that his uplifted mood lasted for the rest of the trip. That afternoon, he sat patiently watching his little brother playing for two hours and more in the childrens' playground in the Luxembourg Gardens. Later on we wandered round the local streets and found a great pizza restaurant. And so home to hotel, all of us content and well fed. It was a special day.
Yes, it may look weird but check out this place to get an insight into why aussie rules dominates Australia's sporting culture. (www.aflhalloffame.com.au). One of the toughest sports in the world!
Swanston Street, CBD
If Slavia are Liverpool and Sparta are Everton, Viktoria are Tranmere Rovers. This 2nd division football side play in the Prague 3 district of Žižkov. Games kick off on a Sunday morning and are friendly, intimate affairs with beer and sausages on sale at 10am.
Allegedly with the highest number of pubs per capita of any city district in Europe, Žižkov is a working-class area of Prague, a world away from the gaudy delights of Wenceslas Square. It is home to the television tower visible from all over the city, and can be reached by Metro to Florenc (line B & C) or by tram to Husinecká.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FK_Viktoria_%C5%BDi%C5%BEkov
Metro to Florenc (line B & C) or by tram to Husinecká.
Watching a football match here is an utterly brilliant thing to do on an evening in Barcelona. Best to get tickets in advance from the ticket office though be careful when you buy them, as ours were not seated next to each other.
We sat together anyway, like everyone else in the stand but there was a lot of confusion as to what to do. So make sure when you get your tickets that the seats are next to each other. Otherwise it was a top night.
Avinguda Aristides Maillol www.fcbarcelona.com
Nearest Metro: Collblanc - it is about a ten minute walk from the station.
I must warn you before you read this that I am a Manchester City fan and my worldview and my choice of Corinthians is directly influenced by this. Corinthians is perhaps Brazil's best-supported club, unless you ask supporters of Rio de Janeiro's CR Flamengo, the club of Zico.
Corinthians, nicknamed 'Timao' were actually given to me by someone I chatted to about which team I was going to support. The conversation I had on arrival in Brazil for the first time in 1995 ran roughly as follows: "What's your team over here then?" "I don't know, not decided yet" "What do you mean?" "My team in England is Manchester City, and we only really have extreme success or failure - we won 4 major cups in 3 seasons in the late 60s/70s but we've been relegated loads of time and we know how to screw up a game we should have tied up - and the fans are 'muito fiel' (very loyal) I want to support a team like that here." The upshot was that the man basically told me that only Corinthians could fit the bill becuase their support is known as 'O Fiel' and because they too regularly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
I asked who their famous players were and he said Socrates, Rivelino and Casagrande. My dad used to gush about Socrates and that nailed it for me. As an English lad doing a year of his degree in Brazil it further enthused me that the club's home ground is the Parque Sao Jorge (Saint George Park). However, the club mainly plays home games at the Morumbi Stadium, home of one of their hated rivals, São Paulo (the other rival being Palmeiras, the former team of Roberto Carlos and, later, Luis Felipe Scolari).
It's said of Corinthians that where most football clubs are followed by their fans, Corinthians is a set of fans who happen to drag a football club in their wake. Their most controversial group of supporters, the organised supporters network 'Gavioes da Fiel' (Hawks of the Faithful) organise a massive carnival parade and if football were banned, then as long as there was anyone left in Brazil in the first place, the Gavioes would celebrate Corintianidade ('Corinthian-ness') with drums and dancing anyway. They also famously invade other clubs' grounds and make away games feel like home matches, as they did in the 70s with a legendary clash with Flamengo at the Maracana in the Rio-Sao Paulo Cup.
Brazilian club football has taken many batterings over the years with corruption and low attendances, but if you want a team that will never provide a dull moment, this is it. And their kit looks cool.
In the same vein as the Mad Dog in the Fog (owned by the same guy), this is the city's premier sports bar.
And by sports, I mean sports. The Kezar is located across the street from Kezar Stadium, the former home of the city's five-time Super Bowl champion 49ers, now converted to a trim 10,000 seat athletics, football and soccer stadium. The atmosphere follows the same vein as the decor: distinctly 49ers-related, and NFL and college action packs the place to watch every game on its 24 TV screens. Similar crowds watch baseball, especially the Boston Red Sox, or ice hockey (an unusual interest of the owner - read more). March madness may bring the biggest crowds of all. If you want your American sport, the Kezar's the place to go.
But it's more than that.
The Kezar abuts the epicentre of the city's legendary Irish community (a community third only to New York and Boston) and there is a distinctly Irish undertone to the place, from the logo exhibiting Kezar Stadium's famous arch with a shamrock placed in it to the Irish bar staff and owner. Gaelic sports are in abundance here, and the bar is equally full for the Six Nations or Republic of Ireland internationals.
But while it's an Irish bar in America, it's not an “Irish” bar. Rather, it's a mishmash of European and American sensibilities. The Premiership and Champions League football attract huge crowds, mixing tourists, American fans, and expatriates. New Zealanders and Australians pack the pub for Tri-Nations rugby (shown live in the wee hours) and even Indians come for cricket. The World Cup saw the start of Kezar's newest demographic - Ukranian soccer fans.
Oh, the food's also top notch for a sports bar. You'll find your fish and chips, meat pies and your Irish fare, including shepherd's pie and the legendary Irish breakfasts munched on by hungry rugby and football fans, as well as American hamburgers and buffalo wings. But the owner's wife - a chef - adds some subtle touches in the form of salmon, penne pasta and excellent salads.
Beer flows freely here, with several varieties of American beers, English ales, and God's own Guinness.
770 Stanyan St, at the edge of the Haight-Ashbury district. Reachable by several bus lines, including the 71 Haight-Noriega, the 43 Masonic and the 6 Haight;
tel: (415) 386 9292
This is a low key bar in the Lower Haight (Haight and Fillmore), a funky, low-key neighbourhood, where you can go early on Saturday and catch your Premiership games. They've got a lot of TVs to cover the games, good food and atmosphere. The house team is Aston Villa.
Market St Street car line to the Church St Exit.
“Vamos, vamos Cuencanos/Esta noche tenemos que ganar” (“Come on, come on people of Cuenca/ Tonight we have to win”). That’s all the Spanish you need to be a welcome guest at the Alejandro Serranos Aguilar Stadium, home to the occasionally mighty Deportivo Cuenca. The team may not be world-beaters, but the atmosphere takes some beating: flares are lit, songs calling the parentage of the referee into question are sung, and everyone alternates between bouncing up and down and downing contraband Zhumir, the local firewater. Maybe it’s not so important that they win after all…
Just off Av. Vicente Fray Solano, the main street in the south of the city. Just follow the red shirts;
Matches usually happen on a Sunday morning or Friday night (much better), but like anything in Ecuador it’s a movable feast, so check locally.
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
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