Around Euro 2024 – Day Five – Leipzig

Day Five – Tuesday 18th June 2024

Portugal 2 Czech Republic 1
Leipzig Red Bull Arena – 9pm local time

 

We were headed east, deep into the heart of what used to be East Germany. We had to checkout by 10am from Hamburg and could not check in until 4pm in Leipzig. So, we could take our time, even though it was another long drive after a day of rest from the autobahn. The weather was hot during our drive, although that would change later – Germany generally got very, very soaked and doubtless if you caught any of the buildup to the Turkey v Georgia game you’d have seen that was almost biblical in terms of rain. Our hotel, as such, was a long two storey building with each door having a pin code pad so you could access your room. No staff or reception of any description. It was clean and modern, so no complaints. We also found the pin code worked an hour before check-in, which was handy as it gave me some time to have a bit of a nap. It poured down heavily for 30 mintues once we were thankfully inside, watching the first half of the Turkey v Georgia on the room TV.

Getting to the stadium for our game by public transport was feasible, but getting back involved a lot of walking due to buses not running after midnight. Our bed for the night was on the edge of town with not much in the way of residential property. Very convenient as a stop off, but not really great for the centre or attending a football match. I took the executive decision that, in spite of all UEFA communications about not heading to the stadium in your car, we’d do exactly that. There’s a bit of research required as to where you might be able to park, and then once the decision is made, the address goes in the satnav, you head there and see what can be done. 

 

We parked up streetside only to be told by some volunteer helper that we’d get a ticket as we were not residents, so rather than argue, we just drove on and found another spot which looked fine. No signage indicating you couldn’t park and lots of other cars. More of that later. It was maybe a 20-minute walk to the stadium, and on the way we bought food and drink from a petrol station at far cheaper prices than we’d pay inside. Sitting in the sun consuming those was a nice relaxing 15 minutes before we headed to the stadium entrance. The Red Bull Arena is surrounded by green and the stadium itself set in a bowl so only the roof is visible from a distance, and that disappears as you get closer. There is a meaty incline once you get within shouting distance of the stands. 

It all felt a little futuristic once you got over the hill and could see the walkways into the stadium. It’s a very impressive venue and feels a lot bigger than the 40,000 capacity (Leipzig is the smallest stadium of the ten being used in the tournament). There’s a bit more climbing for us to do inside, as the route to our seats near the top of the upper tier involved some staggered steps, although at least there’s a view of the surrounding countryside on one side, the pitch on the other. It made a nice change to be in relatively early for once, as we took our seats with Portugal and the Czechs warming up. The phone reception is very good in the stadiums so far, a real contrast from the Emirates. Now although I am no advocate of checking phones during a match, pre-kick off and at half time it is nice to feed the screen addiction – I generally use it to familiarise myself a little more with the players in the starting line-ups.

On that note, it was a bit of a shock to see that only three of the Czech starting eleven played outside of their domestic league. That could say something about how good the Czech league is, but I’m not so sure. They had the two West Ham players, Coufal and Soucek, and the free-scoring Beyer Leverkusen forward Schick. Portugal had a raft of familiar faces, including aging panto dame Ronaldo, who isn’t going to give up his place in the spotlight easily after Messi trumped him by winning the World Cup. I fully expect him to be at the 2026 World Cup and announce his retirement there. Only two of the Portuguese team play in their domestic league, the keeper and the evergreen Pepe, who is even older than CR7. 

Portugal dominated the match and it was astonishing they needed such a late winner to secure it. The Czechs seemed to have little confidence and had the ball for less than a third of the game. It was one way traffic for the most part, but they came so close to securing a point. You’d expect them to play better against Georgia and Turkey, and four points from those two games will probably see them through to the last 16 where I fully expect them to go home. The stadium itself was bowl shaped, although with corners of sorts and you felt right on top of the pitch, unlike Berlin or West Ham for example. The stadiums so far have all felt uniquely characteristic. 

It rained heavily during the game, but thankfully halted before full time. We decided against collecting empty glasses for the 3 euro deposit money on each as it was tricky to hop over from row to row. However, at one point, to try and beat the crowd, we just decided to walk through a row of seats instead and picked up 10 glasses to make a tidy €30. I don’t know how many people simply think the beers cost €10 or how many simply can’t be bothered to queue up just for €3. And some of them make nice souvenirs – specifically one with graphics of all the stadiums on. 

Having collected our bounty, we walked to the car, to find a soggy parking ticket of some kind attached to the windscreen. Good luck chasing me through the courts for that. I’ve likely picked up a speeding fine from some kind from a camera (it flashed at me anyway), although at times, you have no clue what the speed limit actually is, and of course, some of the autobahns don’t even have a limit. Anyway, it was an easy drive home and with a long trip to the mid-western part of Germany to follow in the morning, it wasn’t long before I hit the sack.

 

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