Around Euro 2024 – Day Ten – Stuttgart

Day Ten – Sunday 23rd June 2024    
Scotland 0 Hungary 1
Stuttgart Arena - 9pm local time   

After four nights, it was departure time from Duisburg. Encouraged by my windscreen not becoming two pieces of glass soon followed by the birth of a few thousand ‘Hackney Diamonds’ on the two hours’ driving the day before, plus a dry weather forecast, I was far less stressed about the journey south to Stuttgart.

 

I took the recycling and general rubbish down to the communal bin area of the block we were staying in, joined in the lift by an aging male resident doing similar. I was conscientiously putting the recycled stuff in the correct bins but this guy was giving me the third degree in German as if I was doing something wrong. I explained I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but he kept going. Such was his aggression, I just walked out and put everything in a lone bin outside my son had used for some bottles on our arrival four days earlier. You try to do things the right way but it’s evidently not good enough for some people. He was of an age where he was likely still sore about events between 1939 and 1945. 

Ah well. We made our way to Stuttgart without too much delay and checked in to a nice old-style hotel 45 minutes from the city itself, in a fairly picturesque town called Pforzheim. I had originally booked a hotel in Stuttgart proper, but for some reason the card I was using was repeatedly getting rejected, so when I finally found out that booking had been cancelled, I had to find something outside the city for a reasonable price. I am paying between £50 and £70 a night in Germany – which is fair going for two people, and mainly because most of the rooms were booked before the draw in December. Granted, most of them – in fact probably all of them – are some distance from the centre or indeed the stadiums of the relevant cities, but we are managing. Having the nerve to park 20 minutes’ walk away from some of the stadiums and just take any ticket I am issued without any intention of paying it (one of the few advantages of Brexit) is a help in this respect. Funnily enough, I have only picked up one ticket so far, and was to get lucky again in Stuttgart. 

There were only two games today, both kicking off at the same time as they were the final matches for the group. Germany and Switzerland’s result was only going to be relevant if Switzerland lost heavily and the Scots got goal-happy. Not a realistic prospect. We parked up the traditional 20 minutes’ walk from the stadium and joined a throng of kilt wearing Scotland fans to stroll to the scene of the evening’s drama. Near the ground, there was a sign for a bar ‘one minute’ (five in reality) down a road that looked promising and we discovered it was doing food, so with time on our hands had a sit down drink and a meal before entering. I was almost overcharged €18 for four of something I hadn’t ordered and pondered if this ‘item’ was added to every bill that non-German speakers were issued with on the day. Some of the Tartan Army were so far gone I am uncertain they could have made anything out on their respective bills. There had been some serious drinking undertaken during the course of the day, that much was clear. 

 

Having been fed and settled up at the correct price, we made our way to the ground and got chatting with some of the Scots fans. I have to say, things have changed over the years and I think it’s fair to say the only trouble when they travel is likely to be in England. On continental Europe, they get very drunk, urinate wherever is convenient but don’t seem to express any aggression. And if you sell alcohol, then the economic boom of having Scotland play in your city has to be off the scale. With England fans, it’s a similar story, but you do have to add in the aggressive element when they’ve had a few (or indeed indulged in cocaine, which is a growing thing amongst football supporters).

 

I’d managed to get category 3 tickets for this match – a far more affordable €60 a ticket as opposed to the category 2 €150 seats that were the cheapest available option for many of the matches. They were in the upper tier above the official Scotland section. The crowd was a mix of locals, and fans of both sides, although Scotland enjoying the majority by some way. One highly inebriated Scot decided the best way to the toilet was to climb over seats going 10 rows back, rather than walk along his row to the aisle. He disappeared about 10 minutes into the game, returned at half-time then was off again about five minutes into the second, never to be seen again. I guess he had a good time, and arguably, a better one that his more sober compatriots, given the events to follow.

 

A word about the stadium itself. Huge lower tiers, with a smaller upper tier, and a rather strange gap between the pitch and the side opposite the dugouts, the reason for which wasn’t clear. It wasn’t a stadium with room for an athletics track. From the outside it’s nothing special – a series of white poles holding up an oval roof that does suggest it is a stadium that was designed for athletics. A functional football ground, if not one that has any architectural appeal. In our seats we felt a fair way back from the goal, but had a decent enough view for our €60, although had to stand for a fair amount of the time as not everyone wanted to sit down. 

 

And so to the game. Scotland had done ok against Switzerland, which would have raised hopes they could win this match. Four points would be enough to get through as one of the third placed teams. Hungary were not as good as Switzerland, so it was very much on. However, in the opening 45 minutes, the Scots did not register a single effort on the opposition goal – even off target. The Hungarians managed five and did look the more likely to score. Things couldn’t be as bad in the second half, and they weren’t. Scotland at least got forward and gave the Hungarian backline something to do. Four goal attempts, although none on target. 

The last 10 minutes were thrilling. A draw was of no use to either side, so it became hari kari stuff with both sides putting men forward and risking the counterattack. It went to the last minute of injury time and finally, a goal. By this time, with the knowledge that there were likely to be far more discarded glasses for deposit money in the Scotland section, I’d moved to the back of the lower tier to observe the conclusion of injury time. The collective slump in that end the moment the Hungarians scored at the distant goal was something you had to be there to really experience. But of course, it was no surprise. It was classic Scotland. And a draw would have been no use to them. They had to go for it. They did. They got the ball somewhere near the goal and might have got the rub of the green – quality was never going to do it, let’s face it. The only goals they scored in the two games before were an own goal and a deflection. In honesty, they got what they deserved. I’ll give them spirit, but I can’t go as far as quality. Che Adams as their front man. They’re already fighting against the odds there. Credit to them for making the finals, but their level was exposed. 

The Tartan Army trooped out and I collected €105’s worth of glasses. Having cashed those in, I took the decision that we should use the rentable e-scooters that my son had been using in Duisburg. I had to download the app and get a quick intro into the working of the things from him. I did a couple of circuits around an empty car park (remember, there are tons of these near all the grounds as UEFA have commandeered the lot of them) and we hit the road. My God I can see why these things are dangerous. I had to have an alcohol test before I could ride one, which was interesting. Blood level wise, I was likely over the limit if you look at these things on a 24-hour basis. However, I felt fine, passed the app test and after about two minutes, felt like I had mastered the thing. We made it back to the car in quick time by using the road (the pavements were packed with fans) and my son declared me a proficient e-scooter rider once my early struggles were overcome. €4.40 which works out at 11 minutes as far as I can make out, although the first three were me mastering the thing in the car park. We may well be using these again for the next couple of matches, and I will be thinking about using them for a quicker trip to Highbury & Islington tube from the Emirates after night matches.

The drive back to our hotel was smooth enough, not much traffic to speak of. I guess this is an upside of UEFA banning all the cars – less traffic to compete with. Next up, the drive to Munich, and only two more matches before the return home.

 

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