El Clásico de Medellín
One day, I'd love to do a big trip dedicated to soccer. I'd start in Europe, going to some games (including seeing Manchester United of course) in England, then maybe go see a big game in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany...then on to lesser-known leagues in central and eastern Europe. And then? Well, the only real destination after that is South America, and besides Boca vs River Plate, catching a big game in Columbia would also be on my fantasy iteneary.
I could barely hide my glee then, when I decided in the airport before my Thursday flight to Cartagena to check if there was any games on in Medellín that weeked, and learning that it was only the El Clásico, the Medellín derby, on Saturday. Atletico Nacional versus Independiente Medellín. Not long after landing, I quickly acquired tickets to the game. Fuck yes.
The excitement I felt the day before the game was not matched on the morning of, mostly due to a bastard of a hangover having been out until 5 am on pub crawl shenanigans the night before. Some good coffee and an eggs benedict eventually sorted me out, but not in time before a suffocating minibus journey to the stadium. The company on the bus was good though, especially the soccer-obsessed Aussie bloke from Perth and his girlfriend who I befriended.
Getting to our seats was chaotic. There was about twenty of us in the group, with two guides. Some of us stopped to buy ponchos (it was about to rain, and the stadium is uncovered). One of the guides stayed with us. By the time we got to the stadium, we had lost the other group, and our guide didn't have the tickets or know where to go. After 30 minutes of anxiously walking around the stadium, we finally got access to our pitchside seats.
Entering the arena, my expectations of the atmosphere were met, and exceeded. To our left, a sea of green and white, the Atletico Nacional fans, with a drum section constantly hammering away planted right in the middle, and fans singing in unison. To our right, behind the opposite goal, a sea of red and maroon, the Independiente fans, complete with their own pounding percussion section, doing the same thing.
The game itself was shite, with lots of laboured final balls and few moments of genuine quality. It did have that one element that I love about the South American game though - each team had a number 10, who each spent most of the time ambling behind the strikers showing some nice touches and spraying the ball about the park, but not running or pressing or any of that other stuff that makes you break a sweat. Players like this don't exist in Europe any more.
It didn't really matter that the game was a 0-0 dud. Both sets of fans absolutely belted it out for the whole game. Some of the Nacional fans were literally hanging from the rooftop. The atmosphere was what I was here to experience, and what an experience it was. Hairs standing up on the back of the neck stuff. I left the stadium with a huge smile on my face, and with some regret that Ireland had not managed to make it to the World Cup - Ireland versus Colombia would have been some party.
More photos and videos from the game
I could barely hide my glee then, when I decided in the airport before my Thursday flight to Cartagena to check if there was any games on in Medellín that weeked, and learning that it was only the El Clásico, the Medellín derby, on Saturday. Atletico Nacional versus Independiente Medellín. Not long after landing, I quickly acquired tickets to the game. Fuck yes.
The excitement I felt the day before the game was not matched on the morning of, mostly due to a bastard of a hangover having been out until 5 am on pub crawl shenanigans the night before. Some good coffee and an eggs benedict eventually sorted me out, but not in time before a suffocating minibus journey to the stadium. The company on the bus was good though, especially the soccer-obsessed Aussie bloke from Perth and his girlfriend who I befriended.
 |
| Nacional for life |
Getting to our seats was chaotic. There was about twenty of us in the group, with two guides. Some of us stopped to buy ponchos (it was about to rain, and the stadium is uncovered). One of the guides stayed with us. By the time we got to the stadium, we had lost the other group, and our guide didn't have the tickets or know where to go. After 30 minutes of anxiously walking around the stadium, we finally got access to our pitchside seats.
Entering the arena, my expectations of the atmosphere were met, and exceeded. To our left, a sea of green and white, the Atletico Nacional fans, with a drum section constantly hammering away planted right in the middle, and fans singing in unison. To our right, behind the opposite goal, a sea of red and maroon, the Independiente fans, complete with their own pounding percussion section, doing the same thing.
The game itself was shite, with lots of laboured final balls and few moments of genuine quality. It did have that one element that I love about the South American game though - each team had a number 10, who each spent most of the time ambling behind the strikers showing some nice touches and spraying the ball about the park, but not running or pressing or any of that other stuff that makes you break a sweat. Players like this don't exist in Europe any more.
It didn't really matter that the game was a 0-0 dud. Both sets of fans absolutely belted it out for the whole game. Some of the Nacional fans were literally hanging from the rooftop. The atmosphere was what I was here to experience, and what an experience it was. Hairs standing up on the back of the neck stuff. I left the stadium with a huge smile on my face, and with some regret that Ireland had not managed to make it to the World Cup - Ireland versus Colombia would have been some party.
More photos and videos from the game
What with the screenshot of the video? I want to see the video.
ReplyDeleteFixed. I also added a link to the Google Photos album.
Delete