Having looked at the last time that either Rob or myself did a proper post (before Rob's effort earlier this week - if you haven't yet read it make sure to check it out), I was shocked to see that it had been almost a month since our Italy vs England review. It's been too long!
We do, of course, apologise for this short-term lack of contact, but the fact of the matter is that with the sheer amount of football that needed watching, it has been extremely difficult for the two of us to firstly watch it, and also manage to shower, eat, and go to work and stuff, whilst still maintaining regular writing.
Hopefully now though, we can resume where we left off with our regular Monday & Thursday posts.
Now, back to the matter at hand. As you may have seen on our blog homepage, we have a section dedicated to "European Away Days", that has yet to have any content uploaded...until now.
Let me to explain..
A while back me and Rob were chatting about various clubs we'd like to go see in Europe, which gave me an idea. It is my target this year (and who knows, maybe for many years to come), to do a bit of Football Tourism.
I'm planning on visiting various clubs, getting in a game, maybe a stadium tour, eating the local food - essentially just soaking in the atmosphere of football in different cities and countries across Europe, and documenting my experiences for TLS.
I have an obvious list of "big clubs" that I would like to visit; the likes of Dortmund, Ajax, Barcelona, etc., but i'm also planning on paying a bit of attention to some of the more outlandish places. So if you have any recommendations, fire me or TLS a tweet!
So here we go. European Away Days Volume 1;
Aberdeen vs FC Gronigen,
Pittodrie,
17 July 2014
OK, so this one may be cheating. Slightly. However, given the upcoming outcome of the Scottish Independance referendum, this game could indeed count as a full-blown European fixture.
As you may know, both from my bio section, and my constant tweeting about Middlesbrough, I am a Teessider. I have however, relocated to live in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the last couple of months for work purposes. What is cool about where I now live, is that it's quite literally 200m away from Pittodrie; the home of one of Scotland's most historic football teams; Aberdeen FC.
The Club
The Dons, as they are affectionately known, are a club steeped in history, most notably at the hands of some fella named Alex Ferguson, who famously led them to the 1983 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup Double.
Since Fergie left however, silverware has been in short supply, with both Glasgow teams dominating Scottish football. That was until a recently resurgent team, under new manager Derek McInnes clinched the Scottish League Cup last season; just the clubs forth trophy since Sir Alex left for Manchester 28 years ago, and the clubs first since 1995.
Aberdeen also managed to finished 3rd in the SPL last time out, missing out on second place in a decisive final day clash against Motherwell, in what was effectively a 2nd vs 3rd shootout. In essense, this changed little as both were destined to require entry to the Europa League via the qualifying rounds - Motherwell just had to do one less stage of this. Celtic of course, who won the SPL, entered the UEFA Champions League, again via the qualifying rounds - due to the seeding on the SPL within Europe.
As a Middlesbrough man, the second tier European competition is something close to my heart, as Middlesbrough made it to the Final in Eindhoven in 05/06, when it operated in it's former guise - the UEFA Cup. Sadly, we lost out to Sevilla that night 4-0. But let's not talk about that...
Either way, I saw Aberdeen's entry as an unexpected opportunity to get some European football in, in my new city.
The first qualifying round was a routine win for McInnes' men, seeing off a poor Daugava Riga of Latvia, 8-0 on aggregate.
Aberdeen were drawn against comparatively stiffer opposition for the second round.The Dutch side, FC Gronigen, the opposition..
Tickets: What, Where, How?
Tickets for me, as you can imagine were relatively easy to come by. I just walked down to the ticket office and asked for some. I imagine this may be something that is more complex for when I visit European teams abroad.
Pricing was reasonable at around £23 for an adult ticket. This was a moderately priced section of the ground, in Block Y, situated on the corner of the Merkland and South Stands.
Tickets were more expensive (£25-30) in the Main and South Stands, along the touchlines, as you'd probably expect, with the Richard Donald Stand falling somewhere in the middle.
A 21, 421 all-seater stadium, Pittodrie is situated in the middle of a residential area, harking back to many grounds around England in the late 80's/ early 90's, akin to the likes of Maine Road and Ayresome Park.
Personally, I think the old-school red brick looks great - a real bit of British footballing heritage that you just don't see anymore with the architecture of modern stadia.
However, despite several redevelopments; most notably the Richard Donald Stand in 1993 (named after former chairman, Dick Donald), the future of the home of AFC remains uncertain, with plans for development of a new Aberdeen football stadium on the edge of the city in full swing.
Access to the stadium, due to its location, is not great. Congestion in Aberdeen is a real issue, and on match days, you can see why. Small roads, with no real infrastructure geared towards hosting a football crowd make this a real headache to get in and out of.
Aberdeen is known as the Granite City. With good reason. Most of the buildings in and around the town are built using the grey colored rock - which looks surprisingly nice on a sunny day. However, on a wet one it can look quite dull.
As I've already mentioned, congestion in Aberdeen is a nightmare, with poor accessibility for travelling by car around the city center. The best way to get around for travelling fans would undoubtedly be to use public transport.
Parking costs are also high, along with many other things; notably the cost of entertainment, as well as food and drink. This is due to the money culture that exists in Aberdeen, as it is home to one of the wealthiest industries in the world, as the Oil & Gas capital of Europe.
The centre of Aberdeen is full of things to do in the hours leading up to kick-off. Union Square offers a vast array of shops, as well as places to eat out, and cinemas. Pittodrie itself is also situated close to the City Beach, so if you bring your flips flops along, and the sun is shining...you never know, you might be surprised.
The game itself was a bit of a slow burner. As ever when you are playing at home first in Europe, Aberdeen's main concern was evidently to not concede an away-goal to the Dutch visitors, largely happy to hold possession in the middle-third of the pitch.
When the opportunity did present itself, the Reds did try and carefully unpick the defence, often with a selection of training ground free-kick routines, none of which were particularly effective against a tall back four.
Aberdeen, for all their lack of creativity in front of goal did appear to be a class above Gronigen, with the Dutchmen offering very little in all areas.
With the game finishing 0-0, Aberdeen went to Holland with a significant advantage, knowing that a score-draw at least, would see them through.
In essence the game won't go down in history, but with post-World Cup blues setting in, and still a few weeks away from the start of the domestic season, i'll take whatever I can get.
Ultimately, the away-goal rule wasn't necessary, as Aberdeen ran out 2-1 winners in Holland, progressing to the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
The Ground
 |
| The Richard 'Dick' Donald Stand is the tallest stand at Pittodrie, and can be seen for miles around. |
Personally, I think the old-school red brick looks great - a real bit of British footballing heritage that you just don't see anymore with the architecture of modern stadia.
However, despite several redevelopments; most notably the Richard Donald Stand in 1993 (named after former chairman, Dick Donald), the future of the home of AFC remains uncertain, with plans for development of a new Aberdeen football stadium on the edge of the city in full swing.
Access to the stadium, due to its location, is not great. Congestion in Aberdeen is a real issue, and on match days, you can see why. Small roads, with no real infrastructure geared towards hosting a football crowd make this a real headache to get in and out of.
The City
 |
| The Merkland Stand entrance pays homage to Aberdeen's architectural roots. |
Aberdeen is known as the Granite City. With good reason. Most of the buildings in and around the town are built using the grey colored rock - which looks surprisingly nice on a sunny day. However, on a wet one it can look quite dull.
As I've already mentioned, congestion in Aberdeen is a nightmare, with poor accessibility for travelling by car around the city center. The best way to get around for travelling fans would undoubtedly be to use public transport.
Parking costs are also high, along with many other things; notably the cost of entertainment, as well as food and drink. This is due to the money culture that exists in Aberdeen, as it is home to one of the wealthiest industries in the world, as the Oil & Gas capital of Europe.
The centre of Aberdeen is full of things to do in the hours leading up to kick-off. Union Square offers a vast array of shops, as well as places to eat out, and cinemas. Pittodrie itself is also situated close to the City Beach, so if you bring your flips flops along, and the sun is shining...you never know, you might be surprised.
The Match
The game itself was a bit of a slow burner. As ever when you are playing at home first in Europe, Aberdeen's main concern was evidently to not concede an away-goal to the Dutch visitors, largely happy to hold possession in the middle-third of the pitch.
When the opportunity did present itself, the Reds did try and carefully unpick the defence, often with a selection of training ground free-kick routines, none of which were particularly effective against a tall back four.
Aberdeen, for all their lack of creativity in front of goal did appear to be a class above Gronigen, with the Dutchmen offering very little in all areas.
With the game finishing 0-0, Aberdeen went to Holland with a significant advantage, knowing that a score-draw at least, would see them through.
In essence the game won't go down in history, but with post-World Cup blues setting in, and still a few weeks away from the start of the domestic season, i'll take whatever I can get.
Ultimately, the away-goal rule wasn't necessary, as Aberdeen ran out 2-1 winners in Holland, progressing to the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
Aberdeen face a sterner test tonight in the third qualification round of the Europa League, where they face Real Sociedad of Spain. The home leg at Pittodrie is to be played this time next week, where I will most certainly be attending. Hopefully Aberdeen can provide me with more European football season!
Come on the Dons!
This was the first installment of our new section - European Away Days. Be sure to tweet us any thoughts, questions, or recommendations you might have for our new footballing adventure!
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