My very late and very long match report from Juve.

[Jimpav]

Sorry it's taken so long, I've been ill since Juve and only just mustered the mental energy to type this up! Thanks for reading.

I'm finding that I need more and more time to prepare for the bigger matches. Nerves, anticipation and travel all take their toll so on the Wednesday night we went for a swim and a few cheeky pints whilst watching United batter AC into submission.

Our flight to Genoa was at a civilised hour (after 10:00am) This mean't that we could get up at a reasonable time and not be rushing to the airport. The flight was almost full but their were not to many Fulham fans on board, just a fee scarves and shirts peeking out of heavy coats and under jumpers.

The 1.5 passed quite quickly and before we knew it we were hovering over the Alps and some truly stunning scenery. Alpine villages and resorts nestled amongst the giant snow capped peaks. We flew over a large town in the shadow of the alps which we presumed to be Torino, before passing over more mountains and down into Genoa.

From the air Genoa looks like Monaco. Turquoise waters, big beautiful old buildings hugging the cliffs and windy streets leading down to a marina. Upon landing it bore more of a resemblance to Pompey. A big dock, run down buildings and not so turquoise waters.

Immigration was a breeze and as it was just a one night stay we had taken bags on board with us. Within twenty minutes I was in the car park kangarooing about trying to get to grips with the tiny clutch pedal on the little Fiat we had hired.

We were about 100 miles south of Torino but had plenty of time on our hands what with the late kick off. Once I got the hang of the pedals we were on our way. The road to Torino was a gradual climb into the mountains and then a series of tunnels leading us through them. Once we had cleared the peaks we were able to pick up a bit more speed and push onwards. Snowy fields glistened under the bright sunshine and a soundtrack of dodgy European techno spurred us on.

As we came into the outskirts of the city the traffic thickened but with the aid of sat nav we had an unscheduled tour of the back srtreets before popping out into the city centre. The techno gave way to all out cheese and we found ourselves bouncing along to Whigfield whilst stuck in traffic. I suggested that it would be a great idea to have te team march out to "Saturday night" buy Whigfield, complete with the dance moves. Come on, it would be funny - at least once?

I didn't realise they had trams in Turin until I found myself blocking one's path. The last time i saw a tram it was in Basel being driven by a bloke dressed up as Father Christmas. This one wasn't as friendly. He beeped, gave me a withering look and then when I had backed up to let him past, everyone else on the tram rode past and shook their head at me.

We checked into the hotel and were greeted rather frostily by the lady on front desk. Got up to the room and realised that they had given us a double instead of a twin. When we went back and explained that we would prefer a twin room she seemed much friendlier!

There were still at least five hours until kick off so we went out to explore. Most cities look great in the sunshine and Torino was no exception. The city centre seemed fairly Parisian with it's sweeping boulevards, boutique shops and dignified old people shuffling along.

We didn't see any Fulham fans until we got to the big square but this was limited a to handful of people enjoing a few drinks alfresco in the dying sunshine.

Ducking into a cafe on one of the side streets we had a drink and something to eat. The welcoming owner clocked us straight away as Fulham fans despite our lack of colours and wished us well. He shook our hands and wished us luck. I'm guessing he was a Torino fan!

On the way back to the hotel we went into the Juve club shop. I consdidered getting some souvenirs but the prices were enough to make you wince. 50 Euros for a t-shirt seemed a bit on the steep side.

With our tickets we had been handed an advice sheet which suggested that we would need to meet at the staion and take buses to the ground. These were starting from 5pm which seemed extremely early for a 9pm kick off.  As we had travelled independently we decided to head off nearer to kick off, leaving at 7pm and allowing an hour to get to the ground.

It took about 30-40 mins to walk there from the hotel. We didn't see any Juve fans on the way though and only bumped into two Fulham fans - they were pretty wasted though so no pre-match banter to report. We saw a few coaches being conveyed by the police - complete with blaring sirens and flashing lights but this seemed to be  mfor the benefit of the police as they tore through the rush hour traffic.



There were a smattering of Juve fans as we got closer to the ground but these were congregrating around the few stalls selling paninis and souveniers - none of your greasy burgers and hot dogs here.



Beyond the stalls there was a gated enclosure leading the final 300 foot tothe entrance of the ground. This was being guarded zealously by the stormtroopers with their truncheons, helmets and shields. In fairness to these guys they were quite gentle and ushered us in after checking our tickets against ID.



The enclosure was essentially a re-inforced coach park with lots of Fulham fans jumping off the buses and then marching to the ground. Once at the perimter we had tickets checked before going into a covered walkway to the away entrance. Even the roof was covered here and it did little to help an already edgy atmosphere.



After another ticket check and frisking we were at the away entrance to the ground. As already reported there were only about six porterloos and one van serving snacks and soft drinks. This was a bit of an insult given the facilities on offer to home fans but more so given that we were being encouraged to arrive four hours before kick off and that tickets had sold out on the day of going on sale.



The stadium was better than I expected. It was undeniably smart and ultra modern. It didn't have the aura of the Bernabau or other great stadia but as far as tempoary stadiums go it was quite good. Amazing how different stadiums compare when you think that it only holds slightly more than the Cottage.



Enough has been posted about the match and the other events so I will not swell on the match or the other issues. I was sitting in the top tier so was thankfully not caught up in the off pitch events. I did see fighting though and have to say that it left a bad taste in my mouth.



Let it be stressed though that throughout the match the rest of us were singing, dancing and applauding from the off right through until the 40 minutes-hour after kick off when they let us out.



BZ gave us his biggest hand clap to date (a full two hands raised) and another poignant moment was when Brede left the pitch. All of the team came over at the end but he stayed on his own as we sung his name repeatedly. He left the field alone, turning back once to applaud us again. A truly humble man and a real asset to Fulham.



When we finally got out of the stadium we slinked off out the exits and trudged back to the hotel. We stopped en-route at a restaurant. It always amazes me that you can wa l k into a restaurant in Italy at ten minutes to midnight and still be served a sit down meal with not even a eye lid being batted. The place was empty bar a family and three business men having a few Peronis. The food was excellent. Big hand made pizzas, crammed with proper mozarella, ham and  tomatoes. It was certainly the high point of the evening!



Midway through dinner we got a text from BA advising that the flight was due to be delayed because of the strikes in Italy. This was actually a real bonus as it mean't more time in bed the next morning.



Woke up the next morning to beautiful sunshine and a lazy breakfast - these away matches can be a real grind.



The journey back to Genoa was even quicker as we didn't have the up hil climb. We got into Genoa before lunch time and spent an hour or so driving round trying to find something interesting. Failed miserably but we did drive up a very big hill and nearly burnt the clutch on our micro machine out. We had been misled by a sign for a restaurant that had closed for the winter and a church that was about as old as my Mum. There was a great view though.



There was time for one last meal so we stumbled across a little Tratorria near the docks. It looked rubbish from the outside but you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. The food was again fantastic. Very fresh seafood and tasty pasta. Try finding something that tasty at Luton or Stansted!



I have to be honest and say that this trip did not have the magic of Basel but then that is often the way when a game is hyped up so much. I was not so much bothered by the result but the way in which it came about. The third goal was sloppy and could be the one that changed our destiny.



The trouble did upset me and made me think about things but as others have pointed out this was a tiny minority of "fans". If you give people 11 hours to kill before a match then they will get drunk and things can get out of hand. It is up to the rest of us to put on a good show for Juve and get the cottage trocking again.



If you have not been to Italy, then go, the people are friendly, the scenery is great and the food is perfecto!

[RidgeRider]

Wonderful report Jimpav! Felt like I was there with you. Nicely done. :)

[NorfolkJim]

Enjoyed that. Taking the less direct route can be quite enjoyable, glad I'm not the only one who does that.

[BarneyTravers]

Thanks Jimpav...good work!

[finnster01]

Top report Mr JimPav.

Thanks for sharing that. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[LBNo11]

...Oh how I envy you, and Norfolk Jim, Barney Travers, Scrumpy et al, but I am very grateful for all the reports, they all make very interesting reading, and I hope we get a few more reports from around Europe again soon.

Thanks again...

[White Noise]

Bloody hell JimPav you could make a decent fist as a travel writer.

Evocative stuff and, as LB says, makes you long to be part of the expeditionary force.

Your piece also illustrates nicely that there is more than one way to do these trips and make the memorable.

I know it must be bankrupting you fella's that are travelling but I hope there are more recollections like this to come and that you will all be munching on big German sausages come 12th May.

[epsomraver]

great report, you actually had the nerve to ...................................drive a FIAT! In Italy too! brave man!

[Jimpav]

Thanks for the feedback Gents.

It's been a fantastic journey but I feel that tonight is the end of the road. Tonight will be emotional but I'm so glad that we are playing at home because bowing out of the tournament thousands of miles from home would have been very lonely.

It's been a great experience and a pleasure to share it with my fellow FoF.