UEFA EURO 2012 (Poznan)

Monday 18th June 2012

UEFA Euro 2012 Group C

Italy 2-0 Republic of Ireland

Attendance: 38,794*

So, for the final game of our 8 day adventure across Poland it was due south once again to the city of Poznan. This also meant the completion of visits to all four tournament grounds in Poland, which I suppose was the main purpose of the trip.

Poznan had been the main base of the Irish fans during the tournament and they were once again here in numbers. It was 90 degrees in the city today and I think the heat and a week of being on the lash was finally catching up with the Green Army.

Nonetheless the ale was still flowing and the songs were still being sung. The Irish had certainly made an impression on the Polish people and there was a sense today that many locals were wearing green in support of them, eager to join in with the festivities!

There was a jovial atmosphere in the packed Rynek, but it didn't seem to have the same fervour as it did in Gdanask last Thursday.

 

Poznan's City Stadium has a capacity of 43,090 and is the only ground of the four Polish grounds used for Euro 2012 that has been renovated, rather than built from scratch and, in my humble opinion, was the best ground of the four.

Poznan supporters are world famous for their backs-to-the-pitch celebration, which has been copied in England by Manchester Citeh fans. I have to confess that I did partake in "doing the Poznan" during the game!

Italy earned the victory they needed against an already eliminated Republic of Ireland to go through to the last eight of Euro 2012. Ireland started with well, but went behind when Antonio Cassano headed in a near post Andrea Pirlo corner, despite the best efforts of Damien Duff, winning his 100th cap, to get the ball off the line. 

An equaliser would have dumped Italy out and their keeper Gianluigi Buffon was forced to work, saving a Keith Andrews strike.

Andrews was then sent off for a second booking before Mario Balotelli volleyed in to settle Italian nerves. Italy still had to endure a few nervous minutes as a Croatia equaliser against Spain in the other Group C game would have meant they were out of the tournament, but Spain won and Italy went through as runners up.

Ireland put in a much better performance than in their two previous defeats and the fans appreciated this. They still sang, including a few anti-Roy Keane ditties, and they did their country proud. You can't help but get the feeling that it may be a while before they grace a tournament again and for some of the players this game may have been their swansong. There were rumours were going around that the likes of Shay Given, Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, John O'Shea and Richard Dunne may decide to call it a day.

I can only speak as I find and It was a top week in Poland. Four great cities, four great grounds. It was an all round fantastic experience. Poland was brilliant, the people were warm, friendly and very welcoming. There was no hint of trouble and the reality bore no resemblance to what was portrayed in the media prior to the tournament. I wonder if there will be any 'documentaries' to set the record straight?

Having spent time in amongst them, I can confirm the Irish supporters are absolutely top draw and they certainly embraced Poland as Poland embraced them. This headline in a Polish newspaper sums it up...

Anyhow, one more time....POLSKA BIALO CZERWONI :)

* This was the attendance 'flashed' on the screens at the ground. Media were reporting the attendance as 44,416 despite the fact there were plenty of empty seats and for Euro 2012 the capacity of the ground was only 40,000!!

UEFA EURO 2012 (Gdańsk)

Thursday 14th June 2012

UEFA Euro 2012 Group C

Spain 4-0 Republic of Ireland

Attendance: 39,150*

After a brief overnight stop in Osieczna, on Wednesday we made our way north to our Gniezo base. As there was no match for us that evening we wandered into town and found a bar to watch the Germany v Holland game on TV. Mein Host "entertained" the crowd with his impressions (in a sort of Basil Fawlty way) when Germany scored. He also handed out free vodka which made for an interesting, err, walk, back to the hotel!

It was with bleary eyes that we set off to the next game of our journey, 3 hours north to the Baltic coast and the city of Gdańsk. We missed our train by an hour or so but were lucky that by the time we arrived at the station it still hadn't arrived!

Gdańsk will be familiar to people of a certain age, who watched the news in the 1980's, as it was the location of the Shipyards where Lech Wałęsa co-founded the trade union Solidarity, and was roundly persecuted by the then Communist government. This ultimately though led to free elections by the end of the decade and Wałęsa becoming President of Poland from 1990 to 1995.

Gdańsk is where we joined up with the Irish fans as the Republic took on current champions Spain in a Group B game. The scene that greeted us upon arrival had to been seen to be believed, as the town was taken over by an estimated 35,000 Irish fans, mostly wearing green. Most of them drinking. Most of them singing, the songs cracking me up...We all dream of a team of Gary Breens (to the tune of Yellow Submarine) and The twelve days of Christmas Paul McGrath.

The PGE Arena Gdańsk, previously called the Baltic Arena, is the home stadium of Lechia Gdańsk. The “White-green” relocated there from their former MOSiR Stadium.

The Stadium is located in the northern part of the city and it has a capacity of 43,615. The trains that run to the ground were absolutely rammed.

Construction of the stadium started in 2008 and was completed mid 2011. The opening match was between Lechia Gdańsk and Cracovia and ended with a 1-1 draw. The first international match, between Poland and Germany, took place on 6 September 2011 and ended 2-2.



Oh Giovanni!

Ireland lost 3-1 to Croatia in their opening match, whilst Spain drew 1-1 with Italy.

Unlikely as at seemed, the Irish needed some sort of result.

When the starting line ups were announced I just couldn't see this happening. In fact I did pose the question "How on earth did Ireland qualify?"

Fernando Torres scored twice as Spain knocked Republic of Ireland out of Euro 2012 with a very comfortable victory. Torres' powerful drive from inside the box opened the scoring after four minutes then a David Silva effort just after the restart doubled the advantage.

Torres poked in a third after a quick break and substitute Cesc Fabregas drove in a fourth. That emphasised the difference in resources. Spain's substitute was Fabregas, Ireland's was Paul Green. 

To their credit the Irish still back their team and during the last 10 minutes of the game gave a fantastic rendition of 'The Fields of Athenry' even as a non-Irishman it made the hairs on your neck stand up.

We managed to catch the midnight train to Poznan (cue Gladys Knight) where a long journey back was made longer by some drunken gobshite sat next to me. At least it ensured we didn't miss our stop at 3.30am!!





* This was the attendance that was 'flashed' on the screens at the ground. Media are reporting the attendance as 35,572. Again there was, apart from the VIP area, not an empty seat in the ground.