My football adventures all over the world
It is always nice to visit somewhere new, even if I have viewed Pescara from passing train windows on many occasions. This sizeable coastal city (population 118,657 in 2023- Greater area, circa 350,000) is the capital of Abruzzo. This wouldn't just be my first visit to the city, but my first trip to the region, … Continue reading Pescara jumping
Just over an hour south of Roma on a fast train sits a true jewel of Italy, the small city of Caserta, with its lavish Royal Palace. Regular readers will have come across the team from here previously as Casertana have been in a few of my tales before, having featured three times; in Messina … Continue reading The King of Caserta
Our trip to Trapani was merely a day trip, but in hindsight, a longer period in this marvellous little city, as opposed to Palermo, would have been a winner. But as they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Getting there wasn't as easy as my usual scenario of just pitching up at the railway station … Continue reading Enchanting Trapani
Palermo is the capital of Sicily, a sizeable old metropolis in the north western corner of the island. Sicily is indeed no small land mass or population. Doing justice to the entire island would require a significant period of dedication. Even getting a proper handle on Palermo is more than a weekend gig in truth, … Continue reading The Pink Pussycat of Palermo
There was a moment of real shock when I learned of the passing of Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci. Those in the know were aware he was ill, but it took me by surprise, a bit like when Paolo Rossi died. In many ways, the baton had passed from one to the other as the centre forward … Continue reading Toto Le Hero
I guess I never quite fully get this notion of the groundhopper. To visit a stadium just once, purely because it ticks a box isn’t in my DNA. Certain places, certain teams keep calling me back, and in the case of the two clubs involved in this story, on multiple occasions, something that will continue … Continue reading Old Familials
The second city of the Netherlands is quite an extraordinary place. The horrors of WWII led to a bold, modern architecture being encouraged. I have been lucky to travel quite extensively in my life, and if La Paz remains the most jaw-dropping city I have ever visited, Rotterdam opened up a new category; the most … Continue reading Rotterdam 1,2,3
Has your football viewing schedule, anywhere in the world, taken you to an unexpected and enchanting place? That was the scenario that played out for me whilst in the Netherlands, where the focus had been on getting to an FC Twente game. That fixture had landed on a Saturday evening, giving me the Sunday slot … Continue reading What the PEC
I am sure we have all been at one or more, especially random, friendly matches in our time. They might not appear as frequently as yesteryear, but look, and you can still find them. My favourite has to be a 1962 match between Port Vale and Czechoslovakia, but Linfield versus East Germany, or Heaton Stannington … Continue reading An FC Twente Stair-Way
When the final whistle went for the conclusion of St Mirren v Mechelen in the Second Round of the Cup Winners Cup back in November 1987, no one present would have known it was to be the last ever European match played at Love Street. They would also have struggled to comprehend that the Paisley … Continue reading The Darling Buds ……..
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