Europa League 2010/2011 (Final : Aviva Stadium, 18th May) [Archive] - Page 2

DeLorean

06/05/2011, 2:54 PM

Appeal for who? For someone like me who wants to buy faceprice ticket, its absolutely appealing.

Appeal for the vast majority of people who are generally more interested in matches between big well known clubs than smaller ones. I'm sure the world would take a lot more notice of the Irish final and our nice new stadium if it was, say, Juventus v Liverpool. I had previously suggested that tickets should be much easier to obtain if Braga made the final.

Dodge

06/05/2011, 3:19 PM

Relax, it was a rhetorical question. just pointing out that I'm happy about the outcome

Closed Account 2

06/05/2011, 3:29 PM

If you want to go I'd say your best bet is to hang around the stadium just before kick off, I would imagine you could pick up a ticket for less than €10.

superfrank

06/05/2011, 5:00 PM

Braga's attendence last night was reported to be around 7211 (admittedly this is from goal.com) but their stadium holds 32,000 and it did look about a quarter full at best. I would be suprised if they took more than 5,000 for the final; Porto might take 10,000, maybe 15,000 at an absolute max.
Where you even watching the match? The Braga stadium had way more than a "quarter full at best". :confused:

Wikipedia has a quote of 25,000 but there's no link for it. I can't find any figures on Portuguese sites but I imagine it's a lot closer to 25,000 than 7,000.

thesilverfox

07/05/2011, 11:25 AM

Got my tickets this morning. Easy enough to get if you were on at 9am but the €50 tickets (Block 512) seem to have went fairly quickly. Wouldnt have paid any more for them either. Ethough I always would support the underdog on an occasion like this, I have to support Porto. If they win, Rovers get into the 3rd qualifying round in July. Hopefully its an entertaining game.

Closed Account 2

07/05/2011, 2:27 PM

Where you even watching the match? The Braga stadium had way more than a "quarter full at best". :confused:

Wikipedia has a quote of 25,000 but there's no link for it. I can't find any figures on Portuguese sites but I imagine it's a lot closer to 25,000 than 7,000.

I saw the second half, wasn't a great game tbh.

As I say Goal is giving it as 7211 (http://www.goal.com/en/match/59496/braga-vs-benfica/play-by-play), and if you search "Braga Benfica 7211" you get some french and dutch sites listing it as that.

geysir

07/05/2011, 4:03 PM

The Braga Benfica game was a sell out, from what I could see on the tv.

Stuttgart88

08/05/2011, 9:01 AM

Anyone got an idea on the likely attendance? Braga can't even fill their own small stadium. Porto v Benfica would have been the better event, but Braga probably deserve to be there.

I hope for football & the FAI's sake that it's a sell out. IO suspect it won't be though. It's a pity we didn't get the CL final instead!

tetsujin1979

08/05/2011, 11:29 AM

geysir

08/05/2011, 7:12 PM

Braga can't even fill their own small stadium.
Are you ignoring my evidence?

The Braga Benfica game was a sell out - not a seat left in the house - packed to the rafters -

5 May 2011 ... Date:05 May 2011; Venue:Estadio AXA; Attendance:25384.

elroy

08/05/2011, 7:46 PM

I really hope this sells out, I would think between portugese fans and the all the usual UEFA officials, it would be full.

Stuttgart88

08/05/2011, 10:16 PM

Are you ignoring my evidence?

The Braga Benfica game was a sell out - not a seat left in the house - packed to the rafters -

5 May 2011 ... Date:05 May 2011; Venue:Estadio AXA; Attendance:25384.Didn't see it, that's all.

Who did they play in the QF? That definitely wasn't sold out (and no, I'm not counting the vacant ends as "empty" :)).

Such a boring game I can't even remember who it was against.

Hurt Locker

09/05/2011, 6:40 AM

think there's a minimum limit on the size of a stadium for the CL final, and the Aviva doesn't meet the requirements

ya someone forgot to finish the stadium what a fecking joke!!! refects ireland tbh.

elroy

09/05/2011, 9:42 AM

ya someone forgot to finish the stadium what a fecking joke!!! refects ireland tbh.

Had a tour of the Aviva yday, worth a look round.
The guide mentioned that the structure of the north stadium has been finished in such a way that it can be relatively easily brought up to a 65k seater stadium in future if planning allows. He then finished the sentence with the economic climate and basically no chance any time soon.

DeLorean

09/05/2011, 9:47 AM

Relax, it was a rhetorical question.

Oh right, I thought it was just a regular question.

Had a tour of the Aviva yday, worth a look round.
The guide mentioned that the structure of the north stadium has been finished in such a way that it can be relatively easily brought up to a 65k seater stadium in future if planning allows. He then finished the sentence with the economic climate and basically no chance any time soon.

Good to know the option is there though, should things go back to normal sometime in the next century!

geysir

09/05/2011, 10:43 AM

The CL final was held in Hampden Pk, which has a 52k capacity.

tetsujin1979

09/05/2011, 11:07 AM

The CL final was held in Hampden Pk, which has a 52k capacity.
really? thought the capacity there was over 60k. Just checked wikipedia, and it is 52k.
maybe we might see it here in years to come so?

geysir

09/05/2011, 11:21 AM

I think 50k is the minimum requirement for a CL final.
It would be fanciful to think it could be held in Dublin, but you never know.
I thought getting the Europa final was UEFA's way of saying thanks to the FAI for their part in the building of the new stadium.
They only say thanks once.

Closed Account 2

09/05/2011, 11:42 AM

tbh the Europa League / UEFA Cup has been held in some fairly minimal stadiums in the past:

2000 - Parken Stadium, c.40,000
2002 - Feyenoord, c.45,000
2004 - Ullevi Gothenburg, c.40,000
2006 - PSV Stadium c.35,000 (and over 2000 of those were empty seats):O
2008 - Eastlands, c.44,000

Stuttgart88

09/05/2011, 3:39 PM

You should have seen the kip that the 2005 CL final was held in.

elroy

09/05/2011, 4:40 PM

Im almost certain that UEFA changed the criteria for the stadia that can hold a CL final only a couple of years ago. I remember reading a piece at the time that Croke Park was one of a handful of European stadia that met the criteria. I think 60k+ capacity was one.

Hurt Locker

09/05/2011, 5:32 PM

You should have seen the kip that the 2005 CL final was held in.

Will go down as probably the greatest CL final ever.

Stuttgart88

09/05/2011, 6:46 PM

True, but the stadium and its location must go down as the worst.

geysir

09/05/2011, 7:31 PM

The greatest final me hole!

Hurt Locker

10/05/2011, 4:54 AM

The greatest final me hole!

Manchester United fan I persume!:D

DeLorean

10/05/2011, 8:21 AM

Of course the 2005 will be remembered as the greatest, if your a Liverpool supporter, just as the 1999 final would be for a Manchester United fan. Liverpool's win was probably the greatest comeback in a European Cup Final and United's win was probably the most dramatic conclusion to a European Cup Final. Both teams were completely and utterly outplayed and absolutely blessed to win. Milan tore Liverpool apart in the first half and dominated again after Liverpool's seven minute spell, the key part in which Dida dropped Smicer's tame shot into the net for 3-2. Bayern hit the post and the crossbar and generally bossed the game against United. Anyway, both are memorable in their own way but in terms of great matches I'd much prefer the following:

(1) 1992 Barcelona 1 Sampdoria 0 (aet)
(2) 2008 Man Utd 1 Chelsea 1 (aet, pens 6-5)
(3) 2003 Milan 0 Juventus 0 (aet, pens 3-2)

Worst:

(1) 1991 Red Star 0 Marseille 0 (aet, pens 5-3)
(2) 2004 Porto 3 Monaco 0
(3) 1995 Ajax 1 Milan 0

Milan probably produced the greatest masterclass when they hammered Barcelona in 1994 but it was a bit too one sided to make my top three. The first final I saw was in 1991 so I haven't included anything before then. To stay some bit on topic, UEFA Cup Finals have generally been poor but two of the better games were Liverpool v Alav�s in 2001 and Porto v Celtic in 2003. Lazio v Mallorca was also a very good match in the last Cup Winners Cup Final.

Closed Account 2

10/05/2011, 2:41 PM

There was a UEFA Cup final a few years ago (think it may have been 2005) which was CSKA Moscow v Sporting Lisbon (in Lisbon's ground) that was a great match. Also Liverpool v Alaves was pretty good (2001?) again in terms of each team looking like they could win it. Also the last UEFA Cup final (i.e. before the name change) Werder v Shakthar was ok.

I think the worst final I've seen in the Champions League was Porto v Monaco in 2004 at Schalke's stadium, it was very one sided but to be fair some of that was when Guily got injured for Monaco so early on, neither team had an over abundance of attacking talent though. I didn't mind the 1991 final - it was the first time I'd seen club teams from the continent play, the football was a bit negative but the prize at steak, especially for Red Star, was massive - the way football and the wider world were changing there was little chance of such a team going so far again. The fact that they remain the last side from a financially bereft league to win the cup, and the fact they were the last team to win it with players* and a manager entirely from their own country illustrates this.

* Belododici was born on the Serbian Romanian border to Serbian parents

DeLorean

10/05/2011, 3:05 PM

Yeah, that's true enough but at the time I was a bit young to appreciate it. I just remember being pretty bored for most of it. I was just getting into football in a big way, watching lots of past world cup videos and that kind of thing. I loved the French side that played in the 1982 WC and the Dutch side from 1988. I remember taking a liking to the French full back Manuel Amoros, and it was him that missed the crucial penalty against Red Star, although he had scored in the big shoot outs for France in 82 and 86, also hit the crossbar with a fantastic shot against Germany in 82. I could be way off here but I have it in my head that Marseille were fairly hot favourites for the match, possibly because of the British media coverage surrounding Chris Waddle. Looking back at it though Red Star had an amazing team, Panchev, Savicevic, Jugovic, Mihajlovic and Prosinecki, who were all big players around Europe afterwards, mainly in Italy when it was the strongest league in the world.

geysir

10/05/2011, 3:23 PM

Before Barca annihilated Man U in 2009, the most emphatic and brilliant display I have ever seen in a CL/European Cup final, was a (mostly) second string Milan's 4 -0 hammering of Cruyff's Barcelona.

Last year's Europa final was disappointing for the feeble effort Fulham made, looked like they were trying to survive until penalties.

DaveyCakes

11/05/2011, 1:31 PM

The UEFA Cup final a few years ago between Sevilla and Espanyol (at Hampden, which is a kip) was a great match.

BonnieShels

13/05/2011, 12:19 PM

Hampden is easily the worst stadium I've ever been to. Even the glamour of Maradona's first game in charge of Argentina couldn't save it.

DeLorean

13/05/2011, 1:09 PM

Looks ok on TV and in pictures, what's so bad about it? facilities, view, atmosphere, all of the above?

DaveyCakes

14/05/2011, 3:31 PM

Crap view, ugly..

BonnieShels

15/05/2011, 10:11 PM

Looks ok on TV and in pictures, what's so bad about it? facilities, view, atmosphere, all of the above?

All of the above. There's nothing to write home about it at all. Even the cool fact that Queens Park have it as a home ground doesn't save it.

The atmosphere is dreary and the sound of a near full house doesn't travel as it should. A crock of a place.

DeLorean

16/05/2011, 12:02 PM

I have to be honest, all credit to Braga, but Benfica - Porto is one of those classic European games (I want to say great European derby but 300km says its not really a derby)

Apparently Porto and Braga are only 47km's apart.

I have decided to go. I bought tickets for the Upper Tier East Stand for €50 off ticketmaster. Think I'm seated around the edge of the penalty box. I always prefer the upper tier anyway so I am delighted with these. The tickets two or three rows back from the pitch, very much to one side, are priced at €135. If anything it should be the other way around I think! There was no booking fee but there is a rather mental box office collection fee of €15. I'd like to see the justification for that, paying to go to the effort of collecting my own tickets! Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it now, just hoping to avoid driver fatigue on the way back.

Closed Account 2

16/05/2011, 4:31 PM

I'm not sure if it's the case now, but certainly a few years ago Braga used to be Porto "B". This was mainly down to the fact they used to have many Porto reserves in their squad on loan. I think this has changed now since Boavista (anyone remember them and their boxed in stadium?) suffered a meltdown. Boavista were the send team in the city of Porto (they actually won the league in around 2001) but now their non-league so I think Braga might be more of a rival with Porto.

Stuttgart88

16/05/2011, 6:30 PM

Mustn't be a sell out so. I hope the turnout doesn't embarrass us.

Kind of related, I find out today how many (if any) Olympic tickets I get. I applied for about 5k's worth!

cornflakes

16/05/2011, 8:06 PM

You'd barely know the game was on, its seems our sports media is following its English counterparts in pretending the football world revolves around the EPL. Nothing new I suppose

BonnieShels

16/05/2011, 8:13 PM

Mustn't be a sell out so. I hope the turnout doesn't embarrass us.

Kind of related, I find out today how many (if any) Olympic tickets I get. I applied for about 5k's worth!

Lies... today's the day they start taking money from accounts... as of now they haven't taken any from mine. :) Speaking of which... (http://foot.ie/threads/151528-Olympics-2012?p=1486546#post1486546)

DeLorean

17/05/2011, 8:56 AM

Boavista (anyone remember them and their boxed in stadium?)

I remember their boxed jersey anyway. They played Celtic in the UEFA Cup semi final in 2003. Didn't realise they suffered a meltdown.

tetsujin1979

17/05/2011, 9:22 AM

It's unfortunate that it's on the same week as the Queen's visit, which is taking the focus of the press away from the final

BonnieShels

17/05/2011, 5:07 PM

Just passed lansdowne on the train. Serious amount of tv vans about.

DaveyCakes

17/05/2011, 6:38 PM

Just passed lansdowne on the train. Serious amount of tv vans about.

You mean you just passed the Dublin Arena...tut tut!!

passinginterest

17/05/2011, 8:13 PM

Getting a freebie, looking forward to it now, it should be a great experience. This Porto team has some great attacking players so with a bit of luck there'll be a few goals.

BonnieShels

17/05/2011, 8:47 PM

You mean you just passed the Dublin Arena...tut tut!!

I have yet to say the "A" word... I'm not reverting to that UEFA bull either.

Got home tonight and there's only 105.00 tickets left... Might check the scalpers after work.

mypost

18/05/2011, 5:31 AM

It's unfortunate that it's on the same week as the Queen's visit, which is taking the focus of the press away from the final

The problem is the lack of British club interest, not the small insignificant other hanging around with the national bill-signer for the week. Liverpool/manu sells copy here, Braga/Porto don't.