Braga… a bit early
I ended up in Portugal on Tuesday, two days before the match against SC Braga. I was all set for the 1st leg, flights booked, hotel ready, when UEFA switched the dates due to the progress of FC Porto.
There was a bit of confusion on the night of our victory over Sparta Praha. The UEFA fixtures page had us away first, two editorial articles on UEFA.com had us at home first. I couldn’t get any official confirmation that night and by the time Liverpoolfc.tv had announced we were to play away first all the EasyJet flights to Porto on the Wednesday were gone.
So it was that I found myself heading to Braga ridiculously early.
The first thing you notice when you land in Porto is that there has been major investment in infrastructure over the years. The airport is a modern, spacious and welcoming place, in complete contrast to the dysfunctional and untidy mess that is ‘London’ Gatwick.
On leaving the airport there was an electric tram to glide the passengers into the city centre. It always amazes me that almost every European city I visit has a tram system that makes getting around effortless, yet Liverpool City Council managed to botch up our plans for a tram network which is badly needed. I found myself contemplating that Liverpool is still lightyears behind other modern European cities when it comes to public transport.
The second thing that strikes you about Portugal is how cheap it is. €2 to ride into town on a modern electric tram. And €2.65 to travel by train from Porto to Braga. Considering that Liverpool to Manchester, a shorter distance, costs around £13 it was a welcome surprise.
Tuesday night was spent in an almost deserted Braga town centre. I managed to find a small bar showing the Barcelona Arsenal match and settled in for the night with a sandwich and coffees. Why is it the coffee in Spain and Portugal tastes so much better than in the UK?
It was an interesting match, ruined by the referee’s sending off of Robin van Persie for time-wasting. He kicked the ball towards goal after being flagged offside. The referee decided he had heard the whistle and was kicking the ball away to irritate and delay Barca. With the aggregate scores at 2-3 and Arsenal set to knock out the Catalans I can imagine that is what RvP was doing. However, I also know from experience that the Camp Nou is a cauldron of noise and it’s possible he didn’t hear the whistle. Either way it was a stupid decision from the referee as he can quite easily add on the time at the end.
Wednesday morning was a chance to see Braga in day light, and it’s a lovely little town. A UFEA Europa League tour truck was busy setting up in the main square but there wasn’t a single Liverpool fan to be seen all morning. On my walk back to my hotel I spotted a café bar with the walls draped with ‘half-n-half’ scarves from Braga’s previous European fixtures.
Braga have played a few big names here down the years and we certainly cannot take them lightly tomorrow night. News had just come through that Steven Gerrard wouldn’t be travelling with the squad to Portugal. I surmise that Poulsen or Cole might get a start. Not my idea midfield replacements for our legendary captain, but it’s all we’ve got.
So now I am preparing for the press conference and training at the stadium later tonight. It will be the first time I’ve been to the Estadio Municipal de Braga, a unique European ground with one end of the ground solid rock. Looking forward to seeing it.
