Thoughts from a visit to the Bernabeu

[Super_Ally 0]

This will just be random thoughts as they occur to me, so no structure, sorry.

 

Saw the 3-0 victory over Almeria.

 

Fans outside the ground in the nearby streets all drinking alcohol they brought with them. Couldn't get away with that in Britain.

 

One mad guy topless but with an apron carving a pig with huge sword-like knife literally yards from the stadium. Insane.

 

Real fans are as bad as fans of any big team, outsung by the smaller away fans. Their "ultras" section were not heard until they went 2 up in the second half.

 

The Santiago Bernabeu is an imposing building, inside and out. Was sat up in the heavens, one tier from the top. This may account for why it seemed more impressive than the Camp Nou as I was in the bottom tier for the game with Rangers the other year.

 

Didn't seem to be any segregation. A large section of Almeria fans up behind me to my left but plenty elsewhere. We seemed to be in the tourist section if you like. A mix of away fans, randoms like me and my family and home fans who probably aren't season ticket holders/regulars.

 

Madrid come out to some god awful club song.

 

Btw only shirts I saw in Madrid the whole time I was away were 1 Man U (plus 2 tracksuit tops) a couple Arsenal, 2 West Ham both at the match (one a Spaniard though) and another Spaniard in a Rangers shirt the day before the game . From the PLG season. Oh and a Spurs fan in an Irish bar on Satuday trying to get their game. Obviously a fair number of Spanish teams but thought that wasn't worth a mention.

 

Sat in the 2 rows in front of me were fans who travel to see a team every March with the club/year printed on the back:

 

2005 Besiktas

2006 Sivsypor or something some Turkish mob anyway.

2007 Barcelona

2008 Roma

2009 Real Madrid

 

Had a big Holland flag with Den Bosch on it. Were awfully amused at Spanish pronunciations when stadium announcer called Huntelaar's name after his goals.

 

Robben had two good runs, one of which led to the third goal but he should have finished it himself, but was otherwise crap and lazy.

 

Marcello scored the first a well struck shot and had another deflected, but was otherwise crap. Sloppy passing.

 

Sneijder was poor too.

 

Raul, Huntelaar and Pepe impressed.

 

Miguel Torres came on for Heinze when the game was won and was strong in the challenge. Is he a lot younger than the Argentine? Would be a ready made replacement.

 

My Dad moves to Seville in the next month or so, so hope to get to their ground.

 

If anything occurs to me that i've missed out i'll reply to this thread.

Edited March 24, 2009 by Super_Ally

[Guest bigbear]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jRVK1c_rt0&feature=related]YouTube - Real Madrid vs Almeria - Highlights (22-03-09)[/ame]

 

Good goals tho super ally

[craig 5,199]

45 seconds in....... pretty sure I saw your hooped hoodie S_A

Edited March 24, 2009 by craig

[Super_Ally 0]

BB: First two were great strikes, first was a rocket, second for technique.

 

Not me Craig, i'm not that fat!! Lol. And we were much higher up.

 

Thought of something else regarding the game.

 

My Dad bought the tickets online throught a bank, Caixa I think. 30 Euros, high up, but gives you a better view in terms of watching the tactics and flow of the game. Roasting in the sun .

 

The bank thing though. Could Rangers do something similar? Went to and ATM and got the tickets there . Bizarre but great idea. Although according to the site there were only a handful of tickets in each section left and that was crap, quite a few empty chairs.

[CammyF 7,600]

Did you get a chance to do the stadium tour? Best tour I've ever been on.

 

What did you think of Madrid as a city? I preferred it to Barcelona - thought that there was much more to do/see.

 

Cammy F

[Bluedell 5,508]

Thanks for the report, S_A. Did you feel that there was any aggression from the home fans towards the visitors?

[Super_Ally 0]

Cammy that's the third time i've been to Madrid to visit my dad. Only spent approx 24 hours in Barca when we played them. So all I really saw of Barcelona was the Nou Camp and the big Plaza (forget the name) where most of the Bears were based.

 

As my Dad knew Madrid quite well each time I was out there I got to see a lot more of the city. The various tourist attractions, Palace Real (I think that's the right name), Plaza Mayor, the large Park that used to be for the Royal Family alone.

 

So with more time and a tour guide who knew where to go I was more impressed by Madrid. Maybe based on the above i'm not the best judge then, but Madrid seemed like the older more culture rich city. Kind of the same way I think of Glasgow(Barcelona) and Edinburgh(Madrid). Though in Scotland I prefer Glasgow, in Spain - Madrid. If that makes sense.

 

So like you I prefer Madrid as you say, there's more to see. Maybe other posters will have different views?

 

Unfortunately didn't manage to do the tour. Disappointed seeing your comments as I doubt I will get to now.

 

 

BD - to be honest, no, there wasn't any real aggression. The Almeria fans amongst the far greater numbers of Real fans openly cheered and supported their team. When the larger section of Almeria fans started their songs and chants the smaller pockets joined in without being intimidated. The Real fans responded by blowing those annoying horns to drown out the Almeria fans. Much like when we boo to drown out the "wee teams" songs. I'd prefer it if we and the Real fans sang our own songs to drown them out instead, a better response imo.

 

My Dad, my wee brother and myself all commented on the lack of segregation as we found it odd. My dad discussed it with his work colleagues when he was back in today and it's not unusual. Though maybe that changes for Atletico or Barca.

[Super_Ally 0]

Coincidentally just noticed a thread on FF about this.

 

Reminded me of a few things:

 

Up in the top tiers it is very, very steep!

 

Madrid have a Subway loyal too. Loads of fans streaming out at 85 mins.

 

At the stadium there is an alert tone and then goals scored around the country are flashed up. There was some cheering of Getafe goals. A bit odd considering they are almost a local rival. Smaller than Atletico and not from Madrid exactly, but could maybe be compared to say Partick Thistle in many ways in terms of Glasgow rivalry. Would anyone cheer a Thistle goal if notified when at Ibrox?

 

 

Ps: Hope you don;t mind the link Frankie, his review puts mine to shame. Maybe my Dad will send me his photos soon.

Edited March 24, 2009 by Super_Ally
Ps

[CammyF 7,600]

Thought that Madrid was a lovely city and we really enjoyed our 5 days there. We actually stayed in a hotel (can't remember the name of it!) that was situated about 10mins walk from the Bernabeu - stuck some photos of the tour below ;

 

 

 

 

Cammy F

[Frankie 8,394]

Thanks for that S_A - interesting stuff and like the bank idea!