European football trips (Not Rangers)

Gazza no8

Gazza no8

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Anyone ever just went to a country just to go to a game? (Not Rangers)

It's something I fancy doing soon and have been looking into it. I would always be travelling with at least 1 other person and would ideally start from Glasgow and plan to keep the trips as cheap as possible but it looks like Brussels, Barcelona, Alicante and Some of Poland are the most realistic options from there.
Edinburgh have some great options all across Europe that could make for some interesting trips.

Only ever been away with Rangers and the only non Rangers game I've been to is Wolfsburg v Bochum. Game was rotten but the atmosphere and the day was a great experience. There's a few on my list like Milan and Barcelona that I've wanted to do for a long time.

Any Cities anyone would recommend? I reckon I could get flights and accommodation for round about £100 for most places.
 
Know some folk who've travelled to foreign games. A mate went to Lazio V Roma and loved it. Same with a couple of boys who went to Barca v Real Madrid.
Best fan experience among them was a Bundesliga game a while back. Bremen v Dortmund I think. Whole weekend was brilliant they said.
 
Been to San Siro twice for Milan games, one in Europe v Bremen , cracking game with Pirlo, Beckham etc playing for Milan and once for Milan v Napoli which was the best atmosphere I’ve ever been at, and I’ve been to countless old firm games. Fortunate because we were on a skiing trip and the rep got us tickets but highly recommended.
Know guys who’ve been to both Lazio and Roma games and said it’s easy to get tickets.
 
Done it all over for last 20 years really, only got 3 more left I really want to do in Europe. Done over 100 now.

Many places are easy enough to get a ticket for. You can go to quite a few Cities/Areas and see at least 2 if not 4 matches if you go Friday to Monday - Dusseldorf/Cologne is probably best for that but Milan you could do 2 easy enough if they drop well.

You might find this helps you for Italy:


Page 1 is saying when match days will be set with dates and times.

17-21 will be set on October 24th (matches up to early Feb)
22-29 will be set on November 10th (matches up to mid April)

That is pretty early compared to say Spain which can be 3 weeks before game or say Germany 5/6 weeks. Gives you time to plan flights well etc...
 
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Joebones said:
Been to San Siro twice for Milan games, one in Europe v Bremen , cracking game with Pirlo, Beckham etc playing for Milan and once for Milan v Napoli which was the best atmosphere I’ve ever been at, and I’ve been to countless old firm games. Fortunate because we were on a skiing trip and the rep got us tickets but highly recommended.
Know guys who’ve been to both Lazio and Roma games and said it’s easy to get tickets.
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Amazing! Milan have been a team I've followed since the 90s, I would love to go to a game. I've not looked into tickets but I'm hoping most places in Europe are easy enough to get tickets.
 
the_joker8 said:
Anyone ever just went to a country just to go to a game? (Not Rangers)

It's something I fancy doing soon and have been looking into it. I would always be travelling with at least 1 other person and would ideally start from Glasgow and plan to keep the trips as cheap as possible but it looks like Brussels, Barcelona, Alicante and Some of Poland are the most realistic options from there.
Edinburgh have some great options all across Europe that could make for some interesting trips.

Only ever been away with Rangers and the only non Rangers game I've been to is Wolfsburg v Bochum. Game was rotten but the atmosphere and the day was a great experience. There's a few on my list like Milan and Barcelona that I've wanted to do for a long time.

Any Cities anyone would recommend? I reckon I could get flights and accommodation for round about £100 for most places.
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@Wazza

Too late, already posted.
 
Wazza said:
Done it all over for last 20 years really, only got 3 more left I really want to do in Europe. Done over 100 now.

Many places are easy enough to get a ticket for. You can go to quite a few Cities/Areas and see at least 2 if not 4 matches if you go Friday to Monday - Dusseldorf/Cologne is probably best for that but Milan you could do 2 easy enough if they drop well.

You might find this helps you for Italy:


Page 1 is saying when match days will be set with dates and times.

17-21 will be set on October 21st (matches up to early Feb)
22-29 will be set on November 10th (matches up to mid April)

That is pretty early compared to say Spain which can be 3 weeks before game or say Germany 5/6 weeks. Gives you time to plan flights well etc...
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Cheers mate, Much appreciated!

Anywhere you would recommend? Nice Cities etc
 
Madrid is the best non Rangers football trip that I’ve been on, the city itself had a class atmosphere with plenty of your typical Spanish bars and cafes for food and drink.

You’ve got your big two in Real and Atletico for the glamour, but you also have ‘smaller teams’ such as Rayo Vallecano and Getafe among others.

Depending on the fixtures then you could visit 2/3 games over a weekend easily
 
the_joker8 said:
Cheers mate, Much appreciated!

Anywhere you would recommend? Nice Cities etc
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Too many to name really, been a good laugh all over. In Belgium I liked Ghent. Spain Valladolid and Valencia and Madrid - did Vallecano and Atletico in one day there. Germany Munich, Jena, Munster as well as about 15 other places. Krakow is great in Poland. Italy really liked Genoa and went to a match an hour away by train in a place called Chiavari, team called Virtus Entella - was a great journey by Train along the coast.

To be honest I would struggle to say many places that I haven't enjoyed all in all. Just kicking about having a few beers going to different Cities and going in fan pubs etc having a laugh, sometimes doing 2 matches in a day. It's quite addictive once you get confident at it all.
 
Rangers72 said:
Madrid is the best non Rangers football trip that I’ve been on, the city itself had a class atmosphere with plenty of your typical Spanish bars and cafes for food and drink.

You’ve got your big two in Real and Atletico for the glamour, but you also have ‘smaller teams’ such as Rayo Vallecano and Getafe among others.
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Done Madrid a few times. Not caught Vallecano yet but looking at fixtures you can nearly always catch at least 2 games over weekend. Last time managed Getafe on the Saturday, Leganes on Sunday lunchtime and then an Uber to catch Atleti. Word of warning in that fixtures all show Sunday 4pm ko until about 4 weeks prior when tv decides what games are getting covered but just means a Fri-Mon trip to :))
 
Wazza said:
Too many to name really, been a good laugh all over. In Belgium I liked Ghent. Spain Valladolid and Valencia and Madrid - did Vallecano and Atletico in one day there. Germany Munich, Jena, Munster as well as about 15 other places. Krakow is great in Poland. Italy really liked Genoa and went to a match an hour away by train in a place called Chiavari, team called Virtus Entella - was a great journey by Train along the coast.

To be honest I would struggle to say many places that I haven't enjoyed all in all. Just kicking about having a few beers going to different Cities and going in fan pubs etc having a laugh, sometimes doing 2 matches in a day. It's quite addictive once you get confident at it all.
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Brilliant mate sounds as if you've had a great time. Did you travel yourself?

I aim to rope in my brother or a couple of mates but wouldn't be adverse to going myself for a few days.
 
the_joker8 said:
Brilliant mate sounds as if you've had a great time. Did you travel yourself?

I aim to rope in my brother or a couple of mates but wouldn't be adverse to going myself for a few days.
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9/10 times alone mate yeah, just got used to doing what I want really - sometimes had people come and found they held me back a bit! Some just can't be bothered with all the travelling as well, rarely fly back from the Airport I landed at etc... baggage lockers at Stations are a godsend in Europe where they have them.
 
I’ve been to San Siro a few times to watch Milan, but that’s mainly because my girlfriend is from Milan and all her family are supporters, so I guess it doesn’t really fit what you’re saying. I’ve read lots of mixed reviews on peoples thoughts on San siro but I thought the stadium is brilliant, and a decent atmosphere. Sat in the curva sud for a game v inter which was great. Fwiw id recommend serie a, Plenty of great fan bases, beautiful towns and cities and the football is good too
 
Davester said:
Squad of us looked at some trips for my brother's 50th. COVID humped the trip, but we had narrowed it down to Sarajevo v Zeljeznicar, or the Krakow derby. Krakow is supposed to be very tasty on that match day.
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You might struggle with that Krakow one pal for a while, no expert but Wisla are in second tier now and not doing too well.
 
greggakd said:
I’ve been to San Siro a few times to watch Milan, but that’s mainly because my girlfriend is from Milan and all her family are supporters, so I guess it doesn’t really fit what you’re saying. I’ve read lots of mixed reviews on peoples thoughts on San siro but I thought the stadium is brilliant, and a decent atmosphere. Sat in the curva sud for a game v inter which was great. Fwiw id recommend serie a, Plenty of great fan bases, beautiful towns and cities and the football is good too
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How hard is it to get a ticket for the Milan derby? Inter are at home next.
 
the_joker8 said:
How hard is it to get a ticket for the Milan derby? Inter are at home next.
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I doubt it is very hard - went to Inter a few season ago and it was close to the Derby, remember I could have bought one easy enough online when I got the ones for my match, register on Inter and Milan websites and you will get emails for when tickets go on sale - I get them non stop off Milan!
 
Rangers72 said:
Madrid is the best non Rangers football trip that I’ve been on, the city itself had a class atmosphere with plenty of your typical Spanish bars and cafes for food and drink.

You’ve got your big two in Real and Atletico for the glamour, but you also have ‘smaller teams’ such as Rayo Vallecano and Getafe among others.

Depending on the fixtures then you could visit 2/3 games over a weekend easily
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Loved Madrid. Would love to go back to see some of the other stadia, as ended up at the Bernabeu twice, once for La liga, once for Champions League. A last minute look at the lower league fixtures ended up with me getting to see Atleti B play at their training ground, at a mini stadium, which they share with Real Majadahonda.

Done a few trips myself, prior to us properly getting back into Europe.

I flew into Stuttgart seen a Bundesliga game, also went to the Porsche and Mercedes museums, took a short train to Augsburg for a Europa League game, almost a half way point before heading onto Munich.

Cologne or Dusseldorf are good cities to start form, likes of Dortmund, Schalke, Moenchengladbach and Leverkusen all within close reach too.

Berlin is a great city on its own - Union or Hertha are both good places to watch matches.

I know the OP says outside of Rangers, but, Porto and Braga were great trips too. Ended up at the Dragao twice that season. Seeing them lose to Leverkusen 24 hours after we put out Braga.
 
One of my mates over here is into it big time with his pals. They set up a bank account where they put 50 quid a month away each (roughly about 10 of them, then each person takes a turn to sort out dates that suit everyone and books a trip to a game somewhere in Europe (tickets, flights, hotel etc) and they only find out where they are going when they get to the airport.

Done a lot of big games but also some of the "smaller" teams around Europe.
 
Göteborg-Rangers said:
One of my mates over here is into it big time with his pals. They set up a bank account where they put 50 quid a month away each (roughly about 10 of them, then each person takes a turn to sort out dates that suit everyone and books a trip to a game somewhere in Europe (tickets, flights, hotel etc) and they only find out where they are going when they get to the airport.

Done a lot of big games but also some of the "smaller" teams around Europe.
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Lower leagues are often the best ones - more raw and less commercialised obviously. Germany has a plethora of great Clubs to watch matches at away from the Bundesliga from Bundesliga 2 to the 4th tier and even lower.
 
Went to Munich and had a great trip. Seen 1860 v Karlsruhe. Great city, good food and beer and ticked the Allianz off the bucket list. Although I think they have their own stadium now

Not sure hoe easy it is to get a ticket for a Bayern game but Augsburg is also close by . Cant really go wrong in Germany to be honest
 
Khal Drogo said:
Went to Munich and had a great trip. Seen 1860 v Karlsruhe. Great city, good food and beer and ticked the Allianz off the bucket list. Although I think they have their own stadium now

Not sure hoe easy it is to get a ticket for a Bayern game but Augsburg is also close by . Cant really go wrong in Germany to be honest
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To be honest that was the worst time to see 1860, they are back in at Grunwalder now. They hated the Allianz, it’s well worth going to see 1860 at their proper home. Augsburg is alright, not a bad place for a drink. Bayern is pretty easy for tickets for most matches through the zweitmarkt (season ticket resale) just had a look then and there must be over a 1000 on there now for Werder Bremen next week.
 
the_joker8 said:
Anyone ever just went to a country just to go to a game? (Not Rangers)

It's something I fancy doing soon and have been looking into it. I would always be travelling with at least 1 other person and would ideally start from Glasgow and plan to keep the trips as cheap as possible but it looks like Brussels, Barcelona, Alicante and Some of Poland are the most realistic options from there.
Edinburgh have some great options all across Europe that could make for some interesting trips.

Only ever been away with Rangers and the only non Rangers game I've been to is Wolfsburg v Bochum. Game was rotten but the atmosphere and the day was a great experience. There's a few on my list like Milan and Barcelona that I've wanted to do for a long time.

Any Cities anyone would recommend? I reckon I could get flights and accommodation for round about £100 for most places.
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I did my first trip to Mannheim on my own. Was for hockey. 2nd trip I added football and travelled over with a friend.

I'm flying out on Oct 25th. Got ice hockey Wednesday, Friday and an away game on the Sunday. I'll be going to Waldhof Mannheim v Dynamo Dresden on the Saturday. Flying home on the Monday.
 
I went to see Schalke 04 at home against Werder Bremen & Barca vs Espanyol. Both were Stag weekend trips back in the 00's
 
My local club Bradford City (really big fan base for league 2 and seriously small away allocations) decided this season it was going into loyalty points.. my local club i do with the nippers.. my points are sky high to get any away ticket but my nippers are not so its got to the point where i can no longer do away games with them.. my local semi pro side i follow also recently had trouble against FC United of Manchester away so club coach travel with them has now been knocked on the head so i recently put together a new football plan hahaha..

:)

Done a few of my overseas teams i like abroad before and in UK.. Linfield.. HSV.. FC Kobenhavn and Willem II are who i like..

From next year though im going yearly with the 4 and calling time on the local sides away games.. ill show loyalty to the nippers instead of the points system any day..

Linfield vs Cliftonville in February..

FC Kobenhavn vs Viborg in March when match fixture confirmed..

HSV in August or September.. probably lowest profile fixture from first block of league fixtures confirmed..

Willem II in September or October or November.. HSV game date depending.. probably lowest profile fixture once league fixtures around them months are confirmed..

Learnt a massive lesson in trying to go high profile away this weekend with the FC ST Pauli away fixture for HSV.. but having seen all sorts of footage from the first team and regionalliga fixtures i get why they play roll of the dice fixtures wise abroad as the ultras are bang at it and especially with the clubs i follow..

Chuck in 1 x Rangers a month in the months i aint abroad and 1 x England yearly and its weekly with Bradford and Liversedge in the midst of all the others..

:)
 
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the_joker8 said:
How hard is it to get a ticket for the Milan derby? Inter are at home next.
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My girlfriends brother was a season ticket holder, so he used to deal with tickets for me. I haven’t been since covid though so not sure how in demand tickets are now. When I went, from memory it was when Milan were going through a bit of a hard time so the tickets didn’t completely sell out, it was still mostly full though.
 
Just booked my football tickets for Oct 29th.

I've done 3 German grounds so far. Frankfurt v Schalke in 2017, Stuttgart v Hertha in 2018 and Karlsruher v Hannover in 2019. Wasnt a huge fan of Stuttgart. Really liked Frankfurt. Karlsruher's ground will be really smart when the redevelopment is finished. I'm really looking forward to getting Mannheim ticked off the list as I've always said that I wanted to see them.

Germany is cracking for a sports holiday. Frankfurt is a handy hub airport to travel to - you're not far away from:

Bundesliga: Frankfurt, Mainz, Hoffenheim Stuttgart, Freiburg and Cologne. All probably about an hour train travel.

Bundesliga 2: Darmstadt, Karlsruher and Kaiserslautern. Sandhausen is near enough too, but not easy to get to.

3. Liga: Wehen Weisbaden and Waldhof Mannheim. Saarbrucken isn't much more than an hour out too.

Main reason I go is ice hockey. I follow Adler Mannheim throughout the season. One of my games is the derby match v Frankfurt on the friday night.

First trip since Oct 2019. Absolutely can't wait. Eventually I want to do all of the football grounds I can get to easily by train within an hour of Mannheim.
 
iaatpies said:
Just booked my football tickets for Oct 29th.

I've done 3 German grounds so far. Frankfurt v Schalke in 2017, Stuttgart v Hertha in 2018 and Karlsruher v Hannover in 2019. Wasnt a huge fan of Stuttgart. Really liked Frankfurt. Karlsruher's ground will be really smart when the redevelopment is finished. I'm really looking forward to getting Mannheim ticked off the list as I've always said that I wanted to see them.

Germany is cracking for a sports holiday. Frankfurt is a handy hub airport to travel to - you're not far away from:

Bundesliga: Frankfurt, Mainz, Hoffenheim Stuttgart, Freiburg and Cologne. All probably about an hour train travel.

Bundesliga 2: Darmstadt, Karlsruher and Kaiserslautern. Sandhausen is near enough too, but not easy to get to.

3. Liga: Wehen Weisbaden and Waldhof Mannheim. Saarbrucken isn't much more than an hour out too.

Main reason I go is ice hockey. I follow Adler Mannheim throughout the season. One of my games is the derby match v Frankfurt on the friday night.

First trip since Oct 2019. Absolutely can't wait. Eventually I want to do all of the football grounds I can get to easily by train within an hour of Mannheim.
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Have a good do, you’ve been on waiting a while to get to Waldhof Mannheim.
 
Done a load of Juventus games in the early 2000s and seen all the top players Zidane, Del Piero, Shevchenko, Vieri & many others, it was incredible to watch how good these players were and how incredibly tactical and savvy they were.

More recently done quite a bit of Germany to see Leverkusen, Augsburg, Nurnberg, Bayern Munich, Hertha Berlin and some second division games in Regensburg and Ingolstadt. First time I done German trips was 2014 and it was an eye opener to how good a fan experience it is. I still enjoy it as a day out, friendly fans and some quality beer & food in some excellent cities and stadiums.
 
I'm going to Milan when the world Cup is on flights were £60 no football on but just to give you an idea of price.

That's a flight out on the Friday at 11am and back the Monday about 1pm.
 
Davidmckrangers said:
I'm going to Milan when the world Cup is on flights were £60 no football on but just to give you an idea of price.

That's a flight out on the Friday at 11am and back the Monday about 1pm.
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Accommodation is probably a bit more expensive than most places but if you can get 2 sharing then it’s obviously easier.

I’m having a think about Milan the start of February for the Milan derby. That would be my first trip.
 
the_joker8 said:
Accommodation is probably a bit more expensive than most places but if you can get 2 sharing then it’s obviously easier.

I’m having a think about Milan the start of February for the Milan derby. That would be my first trip.
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Yeah mate I was £260 for 3 nights for a hotel I'm going with my burd so a hostel wasn't an option don't know if that's one for you ?
 
Davidmckrangers said:
Yeah mate I was £260 for 3 nights for a hotel I'm going with my burd so a hostel wasn't an option don't know if that's one for you ?
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I can get a decent enough hotel for 2 nights for £160 odds. Obviously split between 2 if one of my mates or brother comes. Just somewhere to sleep so doesn’t have to be nice.
 
Rangers72 said:
Madrid is the best non Rangers football trip that I’ve been on, the city itself had a class atmosphere with plenty of your typical Spanish bars and cafes for food and drink.

You’ve got your big two in Real and Atletico for the glamour, but you also have ‘smaller teams’ such as Rayo Vallecano and Getafe among others.

Depending on the fixtures then you could visit 2/3 games over a weekend easily
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I won a trip through Scotsport to go to see Real Madrid v Valencia in 2004.

Loved the city and saw Casillas, Carlos, Zidane, Raul, Figo, Owen and The Ronaldo all play in the same team.

Didn’t have the opportunity to go and see any other games unfortunately.

The Real Madrid fans were racist as %^*& giving it big licks with the monkey chants anytime Sissoko for Valencia got the ball.
 
Aye done a few.

Lech Poznan v Wisla Plock
Real Madrid v Sevilla
AC Milan v Inter
Lech Poznan v Legia Warsaw
Mainz v Wolfsburg
HSV v Dortmund
HSV v Hannover
Hertha Berlin v Hoffenheim

Use most of my annual leave doing Rangers euro aways now, most of the trips above I done during the lower leagues when we had no European trips.

Ended up with a random friendship with a group of guys from Lech Poznan we met in a boozer over there, they came over here for an old firm derby and loved it, they still buy Rangers tops to this day :D
 
Rangers72 said:
Madrid is the best non Rangers football trip that I’ve been on, the city itself had a class atmosphere with plenty of your typical Spanish bars and cafes for food and drink.

You’ve got your big two in Real and Atletico for the glamour, but you also have ‘smaller teams’ such as Rayo Vallecano and Getafe among others.

Depending on the fixtures then you could visit 2/3 games over a weekend easily
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Loved Madrid when I went, Real Madrid v Sevilla on the Saturday, both stadium tours on the Sunday.. £20 return flights, probably one of the best bargains I've had with travelling.

Ronaldo on the pitch with the balon'dor before the match aswell to top it off!
 
Davester said:
Know some folk who've travelled to foreign games. A mate went to Lazio V Roma and loved it. Same with a couple of boys who went to Barca v Real Madrid.
Best fan experience among them was a Bundesliga game a while back. Bremen v Dortmund I think. Whole weekend was brilliant they said.
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Germany is top class for taking in a random football match.

They treat you like customers, not cattle, and even provide amazing modern things like decent food and a beer. Who’dythunkit :)
 
the_joker8 said:
That’s the sort of thing I’m after. Bit of culture, few beers and a good atmosphere.
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You’ll have at the seat service for beers at the San Siro, blokes going up and down selling pints and you call them over - very few locals drink I’ve found really while match is on. Milan ain’t a good drink either to be fair.

Germany, Belgium or Holland sounds best for you really. You want to be standing in Germany in my opinion, it’s not easy at some Bundesliga clubs though.
 
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Been to games in Germany, Spain, England and Czech Republic. Germany wins by a considerable distance. Going to Greece next year for Olympiakos vs Panathaniakos and very much looking forward to that one.

Do it OP. Honestly, make Hamburg the first one you do.
 
104Bear said:
Been to games in Germany, Spain, England and Czech Republic. Germany wins by a considerable distance. Going to Greece next year for Olympiakos vs Panathaniakos and very much looking forward to that one.

Do it OP. Honestly, make Hamburg the first one you do.
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Am I right thinking it’s no away fans at that Greek match? PAOK is one I want to go to and ideally would like to tie a match in in Athens. Been Argentina a few times for Football when away fans were allowed in, would love to go back but can’t help but think the away fans ban will change things massively.
 
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Wazza said:
Am I right thinking it’s no away fans at that Greek match? PAOK is one I want to go to and ideally would like to tie a match in in Athens. Been Argentina a few times for Football when away fans were allowed it, would love to go back but can’t help but think the away fans ban will change things massively.
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Oh, didn’t know that. I thought we would be able to get tickets from ViaGoGo or some other rip off merchant.
 
A mate and I are looking at Inter vs Napoli on 4th of January.

It currently says tickets are limited to those from a certain region, does this change nearer the game or is it due to it being a higher profile match?
 
the_joker8 said:
Anyone ever just went to a country just to go to a game? (Not Rangers)

It's something I fancy doing soon and have been looking into it. I would always be travelling with at least 1 other person and would ideally start from Glasgow and plan to keep the trips as cheap as possible but it looks like Brussels, Barcelona, Alicante and Some of Poland are the most realistic options from there.
Edinburgh have some great options all across Europe that could make for some interesting trips.

Only ever been away with Rangers and the only non Rangers game I've been to is Wolfsburg v Bochum. Game was rotten but the atmosphere and the day was a great experience. There's a few on my list like Milan and Barcelona that I've wanted to do for a long time.

Any Cities anyone would recommend? I reckon I could get flights and accommodation for round about £100 for most places.
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I’ve been to Hamburg twice mate, Germany is amazing for the football and i will be going back definitely.
 
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