Champions League: Wolfsburg at Manchester United

Rather than hang around downtown Manchester for a couple of hours before checking into my hostel, I decided to take the bus to Old Trafford to buy my ticket for the evening’s match. Even after seeing extra tickets in Glasgow on Tuesday night I still wanted to be sure I had my ticket for Manchester United.

Obtaining Tickets
Tickets were available for the match and I bought a ticket in the upper deck for £38. As I walked around the stadium looking for a restaurant to eat, there were a couple of guys who asked me if I needed an extra ticket. I should have figured there would be a secondary ticket market for Manchester United but I had already bought my ticket.

Lunch outside Old Trafford
I wanted to eat lunch before heading back to my hostel so I walked around Old Trafford to see what restaurants were in the area. I chose to eat at The Trafford which is a short walk from the stadium and has reasonable meal prices – for example, Fish & Chips was £4.

Back to the Hotel
At this point it was only 1:00 pm, so I took the bus back to my hostel to relax. I bought a day pass for the bus since the day pass was cheaper than even one round trip from downtown Manchester to Old Trafford. I was planning to make two round trips.

Pre Game
After hanging out in my hotel for a few hours, I took the bus back to Old Trafford. However, this time the area was completely different. The corner across the street from where I ate lunch was completely packed with fans hanging out before the game – where was this at Manchester City and Ibrox!

I believe the main reason so many people were hanging out on this corner was because of the beer store. The store had four commercial refrigerators (the kind you find at any convenience store) full of beer. For £2 you could buy a 16-ounce can and hang out on the corner – of course, the most expensive beer was Budweiser. Also, along this strip of stores was a bunch of English fast food restaurants but the main attraction was the beer convenience store.

Note: You can walk and drink your beer up until the police blockade but be sure to throw it out when you get there. No standing and drinking allowed.

Secondary Ticket Market
On the walk from the beer corner to Old Trafford were a few people holding an extra ticket in the air – meaning they had extra tickets. So for the second night in a row I could have bought a ticket for under face value but pulled the trigger too early.

Old Trafford
Old Trafford was a classic old stadium. However, I was in the upper deck meaning A) I had to walk up 170 steps and B) my view of the stadium was terrible.

First, as you enter the stair case to get to the upper deck there is a sign posted that reads “Access to the third tier stands involves climbing over 170 steps via 10 levels. Spectators who have vertigo or who have difficulty climbing are advised accordingly.” I’m not sure what stadium officials would do for you if you could not make the climb and I did not ask to find out. Second, my view of the game was fine, but the main reason I bought the upper deck ticket was so I could see Old Trafford as well and there was no view of the stadium from my seat.

The Game
The highlight of the night was Ryan Giggs becoming the ninth player in Manchester United history to score 150 goals for the team. His first goal with the team came in 1991. His 150th goal equalized the match at 1-1 after Wolfsburg took a 1-0 in the 55th minute. Michael Carrick scored the winning goal for United in the 78th minute as United defeated Wolfsburg 2-1.

Attendance at the match was 74,037 – by the far the largest crowd of any of the matches I have attended in England or probably will. A fan ran onto the field in the 2nd minute of the 2nd half for no apparent reason. Either most of the clubs have similar songs or it appeared that United had similar songs as Chelsea – only the words were different. Maybe the teams need to not only change the words but the tunes as well.

Post Game
For the third night in a row, I did not hang out in pubs after the game. Instead I did the same thing I had done on Monday night – buy a subway sandwich and chill in my hostel room.

Champions League: Sevilla at Rangers

In order to get to Ibrox Stadium, I took the subway from downtown Glasgow. I arrived at the Ibrox station around 4 pm even though the game did not start until 7:45 pm. My plan was to hang out at a few pubs in the neighborhood.

Obtaining Tickets
As soon as I got off the train a man selling Rangers souvenirs was offering to sell his two tickets to the match. His tickets were priced at £37 each. He would have sold me one for face value. Instead I chose to see what ticket prices were at the box office. I knew tickets were £40 each so wondered how he had gotten a £37 price point.

I went to the box office and asked if they had a student discount – the guy said no. Thus, I walked back to the souvenir man and offered him £30 – he said no. Thus, I walked back to the box office to buy a ticket. However, I saw a sign that said concessions (meaning less than 18 years old or over 65) that said £30. I asked the next guy at the ticket office if I could buy a concession seat and he said yes. I bought the ticket for £30.

Pre Game
The only pub I could find in the area was the Stadium Bar directly across the street from the Ibrox subway station. Once again, the pub did not serve any food so I had to wait until I got into the stadium to eat. In the pub I found out how the souvenir man received a £37 price point – it was included in a three game ticket package. The fan who gave me that information made fun of me when he saw I bought a concessions ticket. I figured he was just upset that I paid less than him.

Secondary Ticket Market
We actually could all have paid less than what we paid at the box office. For the first time since heading to Northern England, there were fans around the stadium with extra tickets. I counted at least 15-20 fans with extra tickets. Disappointed that I had not held out until game time, I was still happy to find out that fans were selling their extra tickets.

The Game
Sevilla crushed Rangers 4-1 as they scored a goal in the 50th, 64th 72nd and 74th minutes. It rained most of the match which left the pitch in similar shape to the two Villareal matches I attended. Each time a player cut water would jump up from the pitch. After Sevilla’s fourth goal (which gave them a 4-0 lead) fans started to leave.

Post Game
The line to get onto the train at the Ibrox subway stop was incredibly long after the game and with the rain coming down hard I walked back to the Stadium Bar to wait out the line. Around 15 minutes later the line had dispersed so I scampered into the subway stop to avoid the down pouring rain.

The pubs in downtown Scotland were closing down when I got back so I decided to head back to the Euro Hostel and go to sleep.

Champions League: Dynamo Kyiv at Arsenal

In the first Champions League match I have attended since 2001, Arsenal defeated Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 on a late goal by Nicklas Bendtner. Once again, I attended the match with “Hospitality Jim” who started to think I was an Arsenal jinx since Arsenal had played 177 minutes without scoring a goal with me in attendance. Instead, with a free kick from beyond the mid field line, Cesc Fabregas launched a pass to Nicklas Bendtner who put the ball in the net for the only goal of the game.

Pre and Post Game Dining
Before the match, we ate at Pinchito Tapas at 322 Featherstone Street, a Basque tapas bar in Islington. If going from the Old Street tube station to Arsenal remember to take the Northern City Line, which is part of the network rail line rather than the Northern Line. This train will go directly to Drayton Park – a short walk to Emirates Stadium.

After the match, we went to a bar around the corner from the restaurant we dined at before the Aston Villa match - 25 Canonbury Lane. However, instead of ordering beer, the “Arsenal boys” were buying bottles of champagne just as they had 10 days prior. Maybe the Ultimate Sports Wife and I will need to adopt a “champagne only” mentality before Bears games rather than drinking cheap beer.

Emirates Stadium
In my two Arsenal matches at Emirates Stadium, I have not been impressed with the Arsenal faithful. Emirates Stadium, nicknamed the Library for the supporters subdued attitude, has been relatively quiet compared to the other matches I have attended in Europe. Also, the stadium has taken on more of an NFL stadium feel, rather than the old stadium feel of other European soccer stadiums.

UEFA Champions League Final

The UEFA Champions League Final is being played right now. The event, similar in stature to the Super Bowl, is played at a neutral site stadium between the best two soccer clubs in Europe.

The Ultimate Sports Wife and I considered attending the event in Moscow since a Russian visa was included with your ticket to the match. However, at the time, ticket prices to the match were competing with Super Bowl ticket prices (approximately 1500 euro or $2,300 each). Although traveling to Moscow is cool, I would rather attend the Super Bowl for that price.

But over the past few weeks, the secondary market price to the match has declined greatly (500 euro or $750 each) since England fans decided it was too pricey to travel to the world’s most expensive city. The Champions League Final is a bargain at that price. Good luck finding a ticket that cheap next year when the game is held in Rome, Italy.

Another notable of the event is the 10:45 pm local start time. I believe that is one of the latest start times for any event which would add to the excitement.