Football Shaped

You may ask what is the smallest National Football League? Well, the Pitcairn Islands (population 67) does not have a league, and neither does Vatican City (the smallest state by area – although in this case the 770 ‘citizens’ all have citizenship only for the period of their assignment to the Vatican, and resume their original nationality when returning home). I am sure someone will come up with Clerical Cup and other Vatican competitions, but this is not a national league.

In terms of area, Monaco is the second smallest behind Vatican on the World lists, with less than a square mile. There are quite a few countries with lesser population than Monaco, including San Marino (and Gibraltar if you wish to count it) in Europe, but at 35,000, Monaco claims less than a quarter of the population of the smallest London Borough (I’ve excluded the City of London itself).

Monaco is curious in football terms. On one hand there is AS Monaco, playing in the French League with use of Stade Louis II within the principality itself, but then there is the local league without a ground within the state, and hence playing on two venues in France. The two are at Moneghetti and Capd’ail. Both the grounds are right up against the border of Monaco, with Cap d’Ail being just across the road from the Arches at one end of the Stade Louis II, while wayward shots at Moneghetti must seriously risk entering Monaco.

I was on a five day weekend, mainly at the wife’s behest, and so a visit to the Monaco league was not to be my only match of the weekend. A pure footballing weekend in these parts would be a good idea, there are some matches on Friday night, games at various times around the Saturday, the local leagues (from Level 6 down) play mainly Sunday afternoons, and AS Monaco play on Monday, (as well as the Monaco League competition). I was limited however. It was sightseeing during the day, no matter that it rained near continually during the trip, and while I had the evening’s available, the only potential Saturday match would be a revisit to Nice, which I gave away.

So it meant that only Friday and Monday evenings would include football. A strange weekend if ever I had one. The Friday night match was at Etoile FC Frejus-St. Raphael, in the French National League (which for the uninitiated is their National Third Division). I have never understood the Raison d’etre of the French National League, and yet there appears to be no move to rationalise it. Covering the whole Country, with a lot of Friday night games, the league has to be fully professional, yet the average crowd this season is given as 1655, with a quarter of the clubs managing less than 600 spectators on average. Even these figures may be exaggerated – after the game I saw, the home web site estimated the crowd at 1000, while the visitors said 900, (tickets are sold, so an accurate figure is possible). My own guess is that the Martigues estimate is on the low side.

The club itself is a recent merger of clubs in the two neighbouring towns. As EFC Frejus, they won promotion to this level in 2009, and in their merged form they have kept their status. They play at the Stade Eugene Porcin in Frejus. The first thing one says about this stadium is that it is French. At least (from the spectators point of view) it is trackless, with the viewing areas square to the pitch. It has the almost standard cantilever stand along one side. The opposite side and behind one goal is lined with some quite highly stepped concrete terracing, looking as if it has been recently installed and renovated. Probably to mark the 2009 promotion and merger.

The one unique point is two traditionally styled towers by the entrance, containing the ticket booths, one of which backs onto a refreshment stall. As far the game, well the lower divisions have a reputation for dull football, and this match fitted well with the reputation. I think the home goalkeeper may have made two saves during the game. His opposite number made none at all. If he had made one save, then the game would have ended scoreless, instead of 1-0 to Etoile. The goal was a well taken turn and shoot by Matthieu Scarpelli. It was scored just less before the hour mark, and only minutes after his side dropped to ten men after Delcos was sent off.

And so on to Monaco. I did a little research on Monaco’s major football team, and the relative status of the rest. AS Monaco is of course the principality’s only side in the French system. They play fully as a French team and are indeed affiliated to the French Football Federation. While first team games are played at the Stade Louis II, they have a total of four adult teams and no less than 13 youth teams. Apart from the first team, all the others play their home matches over the borders in France. AS Monaco seconds play in the CFA (level 4) in Menton, while the third team play at Moneghetti and the fourths at Cap d’Ail in the district competition, Ligue Cote d’Azur. The top division of the District League also includes US Cap d’Ail, who play in the top division of the Ligue Cote d’Azur, (level 8 of the French system). Monaco’s teams play at levels 9 and 11. Apparently, the Stadium in Menton is used by two French teams as well as Monaco II, with the highest one also in the regional leagues (Level 7 of the system).

The Federation Monagasque de Football organises two football competitions, added to by a number of seven-a-side competitions. There may be women’s and youth football as well, but it does not get a mention on the web site. The competitions are the Challenge Prince Rainier III and the Challenge Ville de Monaco. These are not referred to as national football competitions within, but as Football d’Enterprise, (Football for Companies). All the teams in the league are Monaco companies, or other places of work (such as La Poste or Hopital de Monaco). When I asked about the matches at the stadium, and referred to the league as a national league, I was similarly corrected. Most of the players actually work for the companies concerned, as they are only allowed a limited number of outsiders. Apart from being one of these guest players, it appears there is no competition in Monaco for local players who are not employed by Enterprises with competition membership, and hence the only avenue for their football ambitions is across the border in France, (or of course, AS Monaco themselves). The rules allow for a maximum of five who do not work directly for the company concerned, but no more than 3 in any one category, the categories being “assimilated”, for direct family members of employees, “waivers” for players not connected with a company or “other business” for players connected with a company indirectly – which could include seasonal workers when not working, or contractors from outside. All of these categories can only play for one team if they do not work for another company with a team, so there is no room here for a transfer market.

The stadium at Moneghetti. The stadium is in France, but the apartment block and church behind the goal are in Monaco. The only clear spectator areas is at the near end of the building along the side, and a small area (used for parking of bikes) from where I took the photo.

There is international competition, Monaco regular enters a team in the EFSA (European Federation for Company Sport) tournament, a biennial competition. Monaco are staging the competition 21-23 June this year. Monaco also enter teams in competition against other non FIFA nations such as Vatican City or Gibraltar.

There are some other differences to games in England, but which I have seen in French Amateur Football, either at CFA or regional level. Firstly, the points structure, four for a win, two for a draw and one for a defeat (which means you only get a zero for forfeiting the game, or if you are found to be at fault for an abandonment), and secondly rolling substitutions. The number of substitutes is not limited, and players substituted can return to the field of play, except during the final ten minutes of the game, (a player who has not been on the field of play can still enter late, but a replaced player cannot come back).

But the differences go beyond this; this is the only league I have watched, where the rules specify games are limited to 40 minutes each way. The reason for this appears to be time constraints, allowing two matches to go ahead on the same pitch in an evening. Although on the day I watched, (and this is not uncommon), there were two matches at one ground and one at the other, all matches are short. This at least maintains the same conditions in all games. Finally, although my game was too clean to require it, there is a “sin bin”. A player receiving a yellow card is removed from the play for a period of five minutes. A second offence will still result in a sending off, and I assume more serious offences can lead to direct dismissal.

The competition is in two divisions, the Challenge Prince Rainier III is the top division with ten teams playing nine games each in the regular season, while the Challenge Ville de Monaco has two groups of six teams, playing only five games in a regular season which is already complete. Both have some sort of knock out at the end, with the two finals played back to back – the only two Monaco games to be played in Stade Louis II. There is promotion and relegation, both of last seasons Ville de Monaco finals are in the Prince Rainier III this season.

Cap d’Ail. In common with the Stade Louis II next door, this stadium sits above a car park. In this case it is used for the Marriott hotel next door.

My groundhopping has always taken on strict rules, especially when watching more than one game in a day, or other over circumstances where part of a match is missed. Basically, when I make plans, I must allow myself the chance to see every minute played in a game, and then if something goes wrong, and poor traffic conditions or a delayed train mean I miss a small portion of the game (how small is not defined), then I will still count the match. When travelling between matches, it must be physically possible to see the end of game 1, and the start of game 2 before I can consider it.

I was tempted by the idea of seeing the 18.45 kick off at Moneghetti, and the 20.15 at Cap d’Ail, but despite the fact I may be able to do the distance in under ten minutes (if I did not get lost), this still would not be enough and parking at both locations is a problem. So in the end I went to the early kick of at Cap d’Ail, pausing at the other ground just briefly (I was double parked, the only way I could stop close by – but I was in a row of double parked vehicles).

Not surprisingly, with the use they get, both grounds have artificial surfaces. The ground at Cap D’Ail is caged, except that there are a few steps of terracing on one side, with (closed) areas which could be used to sell refreshments. The number of spectators varied slightly during the game, but generally, I counted them at six (including myself). The game was between SMB administration and SMA. The company SMB (Société des Bains de Mer), which also features another team in the division, (SMB slots) runs some of the best known casinos and hotels in Monaco. SMA is Société Monégasque d’Assainissement, which sounds better than its English translation –the Monaco Sanitation Company. Incidentally, until SMA was founded in 1938 as a separate company, sanitation was the responsibility of SMB. The idea being that they were given a monopoly on running the casinos, but they also took responsibility for garbage as part of the deal.

Cap d’Ail looking towards Monaco.

The game was as poor as any match I have seen this season. Whereas I managed to mark down the starting XIs into 4-2-3-1 formations, neither side really kept their shape well. What was clear was that SMB Administration (second in the league at the start of the evening, and destined to go top for a week until the leaders played again), were by far the better of the two sides. 3-0 up before SMA scored with a rare shot in the 15^th minute, SMB extended the lead to 5-1 at the break and 11-1 at the end of the game. Such high scoring is not entirely typical – the average goals per match in the league is around 6, and the only other double figure haul was when league leaders Ribeiro Freres defeated bottom placed SMB Slots by 10-0. Before the game, I found the one league official in the ground, and he allowed me to copy the players names off the official list. I know they are correct as before kick off, the referee called each player out from the list, and checked the numbers were correct.

This rigmarole, a minute’s silence before kick-off, and a full ten minute break at half time meant we were running late. I actually left the ground at half time, crossed the road (and national border) to Stade Louis II, bought a ticket for the second division game there and returned to Cap d’Ail. I did not run, but still completed this in four minutes flat. At the time, I thought my game could run on to about 8.25, but in fact the referee compensated for the late start, by shortening the second half. It was a decision I thought odd, considering we had a ten minute break and three minutes injury time in the first half. Somehow, I suspect the locals take a pragmatic view. All that could have happened in a longer game was that SMB would increase their dominance to more than the 10 goal margin seen.

No doubt I will get some stick from the purists for including a game that barely exceeded 70 minutes, and had uneven lengths of halves. Frankly, I admit that even if this was to be seen as an extra game, it lacks something. As the supposedly major game of my evening, (as the other was no less than my third visit to the stadium). As a ground that I am claiming as a tick, it only just gets to pass muster – I did after all see the whole game, and the score counts.

As mentioned earlier, I ran across the border at half time and bought a ticket for the game at Stade Louis II – which gives away the fact I did not stay for the second of the evening’s games at Cap d’Ail. It was a wise choice, for the second division game was full of entertainment and interest.

The arches as views from inside the Stade Louis II.

I have a good past record watching Monaco, having seen them seven times, including twice at home and with the team winning five and drawing twice on my watch. However, they are well in the past, being based mainly on time I had to visit the South of France while working, and all seven previous visits came while Arsene Wegner was in charge of the team. One of the victories I had seen Monaco record, was on my visit to Racing Club de Lens. That was of course when both teams were doing well in the top division, now both are in division 2, and Monaco appear to be at risk of dropping lower.

Lens are known for actually having support, even for away matches – a rarity in France where distances are much greater than in England, and where games are much less likely to be scheduled with the convenience of the fan in mind. (Consider how much the convenience of the fans is taken into account in arranging televised games in England, and then think what less consideration must be like). Still there were around 100 visitors in on corner of the ground waving the colours, Sang et Or (Blood and Gold). The team actually played in a greenish hue of blue, with just a small amount of bright lime green trim. These are not colours that could invoke pride, so it is no wonder that only the traditional strips are on show. Monaco played in the familiar diagonal red and white halves. The first half contained plenty of chances at both ends, but no goals, Monaco had looked better earlier in the game, and started the second period strongly as well. This time they got it right, scoring quickly, and then adding a second. Two nil up ten minutes into the second half, and cruise control sets in.

Meanwhile, with no improvement in the situation, Racing Club bring on the youngster Thorgan Hazard. Thorgan’s elder brother, Eden is expected to move to the Premier League in the summer with clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea chasing his signature. Assuming he is a better player than his brother, I can well understand this.

Thorgan changed the climate of the game from the moment he took the field, and crossed the ball for Toudic to pull a goal back within two minutes. Toudic then missed the most open of a number of chances that went astray as Lens attempted to level the game. The game went into injury time with Monaco still ahead, but three minutes later, Lens finally got the equaliser.

Some Monaco fans may well think they were robbed of points that would have lifted them out of the relegation zone, but this would be to misrepresent the game. Lens should have scored their second much earlier, based on the dominance they held in the closing stages, and the chances created.

After less than an hour crammed into the back of a Fokker propjet, I made the transition from Latvia to Lithuania. My plan, based on advanced checks on the fixtures was to see the only A Lyga game on the Tuesday, when Dainava played Tauras in a mid-table match, and then to follow this with the top two Zalgiris v Ekranes. I still had not decided on arriving in Riga whether to hire a car or to use buses and stay overnight in Alytus after the Dainava game.

In the end, my decision was made for me. While I was in Riga, I discovered that the fixture detail had been changed during the week before the matches, and my favourite Wednesday game, Zalgiris – Ekranes game was not to be played in the capital, but in Marijampole, a two hour bus ride away. This meant there was no public transport from there (or any other game) suitable to return me to the capital in time for my 6.30 flight on Thursday.

And so on arrival at the airport, my first job was to check car hire prices. A local company offered me three days for around £100, and knowing that Hertz, operating out of the next office bar one were charging almost twice as much, I took it straight off. Now comes the bit where modern technology really helps. Instead of trying to read a map and drive in an unknown country, my SatNav found the route to the hotel straight away. Still, it took some time after spotting the road, in a rather run down suburb, to find the hotel – which turned out to be ultra-modern once one entered. Clean, bright, spacious and while the breakfast did not add to much, the internet worked.

It took only ten minutes to walk to the town centre. Vilnius is larger than its rivals in Tallinn and Riga, and very well preserved. There are more churches than you could worship at in a month of Sundays. The country is predominantly Catholic and signs in the city centre commemorated a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1993. I managed a good walk around before the sun went down, and then entered a local establishment that provided a very palatable wheat beer, as well some food.

Vilnius Cathedral – one of many churches in the Capital, although not typical of the local style!

There is a strong but friendly rivalry between the three Baltic nations, all of which left the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined the European Union (and NATO) in 2004. I believe all three would like to embrace the Euro, but progress has been slowed by the recent economic crisis, which has put a halt to recent growth. There is one significant difference, Estonia and Latvia have never been other than small countries trying to fend off (not always successfully) the superpowers of the region, Sweden, Russia, Poland and Lithuania.

Lithuania (as part of a shared commonwealth with Poland) was the power in central Europe from the 15^th to 18^th centuries. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania included the current states of Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as parts of other states such as Romania, Poland and Russia. Even now it is larger than either Latvia or Estonia in terms of area and population – the three together have about one and a half times the population of Scotland, in an area which is almost twice the size of Scotland. I know the standard comparison unit is normally Wales, but I feel Scotland needs some recognition.

The local rivalries extend to the football field, and the trio have created a number of cross border challenges, which are almost completely ignored by the local populations. The three day, three match triangular tournaments are a favourite, even though these can never give the best of football. These are biased in favour of the home team, and the last two were won by the home team. Lithuania won a international series held in Kaunas last June, while Skonto won the champions completion, held at their indoor arena (which includes a full sized pitch) in January. The tournament total attendances were not exactly spectacular. The three games in Kaunas totalled a crowd of around 2000, whereas only 500 people headed to the Riga tourney.

The Zalgiris Stadium in Vilnius, although not currently in use, the pitch looks worn, and there is a groundsman working on it.

In ranking terms, Lithuania lead the way – they are ranked 54 by FIFA, ahead of Latvia (75) and Estonia (82), while UEFA rankings for clubs places Lithuania in 32^nd , Latvia one lower, and Estonia 43^rd. This gives all of them four entries in European competition, and all starting at the same stages. (Wales are 46^th, Northern Ireland 49^th). This is also reflected in attendances – the Estonian League has (according to European Football Statistics) an average “crowd” of just 188 in 2010, Latvia had 448, while Lithuania gets 880.

Zalgiris again.

So Tuesday morning arrived, rather dull and damp, and making me pleased to have explored the city centre in the previous evening’s sunshine. Fortunately, conditions improved allowing me to make the drive to Alytus in reasonable weather. The countryside was a mixture of woodland and agricultural land, but little of any great interest. At no point did I feel compelled to stop and admire the scenery.

As for Alytus, it would be easy to dismiss it as an ugly town, but this is a little unfair. It is bland and apparently uninteresting, but has a saving grace in the form of a large expanse of parkland that comes right into the centre of town, keeping the regulation apartment buildings at bay. Within this area is the Alytaus miesto Stadionas. (The extra “a” in the place name is correct, and I assume is possessive), miesto Stadionas means Town Stadium. What one gets is a very neat, and very new (it replaces another stadium on the same site). The press offices told me that it now holds 3700 seats, with two stands each the length of the pitch – a larger covered one on one side, and a lower open area opposite. The ground boasts the almost obligatory athletics track, with no facilities at either end. Neither stand has any elevation, so at least 10% of the seats are best avoided as too low.

The home fans at Dainava. A smaller number of away fans take up position at the other end of the stand

This probably ranks the stadium only behind the new stadium in Marijampole as the second best in the country, and during the week before my visit, it had the honour of staging the National Cup final.

The team name Dainava refers to an area within the city of Alytus. The visitors were Tauras, from the city of Taurage. This appears just to be a contraction of the town name, taking the local spelling for a zodiac sign and naturally using a bull on their badge. It appears that the city names are rarely included in the club’s official names here, although Klaipeda, Mazeikiai, Siauliai and Kaunas are all just place names. Suduva is the area which includes Marijampole. Zalgiris is the local name for the major battle that cemented Lithuanian power early in the 15^th century (English history books would refer to it as the Battle of Grunwald).

The main stand at Dainava, Alytus

Unlike in Latvia, people were allowed to smoke in the stands, and there was a beer tent at one end providing lager and dark beer, as well as soft drinks. No food, tea or coffee though. The crowd was the best of the tour, and if the official figure around 2000 is correct, then it just about eclipses the total of the other five games seen in Latvia and Lithuania. Admission was 5 lita for any part of the ground, with the majority taking cover, but the “ultras” from each side settling for the end sections of the open area.

As for the game, it was of pleasantly good quality, certainly better than anything I had seen during the Latvian part of the tour. The visitors had an assembled a squad including a number of foreigners, and the name that stood out was Seedorf. Sadly this was Regilo Seedorf, and I suppose the fact he plays in the Lithuanian League, having tried his luck in the Netherlands, Belgium and the Cypriot second division gives away that he is not quite as good as his Uncle Clarence.

While Seedorf was trying to run the midfield, it looked as if the game could go to Dainava, but as soon as Tauras decided to miss the centre of midfield and play the wings, the game changed in their favour. The opening goal came seven minutes before the break, when Borisovs played down the left wing and crossed the ball for the right winger, Buitkus to finish.

The home side levelled the scores direct from a free kick early in the second half, but never looked likely to capitalise on this. Instead most of the second half seemed to be a series of fouls on the visitors wingers. The inevitable happened with 15 minutes to play, as one of the series of yellow cards collected by Dainava was a second, and substitute Strauka left the field early. With three minutes to play, a splendid passage of play involving all three of the Tauras substitutes resulted in a winning goal. One player ran with the ball, passed it out to the left wing, and then the cross was met by a good header which looped over the home keeper.

The names engraved on the outside of the “KGB Museum” commemorate some of those deported or killed after incorporation in the Soviet Union

Heading back overnight to Vilnius allowed me to start again the following day, even though I would be repeating my steps to a large extent. It did allow me to enter the museum of the genocide victims, otherwise known as the KGB museum. On the two upper floors, this consisted of a highly politicised view of the resistance against first German and then Russian occupation of the country from 1940 to 1991, and the lives they lived if caught and deported . It is the basement, however that holds the power to shock. This is a dank prison, almost unchanged since the Soviets left in 1991, and was there place were the regime first took those who offended it for interrogation and imprisonment, before shipping them to Siberia, or simply executing them within the building. (No photos permitted), but the outside of the building is now engraved with some of the names of those killed.

While my trip to Marijampole covered many of the same roads as the previous day, I started earlier, and this allowed a stop in Trakai. Here an interesting and picturesque castle sits in the centre of a lake. The building has been restored and the new red brick stands out starkly against the older parts of the building. The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 14^th and 15^th century, but it fell into disrepair after the battle of Zalgiris. Just not needed when peace ruled! The modern restoration was carried out mainly in the 1950s.

Trakai Castle – restoration in redbrick!

Marijampole may be the current host of Lithuania’s national team matches, but it is not an exciting city. The town centre consists of a sterile concrete square and a couple of supermarkets. The two football grounds are situated to the north of the centre, only around 400 metres apart. Suduva used to play at the Suduvos Stadionas, before moving to the new stadium when constructed in 2008. The new stadium seats 6250 and originally had the same name as its predecessor, before naming rights made it into the “Avri” Arena. The older ground was similar to that visited the day before, older and slightly larger, but still a main stand along one side, and a low bank of uncovered seats opposite, and nothing but the track at either end. No admission was charged, and the “home” fans were provided with a free coach from the capital, but still I estimated the attendance at just 150, (officially it was 500). I chose the game as it was the “big” game – both sides could end the day top of the league, and also because there may be few chances to return and visit this stadium.

Zalgiris’ travelling support (for a home game) try to get behind their team.

In the short term, this does not seem to mean much. Not only have Zalgiris to play more games here, but also FBK Kaunas had switched their game for the following Sunday. While it was easy to discover that Zalgiris had a problem with their home stadium being considered unsuitable for a A Lyga license, and the planned new stadium being still on same drawing boards as it was on 10 years or more ago, the reasons for other matches moving was unclear.

Meanwhile, the travelling Ekranes Ultras try to look menacing.

Meanwhile, Suduva were actually supposed to be away to Atlantas in Klaipeda, but had switched to playing at home, and kicking off 90 minutes before the Zalgiris game. This was an annoyance to me, who would have doubled up had the matches been two hours apart. Indeed there may have been some local sympathy for my position. Some 30 or 40 people entered the ground around half an hour after kick off, many wearing Suduva colurs.

I could not find out why Kaunas, who have played their other games in their home city were to switch a game here. It cannot be for the crowds though Dainava appear unique in getting 2000 in for their mid table games. The others are all under the 1000 mark.

As for my game, it was settled by an early goal scored by Ribokas for league leaders Ekranes. After this, Zalgiris seemed to be able to command most of the play, and unleashed plenty of shots, but hardly any that were anywhere near the target. With the early goal secured, the visitors were content to defend deep against opponents that seemed to lack any sort of punch. Their own attacks were rare, but were more concise and precise.

Ekranes were always good to hold on to their lead, and the game finished 1-0. Most of the play was uninspiring, and it was a surprise when Austraukas of Zalgiris managed to get himself a red card a few minutes before time. I did not think anyone was going to be committed enough to make a serious foul.

I travelled back using the motorway route, through Kaunas soon after dusk, but early enough to see it has a small historic centre and may be worth a visit on another trip. I managed to sleep a little in a quiet service area, and hence delayed arriving in the capital until around 3 am, heading straight to the airport for my 6.30 flight.

Of course, I do not really mean that.

I rarely comment on games seen only on TV, but this time I see a change in tactics, an extension of the direction already visible on my last few trips to Spain. One has to look at the game, and try and go beyond the gushing comments of praise offered up by the TV networks and commentators and ask what actually happened.

The BBC stats suggested that Barcelona had 68% of the possession . Another site, citing a link to “Total Football Apps”, says that Xavi attempted 148 passes in the game, and 141 were successful, Iniesta also had over 100 successful passes, while Messi made 92 out of his 100 attempts. Rio Ferdinand made the most attempted passes for United, but this was only 47, with 40 making it.

I am not sure of the accuracy of this, but the figures are believable, having watched the game on TV. Barcelona played a short passing game, with a player rarely remaining in possession for more than five seconds, and the vast majority being successful and over a short distance. It was not just that United could not intercept these, they generally did not try.

When United had the ball, tactics still owed a lot to Charles Hughes, the apostle of the long ball and direct game. Hughes said that most goals come from moves of three of less passes, and hence players should get the ball into a shooting position in that time. Correct analysis, wrong conclusion. Barcelona do score goals that do not depend on 20 or 30 passes, but these depend on gaining possession near to the goal. If you play a long ball, then more often than not you are trying to win possession again. If you pass like Barcelona, then possession is never lost, and so never has to be regained. Not surprisingly, Barcelona committed far fewer fouls than Manchester United. Most fouls are mistimed attempts to dispossess the player with the ball, and hence they do not occur when you are already in possession.

Traditionally in the English game, possession has always swung from one side to the other, and is lost due to poor quality of passing and control more often than due to tackling. A team’s dominance of a match is down to being more effective both with and without the ball, but a team could totally dominate a game, win by four or five to nil, and still barely exceed 50% on the possession chart.

In Barcelona, we have a team that holds possession, keeping it for more than two thirds of the time. Most of these short passes are not taking the game anywhere, but it frustrates the opponents when they just cannot get the ball. In this way, cricketers are more tactically astute than footballers. They know that a run of maiden overs can frustrate their opponents, and that this can win a wicket when a more direct attack will fail.

The natural consequence of Barcelona’s success is that more teams will copy this style, (on the continent anyway). No imagine two teams playing possession and short passes, but without Barcelona’s star players. Neither side will commit to a challenge in the other’s half of the field, for fear of being caught out with their players out of position. Without Iniesta, Alves and Messi to run at the defence, and to open up spaces, these sequential passing moves will break down eventually. Even Barcelona did not score every time they had the ball. With defenders falling back, the side in possession will be forced to shoot from distance, and will not be able to generate the excitement of play in the penalty area.

Barca have been anything but boring, but the Barcelona style could well be copied into a new and more sterile game, leaving commentators to regret some of the superlatives thrown at this new dawn.

I thought the title could be something from Ronnie Barker, but maybe it’s just my warped sense of humour. The one thing that is certain, when you have suffered the second half of the season as we have at Cheltenham, you need a holiday, and more than that – you need a drink.

Many of my trips have simple plans. Get to the destination, get to see as much football as possible, take in a little of the scenery and sights if time permits. Eat and drink when necessary. If I do not travel alone, then my companions are liable to take similar views on these things.

This is a bit different. An end of season tour. Still football orientated, but I am out with a group of fans from Cheltenham Town. In the past we have visited places such as Milan and Lisbon, and the trips have always been drinking first, football second, (but not a distant second). Latvia may be a bit more challenging, but the rules are the same. It was my second visit, and quite a bit has changed in the last decade. Back in 1999, Latvia was still freshly separated from the Soviet Union, (it achieved independence in 1991), and it did not join the European Union until about five years after my visit. In the meantime there has also been economic boom and bust, the country being hit hard by the recent crisis.

In 1999, I had to fly British Airways, and paid around £250 for my return ticket, now the cheap airlines have arrived in force, and it was easy to arrange a return for under £100. I chose Wizz Air, because I wanted to add Lithuania at the end of the trip. My friends flew with Ryanair from Bristol, a straight forward flight, and were surprised to discover it was more a commuter flight taking Latvians home for the weekend then a holiday makers’ flight. My flight appeared to have at least two stag parties on board, including the regulation butch, hairy and very drunk youngish Englishman wearing a pink dress.

In the city, the number of bars has increased massively, especially the British and Irish bars, and drink prices have risen to almost British figures. There are bars open late into the evening, but generally the atmosphere was peaceful, without the raucous and uncomfortable atmosphere that the British are liable to inflict on foreign cities.

Riga’s Orthodox Cathedral. I did not find out what was unorthodox about the other one.

I arrived in the afternoon, and had spent some time wandering around the old town, and found a bar with over 20 different beers (including a variety of local ones), as well as some 50+ malt whiskeys. I would have stuck to beer, but some visiting Finns decided that as an Englishman, I must be an expert on Scotch, and hence demanded I gave my opinion on 35 year old malt that they paid for. It would be rude not to, so I complied. I thought it was a beautifully smooth creation, (the Whiskey, not the Finns).

I want to buy a beer!

When the others, to be referred to as the “Three Holders and Twinners” arrived, we discovered that the hotel had messed up the room booking, and two members of the party were shipped off to the altogether superior Albert Hotel. As the Ramada (where we were staying) has no bar, the rest of us followed suit after a short time to get into the room. Even with a flight due in after 9 in the evening, it is amazing how much some people can manage before the hotel bar finally throws you out.

In the morning, we had to again sort the hotel rooms, and then head to the railway station for the first match. We came across a standard problem – where do you queue for tickets. Naturally, I waited for ten minutes before being told, (about two minutes before our train), that it was the wrong ticket window. The sign that said so had fallen out of sight.

By the time our tickets had been purchased, we had missed a train and we repaired to the coffee shop. Well I had a coffee, Twinners and at least one Holder had soft drinks, while the others purchased beer. Showing the friendliness that one might be surprised, we were interrupted by the girl on the next table, who wanted to advise us on the best choices of local beer.

On arriving at the town of Ogre, (it is pronounced Og-Re, and does not feature Shrek on its coat of arms), it was only 20 minutes to kick off. Twinners and I decided to take a Taxi, while the Holders walked – we had spotted the ground from the train, and in fact the walk was only 10 minutes, but my earlier arrival allowed me to quickly speak to the match commissioner who found me a copy of the team lists. SC Ogre/FK 33 had been promoted from regional football to the 1. Liga (which is of course, the second level of football in Latvia) last season, and had started this season with 6-0 and 11-1 defeats. This was their first home game. Still in the 11-1 defeat a week earlier, they had been 1-0 up for some 15 minutes, and the equaliser was an own goal. The visitors, FK Tukums-2000/TSS had won only one of three games to date. I did not get the meaning of the names after the strokes, but I think it refers to merged clubs.

The Ogre Stadions.

The stadium was a basic athletics track with a stand on one side, raised well enough to give good views. The stand holds around 650 seats, of which over 600 were left empty. No charges were made, no programmes were issued, no souvenirs were on sale, and the only refreshments were from a vending machine in the corridor that led to the sports hall behind the stadium. To say the pitch was uneven would be an insult to many a ploughed field. Let’s just say you could not be certain where the bounce would take the ball.

None of this mattered though, as there were few players on show that could control the ball even when it did not strike a divot. It is questionable whether more players lost the ball through tripping over it, than through tackles, but it is fair to say that the tackles when seen were not for the squeamish. Still when the referee told a player who had been pole axed by a particularly nasty blow, he would do so without even a word of complaint. Goalless in the first period, Tukums managed to score three after the break to comfortably win the game.

Not likely to win prizes in a Ploughing competition.

On returning to Riga, the Three Holders and Twinners wanted to see the FA Cup final on TV. This is not shown on local TV, so there was a requirement to enter the first Irish bar showing it on satellite TV. I do not go to foreign countries to sit in faux Irish bars, drinking Danish beer and watching English football on TV, (or at least not all the time). So I carried on after seeing the others enter the bar, and about thirty minutes later, I found Arkadija – the ground of FS Metta/LU. That means for the second time in a day, I was at the ground around 20 minutes before kick off! The ground was buzzing, mainly with hundreds of kids connected to the Football School which gives its name to FS Metta. The ground is a plastic pitch with a cage on three sides, and four rows of seats along half the length of one side. It was nowhere near adequate for the numbers there. Admission was again free, but an A6 sized programme was sold for 0.5 Lat (about 60p). Plenty of refreshments and souvenirs were on sale, and a team sheet was produced on request, (it did take a while to find the person to request it from – and he then disappeared into the sports hall, which also included dressing rooms to find it). Curiously the sports hall is labelled Riga Futbola Skola. Riga FS is another team, like FS Metta/LU in 1. Liga – but they play their home games at the LU Stadium. The LU in both Metta/LU and the stadium stands for the Latvia University.

FS Metta/LU at Arkadija. From the seats, one is looking into the Sun, and toward a Soviet style war memorial in the park behind

Sitting on the third row of seats back, I found so much movement and noise in front of me, that it was difficult to concentrate on the game, so I walked around the other side for the second period and stood holding my camera. A few of the officials gave me odd looks, uncertain as to whether or not I was supposed to be there, but I was not challenged. The visitors, Valmieras FK were not in the same class as FS Metta, whose record beforehand had been two wins and a draw, including a 6-0 victory over Tukums. There was only one first half goal, as the overhit ball still came to the fore more often than not, but when the home side got into their stride, and the visitors tired of the battle, a further six goals were added, including a hat trick for a substitute who came on with less than 30 minutes to play.

Putkis scores Metta’s second goal, from the penalty spot.

One note from the lower division of the Latvian League, clubs are allowed to name up to seven substitutes, and then play all of them. Not everyone can name a full complement though. Ogre named four, and played them all including the second choice keeper, while Tukems left their second keeper on the bench, but played six others. FS Metta played a full seven, including a keeper, while Valmieras named five, and played four (again it was the keeper that was not changed). All this makes the second half of games somewhat piecemeal, and does detract from the game. For the Sunday games, in the Virsliga (top Division) and Cup, it was three subs only, from seven names.

After the game, I gave in and returned to the Irish bar, although I drank only Latvian beer while watching the second half of a League-2 play-off game, and the whole of the French Cup Final. Still we did not overdo things and left with the bar still open, and the result of the Eurovision song contest (on the other TV in the bar) still uncertain. We missed out on culture despite the opportunities presented. Our Saturday evening in Riga had been designated as “Night of the Museums”, with every museum open past midnight, and more importantly free to enter. Our excuse was that we did not want to join the rather lengthy queues, (especially while the bars were still open).

Crossing the Daugavas river back into the old town

Another day, another train ride, and while this time we went straight to the correct ticket window, we were sold single tickets under the impression we were buying returns. We took the train to Majori, in the Jurmala area. This is a resort some 20 km from Riga, with a fine sandy beach on one side of a narrow spit of land, and a river on the other side. We wandered down a well paved and very gentile walkway close to cafes, shops and some very fine housing. But if one looked behind, down the lanes connecting to out thoroughfare, you could see that there was also a lot of housing in serious need of repair, while a few burnt out hulks were left were they stood, a tribute to the affects of fire on wooden buildings with inadequate insurance. We walked along this promenade, and then back along the back before taking a lunch, where a rather large piece of cow was served at very generous prices. Although an English menu was provided, Jurmala is not reached by many foreign tourists. Returning to the station, and a square with a statue of St. George and the Dragon, there was a lack of taxis, so we had to resort to the bus. The bus driver told us he did not go to Sloka, but the person behind us in the queue said to get on anyway, and he would show us the route for the ten minute walk from bus terminus to stadium.

Majori, Jurmala.

Three Holders and Twinners on Jurmala Beach – I am safely the other side of the camera.

Our guide was a former professional boxer who had spent around five years in the East End of London, and was as good as his word, walking with us for about half the distance to the ground, and then disappearing into a warren of stereotypical soviet style apartment blocks that made up this town away from the tourist beach – pointing us down the road and (correctly) saying we would reach the stadium in around 5 minutes.

The Power of advertising. Somehow I cannot imagine “Villa Lido” will ever live up to the dream of the poster.

Jurmala has not one, but two professional football teams, and they share the Sloka stadium. With the newer of the pair being promoted last season, this was to be the first ‘derby’ in the top level. Probably the first ever. If there was a charge to enter, we did not find it, and we also got a free programme. FC Jurmala, who were formed only in 2008 were the ‘home’ team, while FK Jurmala VV were the ‘visitors’. Like the ground at Ogre, this had an athletics track and a single stand, this time around 1000 seats. There was no access to other parts of the ground, although some chose to watch through the fencing. The Latvian FA web site gave the crowd as 350, which I feel is close enough to the mark. FK Jurmala had the most vocal fans, with several flags and a poster saying “One Town, One Team”, which suggests they are a little put out by the rise of local rivals. Despite their flags showing the name FC Jurmala, rather than FK, they insisted that the new club was not a breakaway of the old one, but had risen on its own. Former Arsenal player Igors Stepanovs is on the FK coaching staff and also listed as a player, but not one of the 18 selected for this game.

Sloka Stadions, Jurmala. During the half time break, less than 30% of the “crowd” keep their seats.

FK have not had a good season, just one point from six games, while FC were on eight points from seven games. Still it was always FK that were the better side, and they were deserving winners with an early goal, (a header from a right side free kick), and a late goal, following a long passing move searching for the gap. In between time, over hit crosses and shots that would have been deemed high in Rugby Union were the orders of the day. No refreshments were available except in an enclosed VIP section at the top of the stand, which was well guarded by people who were never going to let me in, even in search of the team list. The area marked “Press Center” was locked and empty, but I eventually found the stadium announcer, and another official who managed to let me have a copy.

FK Jurmala fans wave the flag to say “We outnumber that other lot”.

Not only are no refreshments on sale at the stadium, but Latvia is one of the countries with a no smoking rule. The stadium is next to some woodland, and at least half the crowd seemed to disappear into the woods during the break. Clearly many of them had gone for a smoke, but it was also spotted that some had left bottles of beer that would not pass through security into the ground itself,

And so back to Riga. Skonto stadium is about a 30 minute walk from the station, but I decided I should get a taxi, having obtained press accreditation and been told to collect it around or after 16.00, (it was about 18.00 when I arrived). I needed have worried, the place was near deserted, with just a few people finishing off a pre match buffer, and kids playing a table football contest. I appeared to be the first person collecting a ticket, and when the others (who did walk) arrived, they may well have been the first to buy tickets. I saved 3 Lat (about £3.75) by getting accreditation, and paid exactly the same to the Taxi! Programmes, a 36 page A4 publication were 2 Lat. Naturally this was considered too much by the locals, and few appeared to buy them.

Ventspils fans pleased to be given the open end. Or at least happy it has stopped raining.

As the teams take to the pitch, it appears the mascot is trying to injure the Liepajas captain. Perhaps angered by the incident, Tomasauskas will receive his second caution on 63 minutes, and miss a crucial part of the game.

The bar was marked “VIP bar”, but VIP appeared to be a local word meaning public. Beer was obtained, and then I went up to the press seats where I was given copies of the team sheets, and also free coffee and biscuits. The others later came and sat in front of the press box, returning to the bar for a quick one at half time, before realising that this is not Britain – and they were permitted to bring the beer back to the seats. Another beer was quickly ordered to last the second half.

Skonto. The side we are sitting on is similar to that opposite, and actually has people in it.

The Skonto Stadium holds around 8000, with three sides being almost identically clad stands, and the fourth being rather rudimentary open seats. Around 50 supporters from each side waved flags and chanted behind the goals, while the other 1000 or so (official crowd: 1112), were in the stand on my side.

FK Ventspils are top of the league, with 22 points from 8 games. The only team they had not beaten in the League were Liepajas Metalurgs, (it was 0-0), who in turn had 19 points from 8 games. However, the Latvian Cup is played on the same season as England, (Autumn one year, to Spring the next), while the League season is through the summer. Hence the pair knew that Skonto have the Champions League place from the 2010 season. Both had already qualified for the Europa League, but the cup winners would play one less qualifying round. Despite the lack of crowds in Latvian football, Ventspils have created a very international squad, including Africans, Russians and two Japanese. They even managed to leave a Uruguayan as an unplayed substitute. The starting XI included two Russians, but the stars were Ahmed Abdultaofik, (a Nigerian) and Minori Sato (Japan) who played at the point of a diamond shaped midfield four.

On 35 minutes, Olegs Laizans (14) gets enough curve to beat the wall and keeper and put Ventspils one up.

By comparison, Metalurgs fielded three Lithuanians as their foreign contingent. It was clear from start to finish that Ventspils were the better side, and their fans knew it, making more noise despite having the open end. It took 35 minutes for them to grab the advantage, a direct free kick from Oleg Laizans, and they were never going to let it go. Abdultaofik scored the two, the second being from a through pass from Sato. By this time, Metalurgs had been reduced to ten men, when Tamasauskas picked up a second yellow card, and a late penalty was no real consolation. We gathered as near as we could to the presentation and shook most of the winning players hands as they went onto the pitch. We then retired to the bar, again spotting some of the winning team, who came through to meet their girlfriends before heading to a reception upstairs. We stayed in the bar longer than planned, as it started raining, and we saw the players leave after the reception as well! Fortunately, there was to be a gap in the rain, as the bar staff wanted to throw us out, (and anyway, we had drunk all the local beer, and all the Carlsberg).

Having won the cup, Ventspils’ supporters prepare to celebrate until the bus is due to leave (about 5 minutes).

So it was back to town, and a return to the first bar I had visited, taking a stray scouser we had met in the stadium in tow. They said they closed around midnight, but we stayed about 45 minutes longer, before transferring to another bar, (last orders just been called) for another hour of so before finally returning to our beds.

Lifting the cup. This does not make the front pages of the Latvian press the next day.

Still, we all managed a hearty breakfast in the morning, and a general sightseeing walk around the old town. It is quite attractive, and very compact, before leaving in the early afternoon, the Three Holders and Twinners back to Bristol, and me onto Vilnius