European away blog. Marseille, 16 September 2008
When the final whistle blew at the Velodrome on Tuesday night, Rafa Benitez could have been forgiven for thinking qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League might just be a bit more straightforward than it was 12 months ago when the Reds visited the same venue knowing only a win would take us through, not to mention save his job. It also signalled a satisfactory end to a trip that had threatened to throw up one catastrophe after another for me and my 3 fellow reds Dan, Ste and Mark who had made the trip to Southern France.
Calamity number 1 arrived a few weeks ago when I inadvertently booked our return flights for 17 September 2009 instead of 17 September 2008!! While spending a year in the South of France sounds appealing, I don't think my bosses in work would have been to happy if I'd dropped that one on them!! The next obstacle came in the form of a JLA official straight out of the "Steve Bennett School of How To Be a Jobsworth", who refused to accept our on-line boarding passes for the flight to Nice, and with just half an hour to go to departure a Fernando Torres-like sprint back to check-in was required to get proper boarding cards and make it to the gate on time. Then, to make it a hat-trick of narrowly averted disasters, we arrived at our hotel in Marseille on Tuesday afternoon to be told our room had been double-booked and "Marseille was full." Thankfully, a very helpful young lady in the Marseille tourist office found us alternative accommodation near the city centre and the serious business of soaking up the pre-match atmosphere could begin!
After a few beers and a bite to eat in Marseille's Vieux Port, where most reds seemed to congregate despite it being listed as one of the "must avoid" places on the itinerary sent out by the club, it was time to jump the metro to the imposing Stade Velodrome. Yet more OTT officialdom greeted us, including being bussed 100 yards to the entrance of what can only be described a disused warehouse, where the travelling Reds were held before being allowed in the ground just 10 minutes before kick-off. From reading the message-boards I'd feared our end would be half-empty, but despite it not being full, there was certainly a healthier turn-out than in last season's opening group game in Porto, where our end was barely a third full.
On the one-hand, the Velodrome is an awesome venue, mostly down to the incredible atmosphere created by the home fans who yearn for their club to return to its former glories. On the other hand, its facilities leave a lot to be desired. The toilets are nothing more than shower-bases, and the away section is surrounded by 10 foot high fences on either side, making it difficult to get a clear view of the pitch, and a good clean every now and again wouldn't go amiss either! You'd expect better from a venue that hosted a World Cup semi-final 10 years ago and England's Rugby World Cup quarter final victory against Australia just last year. At least it was warm this year though, unlike last season when the icy mid-December wind made Bolton and Middlesbrough seem tropical!
The 2 sides emerged to a kaleidoscope of colour and noise, with Marseille's ultras unveiling a huge mosaic at one end and two enormous banners at the other. Their passion reached fever-pitch when some uncharacteristic defending allowed Cana to give the home side the lead. The ultras behind the North and South goals, who compete with each other to see who can make the most noise, made quite a din before illumining the night sky with flares, one of which landed on the pitch; I'd be interested to see what UEFA's reaction would be if that happened at Anfield!
Marseille fans unveil an impressive mosaic before kick-off
The noise was short-lived however as, in a game that was surprisingly open for the first group match, Steven Gerrard made another entry into his scrap-book of wonder-goals with a quite delightful right-footed curler into the top corner, a skill only those players in the very top bracket are capable of. It was the travelling Reds' turn to celebrate while the home fans looked on in stunned disbelief, and those celebrations increased a notch after Ryan Babel was tripped and the skipper despatched the resulting penalty not once but twice, making it 3 times this season we've came from behind to win.
The Reds looked capable of ripping Marseille open at will at times during the first half, but for whatever reason we went into our shell after the break. Maybe Saturday's exertions against United were taking their toll, but we dropped off and started hitting it long. Marseille played some decent stuff and we were indebted to Pepe Reina for leaving France win a win, especially for his brilliant save in injury time. It's a toss up between Pepe and Petr Cech for who is the best goal-keeper in the Premier League as far as I'm concerned, and the Spaniard looked almost embarrassed as the travelling Reds sang his name during the post-match warm-down. Far worse players than Reina have had their names sung loud and proud by the Kop, so hopefully the continental-style "Pepe Reina, Pepe Reina, Hey, ole" will take off.
Back to the dark ages? The away end was surrounded by steel fences on three sides
After being let out of the Velodrome, it was time to head off back to the Vieux Port for a few celebratory pints and a kebab. Liverpool and Marseille fans mixed without a hint of trouble, exactly the same as I found it last December, making the over the top policing we experienced while trying to get into the ground all the more baffling. Next afternoon it was time to drive back to Nice airport for our return flight, but with time to kill we decided to have a stop in Monaco - well, with 2 owners to get rid of, where best to try and find a billionaire to buy them out?! The last time I went to Monaco it was by coach for the 2005 Super Cup, but thankfully this time we'd be back in Liverpool in 2 hours as opposed to 24! Let's hope the next time I visit Monaco it's also for the Super Cup.
Just after the final whistle in the Velodrome, somebody told me Gerrard's successful penalty was his 99th for Liverpool. With a trip to Goodison just over a week away, I can't think of a better place for him to make it a century!
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good picture
still don't know what that 100 yard busride was all about. Except bouncing of course
Nice little trip, not the best Euro Away I've been to but certainly not bad!
W L'O.M. de MARSEILLE @