The 'conquering the world' tag isn't something I've attached to myself by accident, I have genuine dreams of travelling the world to watch football. I question my own sanity, my friends and family question my sanity, and then, after long thought-out conversations, I go and watch a game of football somewhere. That's how it works at the moment, and that's probably how it'll work for a very long time. Welcome to 2015/16 ladies and gentlemen!
After a few botched attempts at travelling abroad to get a taste of my first football outside of the British Isles, the plan to travel to the Euro U21's Championship in the Czech Republic with a good friend of mine, Andy, began to take shape. Unfortunately, due to other circumstances, we had to push our weekend back and the fixtures no longer lined up. Back to the drawing boards. That was when Andy text me. 'Norway', was the message I received. He'd hit the jackpot. Following some research, it had to be done. The flights were booked, the hotel was booked and my summer European adventure would be hosted in Oslo. Needless to say, I was buzzing.
Finding ourselves at Stansted airport late Thursday evening before our flights early the next morning, we were relieved to find the 24 hour bar in full operation. We took advantage of its alcohol serving beauty, and waited for the plane. In what was becoming a regular occurence, we'd started checking our weekend fixtures. The Friday night was originally due to be spent about an hour outside of Oslo, in nearby Vestfossen, for their fixture vs Modum. Vestfossen soon became FK Rælingen, as a cheaper train to Lillestrom and a 40 minute walk seemed a more attractive option on what was a beautiful day in Scandinavia. What a decision that turned out to be.
After a few botched attempts at travelling abroad to get a taste of my first football outside of the British Isles, the plan to travel to the Euro U21's Championship in the Czech Republic with a good friend of mine, Andy, began to take shape. Unfortunately, due to other circumstances, we had to push our weekend back and the fixtures no longer lined up. Back to the drawing boards. That was when Andy text me. 'Norway', was the message I received. He'd hit the jackpot. Following some research, it had to be done. The flights were booked, the hotel was booked and my summer European adventure would be hosted in Oslo. Needless to say, I was buzzing.
Finding ourselves at Stansted airport late Thursday evening before our flights early the next morning, we were relieved to find the 24 hour bar in full operation. We took advantage of its alcohol serving beauty, and waited for the plane. In what was becoming a regular occurence, we'd started checking our weekend fixtures. The Friday night was originally due to be spent about an hour outside of Oslo, in nearby Vestfossen, for their fixture vs Modum. Vestfossen soon became FK Rælingen, as a cheaper train to Lillestrom and a 40 minute walk seemed a more attractive option on what was a beautiful day in Scandinavia. What a decision that turned out to be.
Having dropped off our bags at our weekend accommodation, we went out on a tour of the city, that culminated at the Oslo Opera House, which provides wonderful views from its roof (if you can be bothered to climb to the top). With more Norwegian beer sunk, including the awful 'Ringnes Pilsner', we headed out to Lillestrom, and were soon walking the distance over to Rælingen Marikollen Kunstgress. |
The walk was incredible, but I'll tell you now, there were a lot of hills. I'm talking äkta gradient. For those of you that haven't visited previously, Norway is a stunning country. There's no other way of describing it, other than every synonym for beautiful that you might use instead. A 40 minute scenic walk through Lillestrom, Rælingen and Fjerdingby was undertaken, and we arrived at the ground with five or so minutes to spare.
On entering the ground, I just stood in awe at what was ahead of me. The pitch itself is a 'Kunstgress' (artificial turf) but the rest of the ground is incredible. Sat deep inside a valley, it's surrounded by nature, with a large ski jump behind the far goal, high up above the changing rooms. An electronic scoreboard operates from its position between the two dugouts, and eventually, having slapped myself back into life, we took our seats in one of the two seated areas on the near touchline.
Just as I'd turned to my left to have another look at the ski jump towering over the ground, one of the locals in the second seated area unleashed a blue smoke bomb. I couldn't help but laugh. I was sat in Norway, for a fourth division game, looking at smoke bombs. It's the closest I've been to Heaven so far.
Just as I'd turned to my left to have another look at the ski jump towering over the ground, one of the locals in the second seated area unleashed a blue smoke bomb. I couldn't help but laugh. I was sat in Norway, for a fourth division game, looking at smoke bombs. It's the closest I've been to Heaven so far.
Despite my love for everything about FK Rælingen, it's fair to say I've seen better games of football. Technically, the quality of football in front of us was far better than a lot of the stuff I've seen in England, but it wasn't particularly fluid, and attacks took a long time to progress. Rælingen's sitting midfielder wearing the 17 caught the eyes of both myself and Andy, and we both commented on how he would walk into a lot of sides, as he controlled the game from midfield with incredible composure.
The hosts eventually took the lead with some 20 minutes or so left on the clock, as some neat work on the edge of the box was finished off with a tame effort into the bottom left hand corner. I gleefully erupted as the ball found the net, alongside another smoke bomb that had been released amidst the celebrations. Rælingen held out for the win, and a crucial three points in their quest for survival this season. With a long walk back into Lillestrom, I took one last look around the place, and vowed that I would be back one day.
The hosts eventually took the lead with some 20 minutes or so left on the clock, as some neat work on the edge of the box was finished off with a tame effort into the bottom left hand corner. I gleefully erupted as the ball found the net, alongside another smoke bomb that had been released amidst the celebrations. Rælingen held out for the win, and a crucial three points in their quest for survival this season. With a long walk back into Lillestrom, I took one last look around the place, and vowed that I would be back one day.