On the 11th January each year, we celebrate the birthday of the 'Stadium Trotter', and the adventures we've covered in what is now my fourth year of this nonsense. In previous years, I've not really done anything to commemorate the occasion, other than some words on Twitter amounting to less than 140 characters, but 2017 was to be different. We were going to celebrate the birthday this time, and it was going to be somewhere a bit silly.
During my Christmas break from university, I'd been working to accumulate some more funds with which I could purchase my monthly supply of pot noodles to ensure I ate whilst studying away from home. I had no intention of engaging in any silliness until my trip to San Marino and Italy at the end of January (which sadly never materialised for reasons I won't go into publicly).
Now, I'm no stranger to texts inviting me to accompany people to random places in the name of football, but it's not quite as often that I jump on the bandwagon so quickly. I received a text from Ben in the morning, and by lunchtime the next day, my flights were booked. The Stadium Trotter was going to celebrate its anniversary in Málaga. Fantastically silly.
During my Christmas break from university, I'd been working to accumulate some more funds with which I could purchase my monthly supply of pot noodles to ensure I ate whilst studying away from home. I had no intention of engaging in any silliness until my trip to San Marino and Italy at the end of January (which sadly never materialised for reasons I won't go into publicly).
Now, I'm no stranger to texts inviting me to accompany people to random places in the name of football, but it's not quite as often that I jump on the bandwagon so quickly. I received a text from Ben in the morning, and by lunchtime the next day, my flights were booked. The Stadium Trotter was going to celebrate its anniversary in Málaga. Fantastically silly.
We flew from Stansted first thing on the Monday morning, following another of my now inevitable overnight stays at the airport, before arriving just before midday in southern Spain. A beautiful blast of warm Mediterranean air was more than welcome, my new home in Brighton was some 15 degrees or so chillier on the time of our arrival. Having checked in at our hotel for the next couple days, it was straight back out the front door to begin some exploring, before a visit to La Rosadela for the week's main event that same evening.
Alice (a football fan) and Harriet (a football hater) both joined Ben and myself for this trip, so the three days were to be spent truly exploring the city we'd booked flights to not a fortnight earlier. With Ben not due to arrive until mid afternoon having left an even colder York for this excursion, myself and the girls took it upon ourselves to take a stroll and begin soaking up some of the sun on offer.
Alice (a football fan) and Harriet (a football hater) both joined Ben and myself for this trip, so the three days were to be spent truly exploring the city we'd booked flights to not a fortnight earlier. With Ben not due to arrive until mid afternoon having left an even colder York for this excursion, myself and the girls took it upon ourselves to take a stroll and begin soaking up some of the sun on offer.
Our second day was spent truly exploring the city in full, which by the way, is well worth a visit. There's plenty of sightseeing to be done, including the fantastic cathedral. If you don't know already, I'm a fan of a cathedral. There's some fantastic architecture to be found on these buildings and Málaga's offering was certainly no different.
In terms of travel into the city, simply locate the train station outside of the airport, and a single 15 minute journey into 'Málaga Centro' will set you back just €1.80. Cheap and reliable travel. My kind of city. The city's residents are friendly and willing to help if your Spanish isn't quite up to scratch, and the city's food and drink offerings can be found for very reasonable prices. A small bar some ten minutes walk from our hotel provided us with a place to quench our thirsts, and at €1.50 a beer, we stayed a little longer.
In terms of travel into the city, simply locate the train station outside of the airport, and a single 15 minute journey into 'Málaga Centro' will set you back just €1.80. Cheap and reliable travel. My kind of city. The city's residents are friendly and willing to help if your Spanish isn't quite up to scratch, and the city's food and drink offerings can be found for very reasonable prices. A small bar some ten minutes walk from our hotel provided us with a place to quench our thirsts, and at €1.50 a beer, we stayed a little longer.
Of course, there was one main event that was playing on my mind throughout the opening day of our trip. The small matter of my first La Liga game, my first game anywhere in Spanish football in fact. As it so happened, none of my trio of companions had previously seen football outside of the UK borders themselves, so it was something of a momentous occasion for all as I hit country number ten on this silly adventure of mine.
Ben had bought the tickets just after flights had been booked, so we afforded ourselves an extra half hour in the bars around the town centre before mooching north towards the ground. The walk up all seemed relatively quiet until we reached the main road leading towards La Rosadela, and everyone came into sight. A sea of blue drinking happily in the fan zones just outside the ground, football was definitely happening. I don't how Harriet felt, but I was definitely excited.
Ben had bought the tickets just after flights had been booked, so we afforded ourselves an extra half hour in the bars around the town centre before mooching north towards the ground. The walk up all seemed relatively quiet until we reached the main road leading towards La Rosadela, and everyone came into sight. A sea of blue drinking happily in the fan zones just outside the ground, football was definitely happening. I don't how Harriet felt, but I was definitely excited.
The game itself was nothing particularly special. I've seen better, I've also seen far worse. Our 20 Euros admission, plus my €12 scarf as pictured, allowed us to see what Málaga can do to sides on a good day. They controlled possession for the opening 20 minutes, dragged visitors Real Sociedad from left to right, and ultmately did everything but score. Forward Sandro limped off injured midway through the half however, to be replaced by Adalberto Peñaranda, and he was awful. Not only was he poor technically, he offered nothing for three quarters of the game, but his barnet was also atrocious. A sort of blonde mohawk type number that he simply was not justifying with his ability on the pitch. Ultimately, Sociedad went on to win the game comfortably with second half strikes from Iñigo Martinez and Juanmi respectively. The first, a hugely deflected free-kick that left Carlos Kameni without a chance, and the second a simple finish from inside the six-yard area, despite claims of offside. After the interval, and throughout the second period, the home faithful were on the back of the referee, with the whistling causing Harriet to hide her ears under a couple of layers for some form of noise protection. The ultras below us sang throughout the game however, despite their side's somewhat lacklustre performance in front of us. |
La Rosadela is a fantastic place to open up my knowledge of Spanish football. It's open ends are a fantastic characteristic, and make for a brilliant arena in which to enjoy a game of football. The atmosphere is still good despite the lack of roof, with the ultras section occupying the lower tier behind the goal on the south side of the ground.
Tickets are reasonably priced (I'd assume they're increased for the visit of a Barcelona or a Real Madrid), and can be purchased on the day or via the club website if you like to absolutely guarantee yourself a seat, though I'm not sure sell-outs are all that regular. The ground is less than a half-hour's walk from the city centre, with a couple of bars en route, giving you ample opportunity to sample the local football culture and enjoy a pint or three of locally brewed beer 'Victoria', which is fantastic.
Tickets are reasonably priced (I'd assume they're increased for the visit of a Barcelona or a Real Madrid), and can be purchased on the day or via the club website if you like to absolutely guarantee yourself a seat, though I'm not sure sell-outs are all that regular. The ground is less than a half-hour's walk from the city centre, with a couple of bars en route, giving you ample opportunity to sample the local football culture and enjoy a pint or three of locally brewed beer 'Victoria', which is fantastic.
Three years down, 115 grounds down, and ten countries to my name. This adventure has brought so many fantastic people into my life, so many fantastic experiences, and taken me to areas of the continent that I would have never previously even considered travelling to. It's been fun, and I don't intend to stop anytime soon. Here's to the next three years of silliness!
Cheers
Sheridan
Cheers
Sheridan