When he returned triumphantly from the 2014 World Cup, Per Mertersacker was asked how it felt to be world champion. The German defender had also recently become a father and responded humbly by suggesting that being a world cup winner felt 'as far away as the moon' when feeding your baby at 3am. Similarly, I'm thinking back to our trip to Seville with similar distance. A late return, followed by work around the farm (literally shovelling shit), rain and rising fog mean the delights of Seville seem 'as far away as the moon.' And yet, the great memories of this trip to Andalusia will live long in the memory.
Things started off hesitantly when I came to realise that my passport had lapsed. It lapsed in 2020. Events at that time squashed any thought of going abroad. Since those events, the perspective is that life is too short and the itch to once again follow the Arsenal abroad, in the Champions League no less, wouldn't be passed up. Time and money be damned!
However, having been out of the habit of booking travel, I was once again reminded of the hurdles football fans face when trying to follow their team over land and sea. This isn't exclusive to football fans but the way flight prices fluctuate due to demand is an outright scandal. Yes, because I needed to renew my passport, I scuppered my own chance of seeking out a much cheaper route by getting in early however, for prices to more than double really boils the blood.. No wonder parents take their kids out of school early to beat half term price hikes.
Eventually, it was settled that we would actually fly out from Edinburgh. A long long drive north, yes, but given fuel costs would be shared by a car load of people, would be far lower than the cost of English airport flights and train tickets, it was worth the effort. One thing I noticed at Edinburgh airport was that the music playing in the departure area was exclusively songs by scottish artists (Franz Ferdinand, Garbage) - I love that!
Touchdown Seville. The taxi from the airport was hair-raising as the cigarette smoking Spanish taxi driver raced to our hotel. We walked the local area - north of the city - and found many many fallen trees. Some had smashed car windows. The aftermath of a recent storm. Despite this slightly devastated appearance, Seville couldn't have been more positive.
Seville is laid-back and chilled. The people are friendly, the food amazing, the beer cheap, the spirit measures generous. There's plently to see and do (not that the average football fan has the time or inclination to see much besides the game, or do much besides eat, drink and be merry). We end day one exploring the picturesque riverside area. An hour of fairly torrential rain can't dampen spirits. Day two, the sun breaks out and we roam the narrow lanes of Seville's centre. Walk around its glorious cathedral, its unique Metropol Parasol, eat tapas and drink coffee.
The fan experience around the game is notable for a couple of reasons. On the whole, it was a positive one. Yes, the police lining the streets en route to the game had an aggressive tone, yes our view in the lower tier was hardly expansive (at least we weren't upper tier and soaked by the incessent rain that was now falling) but the Sevilla fans were friendly and passionate. The common practise of keeping travelling fans behind at the end of the game is a questionable one. Presumably it is with the aim to disperse home fans and reduce the amount of contact between rival fans but, by the time we are eventually released it is clearly evident who the travelling fans are. That said, the most worrying thing exiting the stadium is the rain, not any concern about 'trouble.'
We trudge through the rain towards the city centre and encounter our one negative moment. We're closing in on the city centre when a group of twenty-plus Seville fans wearing colours, motorbike helmets and one even carrying a plastic garden chair come charging towards up, clearly intent on fighting someone. We step aside, backs to the wall and they thankfully pass. A solitary black mark on an otherwise delightful trip.
In the stadium, after the final whistle while being kept back, Arsenal fans jokingly chanted 'we wanna stay here, we wanna stay HERE...' It is a friendly sentiment to the good time had by all. I might be 'as far away as the moon right now' as I peer out of a rain soaked window at a grey sky but we do it for the memories; we do it for the experience, we do it for the joy. Speakijg of joy, we won - 2-1.