UEFA have already confirmed that there will be no away fans permitted to attend any of the European qualifiers this summer so it’s going to be the group stages at the earliest – assuming Celtic get there – before fans might be allowed to attend an away match on the continent.
A select few Celtic fans were permitted into the friendly in Paris last summer when Celtic played PSG. Before that it was bigger numbers who travelled to Copenhagen for the Europa League knock-out round first leg in February 2019, not realising that it would be a long time before Celtic fans could be able to travel abroad to support the team.
So we thought we’d look back on some of the features we’ve carried on The Celtic Star, from both Matt Corr and Liam Kelly describing their European adventures supporting Celtic. Let’s start with the ill-fated Champions League qualifier second leg away to AEK Athens in August 2018. Matt Corr kept a daily diary of the trip and we’ll feature this today before looking at some other European occasions tomorrow and Wednesday…
AEK Athens v Celtic: Athens Diary – Day 1 (Sunday)
Disappointed in the lack of flights offered by the official travel company for Yerevan and Trondheim, I made my own arrangements to fly to Athens, just as well as it turns out, as the dreaded ‘trip not viable’ message arrives for a third time.
Direct flights from Edinburgh are only available on a Tuesday, sadly arriving in Athens too late for this match. Manchester is the better option, so after a four-hour drive south, the ritual first pint of Guinness is waiting for me, slightly later than the normal 7am start at Glasgow.
As Tommy said after the Centenary Cup Final, “They’re here and they’re always here…and God bless every one of them”. And here they are in the airport bar, the advance party of The Troops.
Standing out with their colour and noise and impeccable behaviour. My kids are all back at work so I’m the Norman Naemates CSC again, just as in Munchengladbach and St Petersburg. Seems a lifetime ago since we ran buses to such fixtures, despite the results some of the happiest times of my life.
The Popular Peoples Front of Judea gets talking to a nice family from Manchester over a drink and the conversation inevitably turns to football. They are City fans and very complimentary about Celtic, ‘a proper club”.
Following in the footsteps of giants, I board my executive EasyJet flight for a European game. Every single traveller’s nightmare comes true, as I’m in the middle seat between Rag’n’bone Man with his four-hour packed lunch and a six foot six guy wearing shorts and insisting on sitting for the entire flight with legs akimbo. Dying to laugh but can’t/don’t!
After the longest flight ever, we land in Athens. I’m staying on the Athens Riviera (yes – I know. I’m from Springburn!) so it’s a 45-minute bus ride to the hotel. I’m immediately joined by a lovely Greek girl (yes – I know. I’m an old git) who tells me that I need to get off two stops after her. I’m reasonably familiar with the area and hotel location following a visit to Athens last summer so soon I’m checking in.
The check-in guy at the hotel, Vesalius, is a bit of a character. After a strange Scottish/Greek conversation I establish that he believes football is rigged and he used the way the top players performed at the World Cup as his evidence of that. He is/was a Panathanaikos fan. More importantly, he advises me with a huge smile that the top floor Skybar is open until 2am, as ‘this is not Scotland!’
It’s midnight and I’d murder my gran for a beer so Vesalius is the man.
Quick wash and change and suddenly I’m doing a Paul Buchanan, with a walk across the rooftops. There’s a couple working the bar but only a few patrons. I compliment the barman on the music, it’s Pink Floyd, Queen then the Beatles. He says that’s because I’m British. I point out that I’m actually Scottish and the response is ‘Oh that’s much better!’. He is an AEK supporter and is very friendly. Think I’m going to like it here.
Soon I’m Norman again as the other patrons leave for bed. I’m looking across the bay to Piraeus with a couple of cold Budweisers, catching up on Celtic Newsnow. My article about the 1980 season has been published tonight in The Celtic Star (HERE) and the editor has added the videos of the St Mirren and Real Madrid games featured within it. So for the next forty minutes it’s Nostalgia Central. Bhoy Heaven.
At 1.55am, I feel guilty and head downstairs. The hotel is lovely but my room is so small, Harry Potter would have felt claustrophobic. Anyway, I’m done and it’s two sleeps until the match so within minutes it’s happy z’s. Speak tomorrow.
Matt Corr in Athens
