We went to the beautiful island of Corsica and whilst there I managed to persuade the family that they were desperate to attend the French Ligue 2 game between SC Bastia and Laval.
Now, Bastia have some impressive history - they came runners up to PSV Eindhoven in the 1978 UEFA Cup and were French Cup winners in 1981. However, they are currently in Ligue 2 and have a bit of a mish mash of a ground. On one side there is the impressive Papi Tribune which, whilst a bit concrete, is relatively new and quite grand. On the other side is a small stand reminiscent of your average undeveloped Ryman League stand.
However, they were very helpful and open when we went to purchase tickets for the game and we were invited in to wait for service and were left to view the striking Trophy wall which carried original and replica trophies from current and past local achievements.
Anyway, the point was, that seeing the impressive Papi Tribune hove into view as we approached, it struck me that I still get a frisson of excitement whenever I stumble across a football ground in a foreign land. It's almost as though I recognise a piece of myself, the recognition of being a part of the international brotherhood (and sisterhood) of football.
I mean, we all KNOW that everyone (or nearly everyone) plays, watches and enjoys football, it's just the physical representation of that which brings home to me how much a part of so many lives that it is and how football is very much a part of the local community.
In Bastia's case, the game didn't go so well - they lost 1-0 at home and by the end of the game, the home supporters weren't too happy !
But the different style of game (from the English equivalent), the passion of the supporters and the experience of Football In A Foreign Land, made for a memorable experience. And the view wasn't so bad, either !
I aslo perceived a much less aggressive / intensive approach to the officials by players from both sides. Any disagreement with a decision seemed to take the form of a casual enquiry from a player or two with a brief explanation from the referee, a shrug of shoulders all around and they just got on with the game - how refreshing !
From Bastia, I can go back around 12 months when were fortunate enough to go to Sardinia. We stayed close to a town called Budoni which had it's own football team - a club with a newly developing ground and playing in, roughly, the equivalent of Blue Square South, I estimated.
A club formed as recently ago as 1973, this club had a 3G astroturf pitch on which to pay its games to save any real turf from the extreme heat of their summer. A nice new main stand / tribune, modern store room, gym and changing rooms were impressive for the standard.
I managed to get myself invited to watch the first team squad practice one evening and I was able to see a session constructed mainly around a pattern of play in a 4 3 3 system.
Attached images show how this relatively small club is again at the heart of the community.
And way up in the mountains of Sardinia, was a small community called Brunella - again with its own, albeit much more modest stadium, but still with dugouts and floodlights for evening practice.
So, the passion for football is apparent in many places and just the sight of a small, large, modern, antiquated, stadium or patch of a ground with a pair of goals, just makes me feel a part of the game, no matter where I am.
