venue: ESTADIO OLIMPICO
PORTO 3 CELTIC 2
After extra time
I had got a ticket through UEFA before Celtic got to the final. Unfortunately the ticket didn't arrive and after some frantic e-mails and phone calls to Spain I was inform it could only be collected from the stadium and had to be picked by Tuesday - the day before the match.
I had booked a package deal with Harry Hynds a well know local travel agent but the flight left on Tuesday. This was now no good as I had to get to Seville early than planned. I trawled through lastminute.com to get as cheap a flight as possible to somewhere in Spain. I eventually got a seat on a Aerolineas Argentinas flight from Gatwick to Madrid on the Sunday evening.
My Seville trip started on Saturday night with an overnight bus from Glasgow to London then onto Gatwick. The flight to Madrid was fine. When I landed in Madrid airport the taxi driver told me they were in the middle of a heat wave. He was great and told me exactly were to go to get an overnight bus to Seville. Like everywhere else the Madrid bus station already had pockets of Celtic fans en route to Seville.
The overnight coach was great and gave me a chance to get some sleep. I arrived very early in the very impressive city of Seville with a fantastic mix of modern and old. Again the heat was intense. I booked in the a great little hotel called Reyes Católicos for the Monday night.
At 10.00am it was time to go to the stadium to collect my ticket. It was a fair old trek to and from the Olympic stadium in the roasting hot sun. By the time I got back into my hotel at lunch time my much sought after ticket got chucked on the bed and I crash out for a few hours.
Monday night was quiet while Tuesday was a wasted day as I waited on my friend coming off the one and only flight from Glasgow (of which there where many) that was delayed.
The game itself was terrific Celtic pushed the great Porto side to the max but just couldn't find a way to get in front. Larsson scored two wonderful headers to take the final to extra time. Bobo Balde our towering centre half was sent off and all the dreams ended very quickly after this.
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