FUSSBALL!!! - Sunday 4/22/07

Melinda and I went to a football match (Soccer, for non-Footballers), FC Basel vs. FC Zürich!

I heard from some people at work that this should be a good game since last year these two caused quite a stir about a mile from our apartment. This is some of the news from last years season finale... (See article, http://www.onlinereports.ch/2006/FCBfczKrawall5-2006.htm) or (if you can't believe the images, you can translate using Google... http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en%26sl=de%26u=http://www.onlinereports.ch/2006/FCBfczKrawall5-2006.htm%26sa=X%26oi=translate%26resnum=1%26ct=result%26prev=/search%253Fq%252%20 )

The Stadium is the fifth trolley stop after our apartment, and when we got off the trolley (or tried to), the streets were packed, shoulder-to-shoulder with Blue and Red Fans.

(Look at the riot Polizei... and looking back after walking past the white paddy-wagons...)

We made are way across the street to try to find some tickets. We soon found that the stadium was surrounded by hundreds of riot police in full gear with shields and smoke grenades at their sides. Sweet, this should be a good game. You had to walk the gamut of several hundred police before entering the area just to buy tickets. I think the show of force was more than normal considering the action from last year.

At the intro to the match, the rowdy group surrounding the home goal was going crazy yelling "F.C.B... F.C.B..."

After this picture was taken, just as the game was starting, they lit several flares, and started to add paper and trash which stared smoking the stadium (Right about where the feet of the dogs are...) Melinda leaned over and said, "they (Basel) better win this game..."

Fortunately, Basel scored first by the tenth minute, and that gave everyone time to grab more beer and light a pack of cigarettes! Then, soon after, Zürich scored, 1:1! The stadium, with all 34,070 fans, erupted into an intense chant, that you have to be Swiss to understand. The FC team came back, and by the half it was 2:1.

After half time, no half-time show, no dancing or singing, just time to get more beer, the teams came back, and Basel scored in the 65th minute. The Stadium was crazy again. The noise finally died down when the Zürich team scored in the 82 minute. The Zürich fans went nuts, and in was a good thing that they were quarantined in their stands behind 10' high fences. Just when you though the game was about over, Zürich made a run for a second goal, the game went into a few minute stoppage time (+90 min). Basel took control and drove it towards the Zürich goal... and then came a penalty kick! Basel scored again and won 4:2 You can read the recap at (http://www.fcb.ch/start.html), or try to...