FC Basel vs BSC Young Boys

Sundays in Mulhouse can be dull, as apart from McDonald’s, Starbucks, and a small Carrefour market in the centre of town, virtually everything is closed. I decided to look at the FC Basel fixture list and saw there was a home game against Young Boys, a team from from Bern. After the fun I had going to Everton de Viña games in Chile, I knew I had to make the most of my Sunday and get a ticket.

After I bought my ticket, which was an e-ticket in order to avoid the 10 CHF handling fee, I found out that FC Basel vs Young Boys was a highly anticipated encounter as FC Basel were second in the league with Young Boys eleven points clear at the top of the table. Despite Young Boys being knocked of the Champions League in the group stages this year, they beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus 2-1 and put up a stern fight against Manchester United at Old Trafford. It all made for a great match.

When I arrived at St Jakob-Park, the impressive home of FC Basel with a capacity of over 38,000, I immediately took advantage of something banned at football matches in Scotland and Chile, beer. In addition to this, the one thing that I noticed was that despite the availability of beer, there were far fewer fans visibly drunk than a match in Scotland or England. The beer is served in plastic tumblers and you have to remember to bring your cup back in order to get the 2 CHF pfand! (deposit)

Although I was sat in one of the side stands, I was close to the FC Basel ultras who put on quite a display, featuring balloons, banners, massive flags, flares and ticker tape. On the opposite side, the Young Boys fans also set off flares and displayed a wall of yellow scarves. The electric atmosphere definitely made up for the cold wet weather.

The game did not disappoint in the slightest. FC Basel started well going 1-0 in front of a corner that went in via a deflection from a Young Boys defender. However, Young Boys piled on the pressure, took advantage of some lax Basel defending and went 2-1 up just before half time, the first goal came from a cross whilst the second came from a free kick. The best goal of the game came in the second half when Basel talisman Noah Okafor thundered home from outside the box. Both sides had chances later on to win the game but the match ended 2-2.

One thing I also loved about the experience was that public transport to and from the stadium is free, a real bonus if you are a student! In addition to the free transport, special trams were put on so supporters could get home from the ground swiftly. I think the free transport is an excellent idea, maybe Hearts should consider bringing in a similar concept?

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience of my first football game on the continent and hope to get to FC Basel’s next home game against FC Lugano, from the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.

Everton de Viña vs Palestino

Last weekend, I attended Everton de Viña’s final home game of the season and also my last football match before I leave Chile. With relegation still a threat for El Oro y Cielo, a win and three points was vital. This week, Everton welcomed Palestino, who the week before won the Copa de Chile, beating Audax Italiano 4-2 on aggregate.

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and there was a high turnout. For the teams coming out, everyone in the stand I was in had to hold up cards which when looking at it from the other side, would appear as blue and yellow stripes. The Everton de Viña Barra Brava, Los del Cerro was in full voice, with usual songs, chants, banners, umbrellas, drums and trumpets, combined with fireworks and ticker-tape.

Everton de Viña dominated the game from start to finish. They got on the scoreboard early when after seven minutes, Patricio Rubio smashed the ball from the edge of the box past the goalkeeper and into the left side of the net. Everton were initially given a penalty for a handball but just before it was due to be taken, the penalty was waived on the advice of the fourth official, to the fury of the home fans.

However just before halftime, Everton de Viña were given a penalty for a handball in the box. On look at the replay, it was a harsh decision but the penalty decision stood and Cristián Suárez slotted it home to make the score 2-0 at the break. By this point, the atmosphere inside the Estadio Sausalito was positive and Los Del Cerro were in party mode.

Palestino began the second-half fired up and looking to get back into the game. However, their momentum collapsed when after 47 minutes, when Diego Orellana added Everton de Viña’s third. From that point onwards, El Oro y Cielo dominated the game and had numerous chances to add a fourth. Palestino’s evening was summed up when winger Cesár Cortés was shown a straight red card for a strike to the face on Everton de Viña’s Sebastián Leyton. When the final whistle blew, the home fans were delighted as Everton de Viña are all but safe and set to play next season in the Primera División.

The game was my final game watching Everton de Viña and I have really enjoyed going to the games and following their season. In a week which has definitely not been the finest for South American football, the final game did not disappoint and I will remember going to watch Everton de Viña for a very long time.

Birthday and Everton de Viña vs Antofagasta

On the 28th of October 2018, I celebrated my 20th birthday, my first celebrated outside Scotland. However, it was certainly one that I will remember for a long time.

For my birthday, I went with Holly and Charlotte to the Everton de Viña del Mar match vs Antofagasta, a team from the north of Chile. Everton de Viña are at risk or relegation this season whilst Antofagasta our competing for a spot in next year’s Copa Libertadores. (South American version of the Champions League) Therefore, everyone was in no doubt that this was going to be a hard match el Oro y Cielo. After long lines and numerous security checks, we finally got to our seats. Although slightly cloudy, it was 20 degrees Celsius and no rain was in sight- very different from compared to Scotland!

Right from the start, Antofagasta’s prowess showed when Venezuelan star striker Eduard Bello capitalised on a goalkeeping error to put the visitors 1-0 ahead. However, things to a romantic twist as during his goal celebration, he ran up to the stand and proposed to his girlfriend!

Everton de Viña later drew level 1-1 from a superb free-kick leaving the keeper frozen and later went 2-1 in front. However, they failed to hang on until the half-time whistle when Eduard Bello scored a fantastic skillful goal to make the score 2-2 at the half.

Everton de Viña were by far the better team, with more possession, passes and shots on target. However, they wasted quite a few chances and it looked progressively more likely that the match would end a 2-2 draw. Despite this, their relentless pressure soon paid off and Óscar Salinas scored the winner in 83rd minute, causing the Estadio Sausalito to erupt and Los del Cerro (Everton de Viña’s Barra Brava/Ultras) to bring out a massive banner that covered the entire end. The match ended 3-2 and Everton de Viña got an important but well-deserved three points.

After the match, the three of us headed back into the centre of Viña del Mar for the post-match pint before our meal at one of Viña’s Peruvian restaurants. It was a lovely meal and it was washed down with a Pisco Sour and an Inca Kola, one of my favourite soft drinks. What I did not realise however was that Holly and Charlotte had bought me a surprise birthday cake and given it to the restaurant before the match, which was very kind of them!

I had a great birthday and hope to get to the last Everton de Viña home game against Palestino at the end of November.

Everton de Viña vs Huachipato

On Saturday, I decided to go to Mall Marina and buy a ticket for my first Chilean football match between local team Everton de Viña and Huachipato, who play near Concepcion, the third largest city in Chile. I was quite nervous as it was the first football match outside of Scotland and England that I had ever been to in person.

I initially arrived at the wrong part of the ground due to the taxi driver dropping me off at the wrong gate. When I go through the gate, I realised that by mistake, I was in the section with Everton’s Ultras, Los del Cerro! However, a helpful steward let me through the barrier into my section which ran along the side of the pitch.

The story of the match was surprising as although Everton were bottom of the league and Huachipato in mid-table, Everton for the majority of the match were by far the better side. They played a very nice style of football, playing both long balls mixed with some fluid passing and tiki-taka. Despite their dominance, Everton were unable to convert their chances, the closest being a chip over the Huachipato goalkeeper which ricocheted off the upright. Huachipato also had their chances and would have scored had it not been for a brilliant goal-line clearance by an Everton defender. With both sides missing key opportunities, the match ended in a 0-0 draw. The game was a feisty affair however as both sides finished the game with ten men.

The atmosphere was unlike anything I have ever witnessed before. The noise coming from the end occupied by Los del Cerro was incredible. They had banners, flags, trumpets and samba drums and the singing was constant. I noticed that the atmosphere got louder as the game went on, particularly at the end when the fourth official allotted five minutes of added time at the end of the second half. The songs started by Los del Cerro eventually spilled over into other parts of the ground and there were several moments when the whole stadium was a wall of noise. The passion displayed by the fans was immense and they do not hold back on voicing their opinions. Every decision that went against Everton would cue a tirade of passionate outbursts directed at the officials and any set-piece taken by Huachipato goalkeeper which took a while to complete was met with a chorus of whistles.

Everton’s stadium, Estadio Sausalito, was refurbished for the 2015 Copa América and is therefore quite modern, with good seating and facilities. The stadium stands on the opposite side to the Sausalito Lagoon, facing the Translation and Interpreting Faculty at the PUCV Viña Campus. This meant that the surroundings were vaguely familiar, though it did take me a while to figure out exactly how to get out of the ground! At half-time, fans dash to the food and drink kiosk for a cup of tea/coffee and a packet of biscuits. Others bought sandwiches that were packaged in the same way that those in Marks & Spencer are in the UK. Getting served however is almost identical to trying to buy a drink in a bar/nightclub. It requires a fair amount of jockeying and force as queuing is non-existent!

All in all, it was a terrific, pulsating and fascinating experience. I hope to go again to watch another great game of football.

¡Vamos el Oro y Cielo!