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TWO DAYS IN BUCHAREST
By Graham Frankland
The first thing that struck me on my arrival at Teesside Airport (or Durham Tees Valley for the posh ones) was that this game might be slightly different from our previous forays into Europe.
The TV crew looking to beam back pictures and get a feeling for the game from supporters weren't actually the usual BBC/ITV people. They were in actual fact Romanians reporting back to their own country on what appeared to be a massive game not only for the Steaua supporting fanatics but the country as a whole, and this enthusiasm for the game is beyond comparison with anything I have experienced beforehand as a Boro fan.
The ungodly hour of 5:15am is not the best time of the day to suddenly find yourself in a long queue for check-in and to be told that the computer was down and all bags had to be checked in manually. This was to take an age and really tested the patience of all concerned including our very own "Fids" who was wearing some sort of green floppy hat contraption on her head in a way I can only assume was to disguise the fact that she ain't a morning person! We finally left the runway at about 7:45 and it was the usual mixture of boisterous enthusiasm and complete tiredness from the people on board.
Three hours later we touched down at Baneasa Airport and the weather outside appeared gloomier than the weather we had left behind in Teesside. But that was not going to dent our enthusiasm for the "party" ahead. Baggage collected and passports checked we made our way outside to our waiting buses to take us to our respective hotels. We were then surrounded by at least half a dozen TV film crews all shoving microphones in our faces looking for the Boro reaction to the game. This was the final confirmation to me that this was not just another game but a Uefa Cup Semi-Final that was big, big news in Romania.
As I sat on the bus looking at the media frenzy around our supporters I was amused by a TV crew orchestrating a scarf wearing Boro sing-song from two very young (12/13 years old) jester hatted girls with huge smiles on their faces. This image was fantastic PR for us against the view that Romanians had been given regarding our hooligan tendencies in Europe this season. And just as I had stopped smiling to myself out of the corner of my eye I caught another media scrum around one of Boro's best loved supporters that we all affectionately know as "Bam Bam". The contrast of the two images was hilarious and it kept me smiling all the way to our hotel.
This journey to the hotel took about half an hour and was made under police escort, another sign of what this game meant to the locals. The images en-route gave an impression of a city that is obviously not affluent but one that is bustling with energy and a desire to see some good times after a turbulent history. On arrival at our hotel, the five-star Intercontinental Hotel, it was once again a mix of TV crews and policeman that greeted our arrival and this was to be the theme of our stay in Bucharest.
Me and my pals headed for our first drink of the day to avoid the queues at the hotel check-in and four hours and a few beers later we decided it was time to go to our rooms to prepare for our night in Bucharest. A footnote to this was a phone call I received from Retro telling me he had arrived at The Jukebox but the guy who had promised to find him a room had let him down and he was looking for somewhere to put his bags. I had a word with the hotel manager who recommended a nearby hotel that had very reasonable rates and ten minutes later Retro's problem was no more. Still haven't discovered how he got on there though!
Shit, showered and shaved, we made our way back down to the bar (where else) and the TV crews were still there. They were not gonna leave us alone for a second it seemed. In fact this TV crew recommended a nice bar and restaurant to anyone that would listen called Edgars Bar and as we were now quite hungry we made our way there and it was just like walking into an old fashioned country pub with beamed ceilings.
Fantastic we thought and this was to become our base for the weekend. As the night progressed it dawned on us that the TV we were watching at times became a live link from our pub, presumably showing the Romanian public the fact that the Boro fans were in town and doing what we do best... drinking and partying!
It seemed that the crew had done their job and invited every Boro fan they spoke to this pub as well as the flight crew from our airline who were also staying in our hotel. At this point all I will say is that the long held view that girls from Liverpool and Manchester (our flight crew) also like to party is indeed correct and a great night was had by all in Edgars on Wednesday.
Thursday morning (just) and I awoke with a banging headache and a desire for food, the usual hangover remedy for me anyway. My mates had already had theirs so I was left to make my own way to Maccy D's which fortunately was quite close by. After this it was back to the hotel bar for what was for me a few cokes before making our way back to Edgars a couple of hours later for more of the alcoholic stuff and some food.
Here I met up with Harry Callaghan and Captain Scarlet and we had a good old drink and a chin wag for a couple of hours before meeting back at the hotel to be transported to the ground. This journey was done in police convoy that took about half an hour. We had to go through three or four checkpoints to get into the ground and on arrival I was taken aback by two things. The amount of people in the ground was enormous considering there was still an hour and a half before kick off and the fact that there were only four Portaloo's for the use of the 2000 Boro fans. And the queues were already off-putting. Fortunately for the male dominated section of support there was a wooded hill at the back of the stadium which was ideal to beat the queues, and the local police didn't seem to mind at all.
The atmosphere was electric, the game from our point of view was poor but the overall result not bad in the circumstances. We still have a great chance to progress.
Game over and we were able to make our way immediately to the coaches which was probably a 400 metre walk down rickety unlit concrete steps between two fences. And halfway down the walkway there was a massive puddle of water right in the middle which slowed people up as they tried to manoeuvre around it. What the Health and Safety executive would have made of this is anybody's business.
The coaches were quickly filled and again we were convoyed back to the airport where once again the TV crews were in abundance looking for the fan's reaction and for the first time I succumbed to a "mic" being shoved under my nose and a reporter asking for my opinion of the result which went something like... "1-0 is a good result in the circumstances which gives us a great chance of getting to the Final" The reporter seemed stunned by this assessment and uttered the words "You are an optimist then?" I replied by saying "Not at all, I am being a realist. It's the Steaua fans who are being optimistic!!" Why I didn't add the words "So fuck you" on the end of it I don't know because they do seem to think its all over but I suspect we are in for a great night at the Riverside on Thursday.
The flight home was a quiet affair as most supporters took the opportunity to get some sleep and for some strange reason the flight crew seemed a little worse for wear too. I can't think why!
In summary this was an excellent trip for a game that had gripped the people of Bucharest in a way that I had not experienced. The locals I met were very friendly. The police were very efficient but low key and the overall result quite pleasing.
Roll on Thursday at the Riverside. We can still do this!!
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