UEFA Champions League
Tuesday 18th October 2016
Throughout the month of October in years gone by, I've always enjoyed trips to either some of the most iconic stadiums across the continent, or high-profile domestic games.
In 2016, a week-long voyage saw me visit three capital cities in Western Europe - Madrid, Rome and Berlin and, naturally, I'd planned the trip to coincide with football.
Then, a year-later, I had back-to-back weekend trips to AIK (Stockholm) in Sweden and Steaua Bucharest in Romania, who beat Poli Timisoara, 7-0 - incidentally, their biggest domestic win in something like three decades.
On home soil, I've seen several 'notable' games in October - such as Everton vs Liverpool (2012), Sunderland vs Newcastle United (2013), Blackburn Rovers vs Burnley (2015) and Birmingham City vs Aston Villa (2016).
I don't know whether it's by pure coincidence that fixture planners seemingly love a 'derby' fixture close to my birthday, or, as I suspect, something to do with police interference and them wanting 'high-risk' games scheduled around this period.
Either way, with Swansea vs Cardiff to also look forward to next weekend - on my actual birth date - then I'm certainly never going to complain and long may it continue!
However, of all the matches which I've seen during this month, the one between Real Madrid and Legia Warsaw at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu stands out and tops the rest - simply because it is the pinnacle of European football.
Whether you look at Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, David Beckham or, more recently, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, they've always attracted the best players on the globe to pull on that iconic 'all white' strip which sells by the millions.
The UEFA Champions League is their stage, their playground, and this game was slap bang in the middle of an utterly dominant era where they conquered all and set new records.
For years, I'd always believed that the greatest club side in the 'modern era' would be the ones who retain the trophy and enjoy back-to-back European triumphs - and Real did this before completing a third straight tournament success in 2018.
So, without question and regardless of what others may say, Real Madrid are the best, biggest and most successful club in world football - and this particular squad of players which I got to see with my own eyes was the 'Crème de la crème' in my lifetime!
Weirdly, considering their worldwide appeal, match tickets were straightforward and easy to get hold of and there wasn't ever any likelihood of a sell-out. The cheapest tickets cost just €25 (up in the Gods), and there were plenty of more expensive ones available throughout the stadium at differing prices. I wasn't able to purchase online, but did so straight away once arriving in Madrid, three days beforehand - as long as you have a passport at the time of purchase, it's fine!
The stadium is easy to reach via public transport, too, with Santiago Bernabeu metro station directly opposite, and a handful of others within a 10-15 walking distance.
On matchday, I arrived a couple of hours beforehand to soak up the atmosphere, take a load of photos, and, feeling like a giddy 'fanboy' get inside the stadium as early as possible to revel in being at 'Real Madrid' which was a lifelong ambition.
Unfortunately, doing things at speed isn't the greatest attribute amongst the Spanish and, having waited for what seemed an eternity, turnstiles only opened about an hour before kick-off and that was followed by security checks.
I'd deliberately chosen to be seated as high up as possible and, once I'd been frisked and clambered up the steep steps to reach my seat, I was finally able to catch my breath (literally) at the amazing sight of the Estadio Bernabeu looking resplendent with the UEFA Champions League paraphernalia everywhere including the iconic flag on the centre circle.
Forget anywhere else, this is the ultimate trip!
Even for myself, who can articulate things relatively well, the sense of spine-tingling excitement, amazement and giddiness at being at Estadio Bernabeu under the floodlights is difficult to describe in words alone - and that's all before the 'Hala Madrid' hymn quickly followed by the UEFA Champions League anthem, which when here, is pretty damn special!
Luckily, I was surrounded mostly by locals/genuine Real Madrid fans, which meant my experience was that 'authentic' it came with my feet being covered by endless amounts of shells from sunflower seeds; that being the main football snack amongst spectators in Spain, which every person seems to consume by the thousands.
On the pitch, it was a stellar display yet somehow Cristiano Ronaldo didn't get on the score-sheet.
Gareth Bale ended a long streak without scoring in the competition to put the 'Galacticos' ahead on the quarter-hour mark, before an own goal doubled their lead.
Legia Warsaw; the Polish champions who came through qualifying, soon pulled a goal back, but Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez and Alvaro Morata all struck to ensure it would be a comfortable win with an emphatic scoreline.
It was an absolute pleasure to finally enjoy 'the Real Madrid experience' - even better that it was on a European night, and complete another lifetime ambition!
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