Come-on you Red & Whites!
I should probably be posting about my day cycling to Bilbao, or even the Hotel I'm staying in for 2 nights (which is 3 nights too long) but I'm sure I'd regret using the choice language necessary to describe either of these traumas.
Instead I'll post about football and specifically the Europa Cup final which was played tonight. I arrived in Bilbao after a feck of a day (sorry, I promised not to) and very soon realised that a big match was imminent.
Every 3rd citizen of Bilbao was wearing a red/white vertical stripe shirt. A small number of people were wearing a green shirt with a bit of red and white.
I googled the match and found it was tonight at 8:45pm, a fact becoming increasingly obvious by the continuous 'bangs' from fireworks. The local boy racers with trailing scarves and flags (red & white) were in evidence as I entered Bilbao and at least 50% of the houses were suitably adorned with 'red & white'.
I ventured out in to a balmy Bilbao evening just around kick-off time with the primary goal of replenishing my chronically depleted Glycogen levels but not averse to having a beer and cheering on the lads in Red & White. The 1st bar I enter is the Bar Arabic. The score, just a few minutes after kick-off is 1: 0: to the Red & Whites. The clientele were a little too bohemian for football supporters and showed little enthusiasm for the match.
I should mention that the other team 'Athletico Madrid' were playing in the Green shirts I'd seen a few of around town, maybe there were a few brave Madrillenos in town?
The score on the T.V. was shown as ATL 1: ATH 0: which for a match between Athletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao wasn't very helpful.
The 1st bar had no food so I had to move on, the second bar had no food but I thought it rude not to have a beer so I did. Curiously the locals here also showed so little enthusiasm for the match that my confusion about who was who continued.
The 3rd bar had some food, I ate 2 lumps of cardboard masquerading as Chorizo Omlette baguettes. By this time it was 2: 0: to the Red & Whites so I asked the barmaid who was who? It seems both teams play in the same vertival red & white stripes but Bilbao were in their Green away strip. This explained the lack of enthusiasm, more so when the third Madrid goal went in!
Forgive me for thinking all the fans dressed in Red & White might be supporting the team in Red & White, stupid assumption really!
I'm now back in my hovel, it seems having purchased lots of fire-crackers the locals are going to let them off regardless of the arse kicking their team received.
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