Saturday 16 March 2013

FC Internazionale Milano

Thursday 14th March 2013

Europa League Round of 16 second leg (Spurs 3-0 up after 1st leg).

Inter Milan 4 v 1 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. after extra time

(4-4 over two legs Spurs progress to the quarter finals of this tournament by the virtual of an away goal counting "double").

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
aka San Siro
Via Piccolomini 5
20151 Milan

Attendance: 18,241
Customer Service: Usual rubbish.
Weather : Warm and bright during the day - evening cold ...very cold.

The iconic symbol of Italian style and chic - The Vespa. 
Despite being home to the world's leading fashion houses -  Milan is essentially an industrial city located in northern Italy. Although the buildings have some sleek lines, the landscape is  rather grey.
 
Apartments are all the rage here - not a two up/two down with an outside privy here. See I told you they were chic! 
Now for the cultural bits, no visit to Milan is complete without a visit to the Duomo (Cathedral church of Milan). It is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola. If you ever visit the Duomo, there is an excellent baker's around the corner whereby you can purchase a Focaccia - a flat oven baked Italian bread topped with herbs, cheese and tomato - hey that sounds like a pizza? Anyway the Gothic cathedral took six centuries to complete and is the largest in Italy. 
Guiseppe Garibaldi (1807 - 1882) - Italian General and Politician and alleged Revolutionary. He personally commanded and fought in many military campaigns, that led eventually to the formation of a unified Italy. He generally tried to act on behalf of a legitimate power, which does not make him exactly a revolutionary does it now. 
Another euro trip - another micro brewery "Birrificio Lambrate" - plus some urban decay for good measure. The brewery was formed in 1996 with three partners and initially produced two beers with an output batch capacity of 150 units.Now there are five partners, brew 18 different beers with a batch capacity of 2000 units. Now that's what I call progress - maybe they should try and tackle Italy's national debt? 
Please don't be deterred by the appearance - remember - "Never judge a book by it's cover". Unless it is the official history of Arsenal of course. 
A lively evening was had by all. 
MonteStella - 4.9% Water, Hops, Yeast and Malt a fine beverage if ever there was.
 
Fine cuisine as well. 
The beer medals on display 
As promised, our old fav - urban decay - they do like to scribble on a train or two out here.... 
and buildings....this is actually a restaurant - I tried to see what was on the menu - but yep you guessed it the menu was full of scribbles - so I scribbled on the bill and told 'em to put it in the Tate. They seemed quite happy with this approach. Well look, at the coverage they are getting ! 

This week's "Carne di Cavallo" watch .
Despite being a game worthy of the Champs League - the Europa league fails to attract the attention of the public - hence tickets could still be obtained on the day for this classic.   
A fine line in counterfeit merchandise. The official products are under the counter.
The San Siro is home to some fine curves. 
More urban decay - this is the approach road to the ground is covered in graffiti from "head to toe".
I suppose this makes a change from a horse's head in your bed.
Harry Roberts is our friend, our friend, our friend....go on you know the rest.
The San Siro in all it's glory. 
Berlusconi's local.
Note the crowd.
The San Siro steps, second only to the north face of the Eiger in terms of steepness.
Unfortunately, away fans in Italy are expected to the view the match courtesy of an "iron mesh" which sits in front of a sheet of perspex. Whilst the home based "ultras" merrily light smoke bombs and flares. Well, they do own the clubs in most instances - so I suppose this is okay really. What say you? A matter for the ECHR?    
Here's the owners (ultras) in action in one of their Board meetings.
More fine curves.
Flemish Spurs again - one for our reader based in the Commission.
Hey, is this flag the right way up? 

After Spurs get the vital away and kill the game, Inter throw everything into their attack - including the goalie - see - yellow jersey edge of the 18 yard line. 
Alas, to no avail
Spurs run down the clock - towards the next round - where a trip to Basel beckons.
This European tour to be continued........
 
 

 



 



 
 
 
 
 
 

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