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Crystal Palace vs. AZ Alkmaar (Conference League 2025-26)
I am currently in London and during this trip I had a chance to attend three football/soccer games. The last one I attended was a game between Crystal Palace and AZ Alkmaar. This was my first time going to a Crystal Palace game and it was also my first time at a Conference League game. Now I have been to 2 of the European club competitions (you can read about my experience at a Europa League game here). A Champions League game is my next objective, hopefully something I’ll achieve in my next trip to Europe.
Background

The Conference League (previously called the Europa Conference League) was created in 2021 and is the third most important European club tournament, after the Champions League and the Europa League. The qualification process has a champions path and a main path. The champions path includes teams that were eliminated from the qualifying rounds of the Champions League or the Europa League, while the main path includes teams that finished their domestic league in a position just below the Europa League spots. The current champions are Chelsea, which also won the Club World Cup last summer.

Teams involved

Crystal Palace Football Club is based in Selhurst, South London. The club was founded in 1905 and plays its home games at Selhurst Park. They compete in the Premier League and are the 2025 FA Cup winners, having defeated Manchester City by a score of 1-0 at Wembley Stadium. One of the teams they had to defeat to get to the final was Millwall, which is one of their South London rivals, along with Charlton Athletic. Both of those teams compete in the Championship, the 2nd division of English football. As winners of the FA Cup, Crystal Palace qualified to the Europa League. However, due to multi-club ownership rules, the team was placed in the Conference League instead. This is the first European club tournament Crystal Palace has participated in.

Crystal Palace mural by Selhurst Park

Selhurst Park at night

Wilfried Zaha mural

AZ Alkmaar is a Dutch club based in Alkmaar. They compete in the Eredivisie, the top football/soccer division in the Netherlands. The club was founded in 1967 and plays its home games at AFAS Stadion. They had a 5 win streak before this game with Crystal Palace.

How I got tickets

As I do each time I go to Europe, I checked team calendars to see what games I could go to this week. I was able to buy tickets to the other two games I went to this week because I had seen those teams play before and had ticket history. I had never gone to a Crystal Palace game before, so I created an account on their website and looked for tickets. A membership was not required to buy tickets to this specific game, however, because my account was brand new, I could not buy tickets online and had to do it at the box office in person. I understand this requirement, since teams need to ensure that only fans of the home team can sit in the home team areas. The only time I had to go by the box office before they closed (at 5:30 pm) was the day of the match, so I decided to head to the Selhurst park to see if I could buy a ticket. When I got there the stewards were very helpful and pointed me to the club shop. Once I got there, I went to the box office and asked if I could still buy tickets to the game. Fortunately the answer was yes, so I told the agent to help me buy a ticket in the Arthur Wait stand, as close to the front as possible. The lady working at the box office helped me get a ticket in sector Y, row 4, which were excellent seats.

Since I got the tickets so close to the game, the box office printed a paper ticket for me. I had not used a paper ticket to go to a game in a while, so it was cool to remember the days when all tickets were paper tickets. I appreciate the convenience of having tickets in a digital wallet, but there’s also something special about having a paper ticket that you can keep as a souvenir.

How I got to the game

I had never been to South London before, so I had to do a fair amount of research online to plan my trip. I learned that I could take a Thameslink train from St. Pancras station to Norwood Junction, which is a 15 minute walk from the stadium. Paying for the train ticket was easy because all I had to do was use my Oyster card or a contactless credit card when entering and leaving the stations.

The game

This was a really amazing experience. I had heard that Crystal Palace fans were passionate and loud, but it’s one thing to hear about it and another to experience it. The environment during the game was electric. Fans were chanting throughout the game and proudly supported Crystal Palace. I had a great experience even before the game started because there are two players from the Colombian national team in Crystal Palace: Daniel Muñoz and Jefferson Lerma. I was hoping to see them play that evening and they were both starters. Not only that, but they warmed up on the side of the stadium I was sitting at. It was really cool to see them and they both played really well in the game.

Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Muñoz

First half action

The game itself was very entertaining. AZ Alkmaar did not make things easy for Crystal Palace and there were good chances for both teams during the first half. In fact, there was a sequence of play where Crystal Palace nearly scored on 3 occasions, one of those being a shot that hit the post. Crystal Palace were also awarded a penalty, which was saved by AZ Alkmaar’s goalkeeper, Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro. The first goal was scored in the 22nd minute by Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix. Crystal Palace’s 2nd goal arrived in the 4th minute of extra time at the end of the first half through Ismaïla Sarr.

The Holmesdale Road Stand

The 2nd half started with high tempo from both teams and AZ Alkmaar’s efforts were rewarded with a goal in the 55th minute, scored by Sven Mijnans. The 3rd and final goal of the game was scored by Crystal Palace’s Ismaïla Sarr in the 57th minute.

End of half time

Second half action

Muñoz throw-in

Leaving the stadium

I had assumed that I could take the same train back to central London but then realized that was not the case. Since the game would end at around 10 pm, I needed to take a return train at around 10:30 pm. However, I soon realized that there were no trains that would go to London from Norwood Junction that late (at least on the night I was there). So I found another station nearby, Selhurst. This station did have trains that would depart at around 10:30 and would go to Victoria station, from where I could then take the Underground to return to my hotel. The return train was a Southern train and I was to pay using my Oyster card. Once I got to Victoria, I took the Victoria line toward the Kings Cross/St. Pancras area.

Conclusion

Overall, it was an excellent experience, from the helpful stewards and box office staff, to the opportunity to see two players from the Colombian national team in action, and, of course, seeing Crystal Palace win and celebrating that with the local fans. I am looking forward to returning to Selhurst park soon and I recommend you go to a Crystal Palace game if you have the opportunity to do so.
November 15, 2025
River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds (Club World Cup 2025)
As I mentioned in my post about the Sounders vs. Botafogo game, I had the opportunity to attend all of the Club World Cup games that took place in Seattle. This was my 2nd Club Word Cup game and I got to see a team from Argentina (River Plate) play against a team from Japan (Urawa Red Diamonds). It was an entertaining game and I was very impressed by the large number of fans from both teams that made the trip to Seattle!
Background

In my previous Club World Cup post I shared information about the tournament and how it relates to other similar tournaments, like the Intercontinental Cup. Something I’d like to mention in this post is that Japan has had an important connection with South American football. For example, they have been invited to participate in the Copa America twice, in 1999 and 2019. There have also been many players from Brazil who have played in the Japanese league, including some as famous as Hulk and Zico. Zico, in particular, is very highly regarded in Japan for the positive impact he had there both as a player for Kashima Antlers and also as a coach of the Japanese National team.

Teams involved

Urawa Red Diamonds is a team based in Saitama, a city to the north of Tokyo. They participate in the J1 League, the top division of Japanese football. They are one of the most successful clubs in Japan and have won the AFC Champions League (the top continental club tournament in Asia) three times. They qualified to the 2025 Club World Cup by winning the AFC Champions League in 2022.

River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds

River Plate is one of the biggest football clubs in Argentina and South America. They are based in Buenos Aires and play their home games at the Estadio Monumental. Notably, that stadium hosted the final of the 1978 World Cup, which Argentina won by defeating the Netherlands. River Plate qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup by being the best-ranked team in the South American 4-year ranking. They have won four Copa Libertadores titles. They won the most recent one in 2018 by defeating bitter rivals Boca Juniors in a home and away final that ended at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain.

River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds

How I got tickets

As I mentioned in the Sounders vs. Botafogo post, I followed the same process as with other Club World Cup games and got my tickets through Ticketmaster.

How I got to the game

This time I took public transportation but, instead of taking the Light Rail, I took the Sounder commuter train. I had heard about that train but assumed that it would not run at the time of the game because it usually has departures only in the morning and evening. However, there were special trains running during the Club World Cup. It was a very convenient and comfortable way to get to Lumen field and I plan to use it to go to games whenever possible.

The game

I am much more familiar with River Plate (having watched their games on TV and also knowing that my favorite player, Radamel Falcao, played for them). I had not heard about Urawa Red Diamonds before the Club World Cup, but based on what I had seen from the Japanese national team at the World Cup, I expected this to be an entertaining game with chances for both teams.

River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds

This was indeed an entertaining game that either team could have won. River Plate got in front with a goal from Facundo Colidio in the 12th minute. They scored a second goal through Sebastian Driussi in the 48th minute. It seemed that River Plate would cruise to victory but Urawa came out strongly in the 2nd half and had good chances to score. Their intensity paid off when they were awarded a penalty, which Yusuke Matsuo converted in the 58th minute. The game could have gone many different directions from there, but River Plate confirmed their victory with a third goal in the 73th minute, which was scored by Maximiliano Meza.

Leaving the stadium

After the game we walked back to King Street station and took the Sounder train. It departed approximately 45 minutes after the game ended, so it was very easy to get to and from the game.

Conclusion

This was an entertaining game with many scoring opportunities and goals. It was also a match up between teams from continents that usually do not compete against each other. It was also impressive to see so many fans from both teams, considering how far Seattle is from both Saitama and Buenos Aires.
October 25, 2025
Seattle Sounders vs. Botafogo (Club World Cup 2025)
I live in the Seattle area so I had the opportunity to attend all of the local 2025 Club World Cup games. The Seattle Sounders (my local team) played all of their games at Lumen Field, their home stadium. I also went to two Inter Milan games, which was awesome because Inter is my favorite European team. I’ll write posts about those games too, but this one will focus on the first Club World Cup game in Seattle between the Sounders and Botafogo.
Background

The 2025 Club World Cup was the first edition of the tournament with 32 teams. Instead of only involving the most recent continental champions, this version included the continental champions from the previous 4 years plus other teams that qualified based on their ranking.

What used to be called “Club World Cup” (an annual tournament with only the most recent continental champions), is now called the Intercontinental Cup. The initial edition of that tournament took place in 2024. When I was growing up, the Intercontinental Cup was a single game that took place annually between the champions of Europe (the winners of the Champions League) and the champions of South America (the winners of the Copa Libertadores). I remember waking up really early to watch those games, since they usually took place in Japan.

Teams involved

The Sounders are based in Seattle, Washington, United States. They compete in Major League Soccer and have won the MLS Cup twice, in 2016 and 2019. They are the only MLS team that has won the CONCACAF Champions League/Cup, back in 2022. That victory qualified them to the 2022 Club World Cup (now called the Intercontinental Cup, as I mentioned earlier) and also the expanded Club World Cup in 2025. The Sounders have a very strong following and a very passionate fan base, myself included.

Botafogo (Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas) is a Brazilian team from the city of Rio de Janeiro. They qualified to the 2025 Club World Cup by winning the 2024 Copa Libertadores (the top club competition in South America). That was their first Copa Libertadores title, which they won by defeating Atletico Mineiro in the final.

Botafogo players walking onto the pitch

How I got tickets

Tickets for Club World Cup games were available in three ways. You could buy them directly from Ticketmaster, on fifa.com if you were part of an official fan club, or through a hospitality package. I bought tickets through Ticketmaster as soon as they became available, which was near the end of 2024.

How I got to the game

Lumen Field is located south of downtown Seattle. I usually drive to games there but this time I decided to try public transportation. I wanted to avoid paying for parking and I also wanted to be able to leave the area relatively quickly after the game. I took the Light Rail, which worked out really well. I got off at the International District station and then walked a short distance to the stadium.

The game

My opinion before the game was that Botafogo was most likely to win because they were the reigning Copa Libertadores champions. I expected the Sounders to put up a good fight but with Jordan Morris (the team’s top striker) being injured and important players from the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League campaign no longer there, such as Nicolas Lodeiro and Raul Ruidiaz, I expected Botafogo to have the edge.

Sounders vs. Botafogo pregame ceremony

In the end, the game was much closer than I originally expected and the Sounders really could have won it. The Sounders started the game strongly, defended well, and had good chances to score. For example, there was a shot from Ferreira that barely missed the goal. However, in the 28th minute a free kick was awarded to Botafogo and Jair Cunha (a central defender that recently transferred to Nottingham Forest) scored with a header. Botafogo then scored another goal in the 44th minute. This time it was a header from Igor Jesus, their key striker. He also recently transferred to Nottingham Forest.

Sounders vs. Botafogo first half action

The Sounders came out swinging in the second half and continued to have good chances to score. Finally, they scored in the 75th minute through a header from Cristian Roldan. The Sounders came close to scoring a second goal a number of times, especially toward the end of the game with a shot from Pedro de la Vega. However, no other goals were scored and Botafogo walked away with the three points.

Sounders vs. Botafogo

Leaving the stadium

I walked back to the International District station and took the Light Rail. I had to wait for a few minutes to get a train, but it was very easy and the process was well organized.

Sounders vs. Botafogo

Conclusion

This was a really fun experience. I had been to many Sounders games before but this was something special, playing against the reigning South American champions in the Club World Cup! It was great to see the Sounders play well against a very strong opponent. It was also great to see many Botafogo fans who made the trip to Seattle.
July 24, 2025
Fulham vs. Manchester United (2024-25 English Premier League)
In this post I’ll cover my experience attending a Fulham vs. Manchester United game at Craven Cottage. It was my first time going to a Premier League game there. I had been to a Fulham home game before, but they were in the Championship (2nd division) at the time. This was a much more intense and entertaining game experience than my previous one.
Background

I went to this game during my January 2025 trip to London (I also saw Tottenham play in the Europa League during that trip, which they eventually won by defeating Manchester United in the final!).

I had wanted to return to Craven Cottage for a few years so I checked Fulham’s home games and saw that they would play Manchester United while I was in London. I had never seen Manchester United in a competitive match (I saw them play a friendly against the Seattle Sounders many years ago), so that was an additional incentive for me to get tickets.

Teams involved

Fulham F.C. was founded in 1879 and is the oldest professional football club in London. They have played their home games at Craven Cottage since 1896. Craven Cottage is a classic and beautiful stadium. It is right next to the River Thames, which adds to its allure. Another interesting feature is the fact that one of the stadium corners has an actual cottage. It is not the cottage that gave the stadium its name, but it is still a very cool sight.

The cottage at Craven Cottage

Manchester United is one of the most famous football clubs in the world. It has a rich history with many titles, including thirteen FA Cups and three Champions League titles. Their home stadium is Old Trafford, also known as the “the theatre of dreams”. Many world-renowned players have played for them, including Ryan Giggs, who played for them from 1990 to 2014! I actually got an autograph from Ryan Giggs when Manchester United played the Seattle Sounders in a friendly (he was an assistant coach at the time). My favorite player, Radamel Falcao, also played for them, though his time there was much shorter (only one season).

How I got tickets

Getting tickets for this game involved a similar process to the other games I’ve attended in England. I checked the game schedule and ticket information for Fulham and added a reminder to my calendar to look for tickets at the beginning of the open sale phase. When that day arrived I quickly logged into my Fulham account and got a ticket in the Hammersmith Stand, behind one of the goals. Once I got the purchase confirmation, I had an option to add the ticket to my digital wallet, which I did. That made the process of entering the stadium really easy the day of the game.

How I got to the game

This game took place on Sunday, January 26th 2025. A few hours before the game I went to a Formula 1 exhibition in East London (by the Custom House tube station). From there, I took the Victoria line to Paddington station. From Paddington, I took the District Line to Putney Bridge station, which is in Fulham and not too far from Craven Cottage. As soon as I walked out of the station I saw people selling scarves for the game and a group of Fulham fans heading to the game.

I followed the group and walked along the River Thames and through Bishop’s park. It had rained during the day so there were many puddles on the path but it was a nice walk by the river. It was very exciting to finally see the stadium lights as I approached Craven Cottage.

Craven Cottage at night

I walked around the stadium to check out the surroundings and take in the pre-game ambiance. I also stopped by the team store and it was full of people. I took advantage of the opportunity to buy Fulham’s home jersey.

Craven Cottage

I then made my way into the stadium, which was very quick (I scanned the ticket from my digital wallet) and found my section in the Hammersmith Stand. I was just a few rows behind the goal and used the time before the game to take pictures of the surroundings.

Walking to the Hammersmith Stand

View from section H5 in the Hammersmith Stand

The game

This was a very entertaining football game, with multiple goal scoring opportunities. Fulham had most of the chances in the first half (I don’t think Manchester United had a clear shot on goal), but they were not able to score. In particular, Alex Iwobi had a good first half and a few shots on goal that were handled well by Onana.

Bruno Fernandes and Alex Iwobi

During the half time break Edwin van der Sar was honored by Fulham. He played there from 2001 to 2005.

Edwin van der Sar at Craven Cottage

During the 2nd half, Fulham attacked the goal on my side of the stadium so I had a great view of very good scoring opportunities. It was really fun to jump up with everyone in my section when there were clear scoring opportunities. In the end, it wasn’t Fulham’s night and, though they had many more chances to score, Manchester United won the game with a score of 0-1. The goal came through a long range shot from Lisandro Martinez. The ball hit a Fulham player and took a deflection to keep Leno from making the save. Fulham kept attacking and trying to score after the goal but it never came.

Overall, it was a great experience. It would have been great to see the home team win but I appreciated the fighting attitude from Fulham and the fact that they kept attacking until the final whistle.

Leaving the stadium

I decided to try a different route after the game and walked from Craven Cottage to the Hammersmith tube station. There are also buses you can take from the stadium to that station. Once I got to Hammersmith station, I took the Hammersmith & City line to Euston Square station, which was close to my hotel.

Leaving Craven Cottage

Conclusion

I highly recommend going to a Fulham game. The stadium is beautiful and the energy during the game is palpable. The process of getting to the stadium was very simple and everything was very well organized. Also, from the stadiums I have visited, I am pretty sure Craven Cottage is the oldest and most classic one I have been to. Definitely go to a game there if you have a chance, or at least do a stadium tour (I plan to do that next time I am in London).
July 5, 2025
Tottenham Hotspur vs. IF Elfsborg (Europa League 2024-25)
This post will cover my experience going to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to see Spurs play vs. IF Elfsborg in the Europa League. I have been a Tottenham Hotspur fan since 2011, when I saw them play versus Aston Villa at White Hart Lane. That was the first European football game I ever attended, which was a dream come for me. I will write about my experience about that first game in the future, but for now let’s focus on the game vs. IF Elfsborg.
Background

I had a trip to London in January of 2025 and I hoped to finally catch another Tottenham home game. I checked their home game schedule and saw that they’d play at home against IF Elfsborg in the Europa League. Tottenham is the team I support in the Premier League and I was very excited about the possibility of seeing them play again. Also, I had only seen them play in White Hart Lane and had heard great things about their new stadium.

Teams involved

Tottehnam Hotspur is a team in Tottenham, north London that plays in the English Premier League. Their motto is Audere est facere (Latin for “to dare is to do”). Something I learned as I wrote this blog post is that the team’s name comes from the English knight Sir Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur. He also inspired the team’s emblem, a cockerel.

From 1899 to 2017 they played their home games at White Hart Lane, which I had the opportunity to visit in 2011. Their current home is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 62,850 and is a true state of the art modern football stadium. The stadium is also used to host yearly NFL games in London.

Tottenham qualified to the 2024-25 Europa League by finishing in 5th place in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. IF Elfsborg (Europa League 2024-25)

IF Elfsborg is a Swedish team based in Borås. They play in the Allsvenskan, the top division in Swedish football. Their home stadium is the Borås Arena, which has a seating capacity of 14,500. They qualified to the 2024-25 Europa League after finishing 2nd in the 2023 Allsvenskan and then getting through multiple qualifying rounds to reach the league phase of the tournament.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. IF Elfsborg (Europa League 2024-25)

How I got tickets

Once I confirmed that I’d be in London on the day of the match, I checked the sale phase dates on the ticketing website. The best way to improve your chances of getting tickets is to get a One Hotspur Membership, which gives you early access to purchase tickets. In fact, from what I’ve seen, you have to have a membership to buy tickets to home Premier League games. However, this particular Europa League match had an open sale phase for non-members. Since I don’t have a membership, I decided to wait until then. I added a reminder to my calendar and, when the open sale phase began, I signed in to my Tottenham Hotspur account and looked for a ticket. I found one in section Block 110 Row 26, which turned out to be an excellent seat, not too far from the pitch. However, given how amazing that stadium is, I don’t think you can find a seat that does not give you a great view of the action.

A few days before the game I got an email from the ticketing office with a link to add the ticket to my digital wallet. I could also find the ticket when I logged into the official Spurs app. By the way, the app is really nice. It has information about past and future Spurs matches and there’s even a section for “ticket memories”, where you can see information about the games you’ve attended.

How I got to the game

During this trip to London I stayed at a hotel near London St. Pancras station and Kings Cross station. To get to the stadium I walked to the Euston tube station. From there, I took the Victoria line to the Seven Sisters station. My original plan was to take the London Overground from Seven Sisters to White Hart Lane. However, I had to make a change of plans because the Overground train was delayed due to overcrowding and there was no specific ETA. I did not want to miss the beginning of the game so I left the station and started walking quickly on High Road toward the stadium. There were buses I thought about catching but they were all full with people going to the game, so I just kept walking until I arrived.

Walking to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

I got there with enough time to visit the team store. It was really impressive, with lots of space and even an area for pre-game announcements. I got myself a new jersey, some presents for the family, and then made my way to the stadium entrance.

I went through the first checkpoint and then through the turnstiles to enter the stadium. At the turnstile I used my digital wallet to scan the ticket.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Once I got to my seat I had a “wow moment”. The view of the pitch was amazing and the stadium architecture was impressive.

Pre-game warm-up

It was also really cool to see Peter Crouch as commentator at the game!

Peter Crouch!

The game

It was an entertaining match to watch but the goals did not arrive until the 2nd half. Tottenham had good chances to score throughout the game and Son was a constant threat during the first half. It was great to finally see him play in person.

Throughout the game the Elfsborg fans made their presence felt. They were loud throughout and even before the game (I saw many of their fans walking around the Kings Cross station area). Elfsborg also had chances to score, but I felt pretty confident that Spurs would win in the end.

Preparing to take a free kick

Game action

Scoring opportunity during the 1st half

The game victory was delivered by three Spurs academy graduates: Dane Scarlett in the 70th minute, Damola Ajayi in the 84th minute, and Mikey Moore in the 94th minute. I really enjoyed the game, the experience at the stadium, and the jersey and souvenirs I got at the team store. Of course, the best part was seeing Tottenham win the game.

Leaving the stadium

To leave the game I decided to do another fast walk back to Seven Sisters tube station. You can take different buses that will take you to the stadium but I concluded that it’d be easier to just walk. There were many others who did the same.

Conclusion

I had a wonderful experience at the game. I finally got to see a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it did not disappoint. Getting to and leaving the stadium was easy, even with the unexpected change of plans. The team store was really nice, accessing the stadium was fast and simple with the digital ticket, and the game was very entertaining. I’ll definitely look for more opportunities to see Tottenham play at home. I highly recommend you go to a game there if you have the opportunity. COYS!
May 3, 2025
Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City (EFL League One 2023-24)
This post will cover my experience going to a Leyton Orient game in April of 2024. This was my first time going to a Leyton Orient game and also the first EFL League One match I went to. I enjoyed that experience so much that I have since gone to another Leyton Orient game. I’ll publish another blog post about that game soon.
Background

I went to this game during the April 2024 European trip that I used to also see Lazio vs. Salernitana and West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen. London was going to be the first city my family would visit on that trip and, as always, I checked the games calendar to see if there were any matches I could catch. There weren’t any Premier League games I could go to this time but a wonderful characteristic of London is that it is the home of many football clubs, not only in the Premier League but also in the EFL Championship (2nd division), and in the EFL League One (3rd division).

I did some research and learned that there would be a match between Leyton Orient and Exeter City on a Tuesday evening while I was in London, so I decided to get tickets for my dad and I.

Teams involved

Leyton Orient F.C. is a club based in Leyton, a town in East London. Their home stadium is Brisbane Road (Gaughan Group Stadium) and they have competed in the EFL League One since the 2023-24 season. They returned to League One after 8 years of absence. Many football fans around the world recently learned more about Leyton Orient because they played Manchester City in the 4th round of the FA Cup and came very close to advancing to the next round.

Exeter City F.C. is a club based in Exeter, South West England. They returned to League One in the 2022-23 season.

Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City – Before the match

How I got tickets

I went to Leyton Orient’s ticketing website, clicked on the game I wanted to attend, and I could then choose from the available seats. Before completing the purchase I had to create an account. Since then, the account has become an OneOrient account, which can be used to purchase tickets, team merchandise, etc.

Before I chose a seat, I did some research on the different stands. I wanted to have a good view of the game and also wanted to sit with the home fans. I decided to purchase a ticket in the Justin Edinburgh Stand, which is named in honor of Justin Edinburgh, who was Leyton Orient’s head coach when he passed away in 2019.

Buying the tickets was really simple and I had the option of printing paper versions or adding them to a digital wallet. I printed physical copies of the tickets for that game.

How I got to the game

During that trip my family and I stayed near Paddington Station. My dad and I took the London Underground’s Central Line to the Layton station. From there we walked for about 10 minutes on High Road and took a left once we got to the Coronation Gardens. As we approached the stadium we saw a statue in honor of Laurie Cunningham, an English footballer who began his professional career at Leyton Orient and became the first English player to join Real Madrid.

Once we got to the stadium, we were checked by security, then got our tickets scanned, and went through the turnstiles. We got there about 30 minutes before kick off and had time to take pictures, enjoy the pre-game atmosphere, and find our seats. The stadium has a classic look, which was also very cool for us to see and experience.

The game

The match was very entertaining with both teams playing attacking football. The game even featured an Olympic goal (a goal scored from a corner kick without touching any players). Leyton Orient led the game with a 2-0 score until the 88th minute. Then Exeter City managed to tie the game in stoppage time.

Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City

Overall my dad and I had a great experience at the game. Both teams played entertaining football and the fans at the stadium supported their teams throughout the game (there was a sizable contingent of Exeter City fans too!).

Our view at the game

You can watch the game highlights below.

The local fans were very welcoming and we celebrated the Leyton Orient goals with the people seated next to us. It was such a great experience that I have since gone to another Leyton Orient game (in January 2025). I’ll write a post about that game soon.

Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City

Leaving the stadium

We left the stadium and walked back to the Leyton tube station. From there we took the Central line back to central London. Getting back to where we were staying was very easy.

Conclusion

Leyton Orient is a great team to see in London if you have the opportunity to do it. They have great fans, a very cool stadium, and it’s easy to get there with London’s Underground. This was my first Leyton Orient game and I plan to go to more in the future!
April 12, 2025
Lazio vs. Salernitana (Serie A 2023-24)
In this post I’ll cover my experience going to a Serie A game in Rome in April 2024. If you’d like to to read about the other games I went to during that trip, here are links below:
- [EFL League One] Leyton Orient vs. Exeter City
- [Europa League] West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen
The game I went to was Lazio vs. Salernitana at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. It was my first time going to a Serie A game!
Background

I checked the Serie A schedule about a month before traveling to Rome to see if there were any games I could go to. There happened to be a game between Lazio and Salernitana during my time there, so I started to look into how I could get tickets.

Teams involved

Lazio is a Rome-based team that competes in Serie A, the top level in Italian football. It has a very strong rivalry with Roma and they share the impressive Stadio Olimpico. Related to that rivalry, the game I went to was right after a Lazio vs. Roma game that Lazio lost. Lazio fans were not happy about their team’s performance in the previous game and they were very vocal about it. They really wanted to see their team win this game and to do so in a dominant way.

Lazio fans at the Stadio Olimpico

Salernitana is a team based in Salerno, southwestern Italy. They had been in Serie A for the past few years but were relegated to Serie B at the end of the 2023-24 season.

How I got tickets

I went to the Lazio tickets web page and found the date when the tickets would go on general sale. I also learned that tickets to Lazio games had to be purchased through VivaTicket, an Italian ticketing portal. I set up an account so I could purchase tickets as soon as they became available in open sale and kept track of the calendar.

When the tickets became available in general sale I logged in and purchased the tickets. It was not difficult to find tickets for this match. By then it was pretty clear that Salernitana would go down to Serie B at the end of the season. Also, the Stadio Olimpico is one of the biggest ones in Italy (it has capacity for over 70,000 spectators).

Lazio vs. Salernitana at the Stadio Olimpico

An important detail to keep in mind is that unlike England, where my recent experience has been that tickets can be added to digital wallets, this ticket stated that it had to be printed to gain access to the stadium. I did see a few people using their phones to get the ticket scanned at the stadium, but I recommend printing a physical copy of the ticket.

Another important detail is that, before you can enter the stadium, you will need to show both the ticket and ID to enter. The names on the tickets must match the names on the IDs.

How I got to the game

I stayed in central Rome during the trip, close to the Roma Termini station (Rome’s biggest train station). The Stadio Olimpico is northwest of central Rome, on the other side of the Tiber river. My father came to this game with me and we decided to take the A line of the metro to the Flaminio station. Since we set out from central Rome early, we decided to walk from Flaminio station to the stadium. We followed Via Flaminia and crossed the Tiber at the Ponte del Risorgimento.

It was a much longer walk than we expected, so to get to the stadium it’s better to take the metro to the Lepanto station (it’s also on line A) and then the bus to the stadium (e.g. bus # 280). That’s what we did to get back to central Rome after the game. You can tap-to-pay with your credit card to take the metro or bus in Rome. Also, if you purchased a BIT (biglietto integrato a tempo) you can use it to travel in the metro or bus and to transfer to another metro or bus within 100 minutes of the first use.

Once we got to the stadium we were asked to show our tickets and IDs in the outer perimeter. Then we had to get our physical tickets scanned in the turnstiles (it took a few tries but it eventually worked) and then we were asked to show our tickets and IDs again before entering the stadium. The key thing to remember is: Don’t forget your ID! If you are visiting from outside the European Union, bring your passport.

The game

As I mentioned earlier, this game happened a few days after Lazio had lost the Derby della Capitale. Many Lazio fans in the stadium were not happy with their team’s previous performance and they expected a good game. The stadium was not full but the fans were loud and it was a great environment. My dad and I sat in the Tribuna Tevere, close to the midfield area. We had a great view of the game.

Lazio vs. Salernitana at the Stadio Olimpico

The game was dominated by Lazio and they won 4-1 (three of the goals were scored in the first half). It was a fun game to go to and I am really looking forward to going to more Serie A games in the future (hopefully an Inter game at the San Siro!).

You can watch the game highlights below.

Leaving the stadium

Since we had already taken a long walk to get to the stadium my dad and I decided to make a more efficient return to central Rome after the game. We took bus #280 near the stadium, just south of the Ponte Duca D’Aosta. We got off the bus at Lepanto station and then took the A line back to central Rome.

Conclusion

My dad and I had a great time at this game. I had been to games in different European countries before (England, Spain, Portugal) and had always wanted to see a Serie A game live. Finally the opportunity came and I’m really happy that we went. The game had many goals, the fans at the stadium were loud, and the Stadio Olimpico was really impressive. Also, getting to the stadium was very easy with the metro and bus.

Whenever you are in Rome, definitely check the Serie A schedule to see if you can catch a game at the Stadio Olimpico!
April 6, 2025
West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Europa League 2023-24)
Back in April of 2024 I had the opportunity to go to the London Stadium to see West Ham play Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023-2024 Europa League season.
Background

I went to Europe with my family and, whenever I go to Europe, I look for opportunities to see live football games. This time I broke a personal record because, instead of going to my usual one game per trip, or maybe two games per trip, we managed to go to three games (two in England and one in Italy). I’ll write reports for those games too and will add links here soon.

This was both my first time going to a West Ham game at London Stadium and my first time going to a Europa League game. I have been to many football games in Europe before but this was the first time the game was not part of a national league. Something that made this game extra special was the fact that it featured Bayer Leverkusen. Up to that point they were undefeated in all competitions and were the team to beat in Europe. They were at the top of the Bundesliga and seemed unstoppable, which made the match vs. West Ham even more interesting. It was a really great experience and, best of all, I got to share it with my dad who is also a passionate football fan.

London Stadium during the West Ham vs. Bayer Leverkusen Europa League game!

Teams involved

West Ham competes in the English Premier League and is based in East London, specifically in Stratford. They play their home games at the London Stadium, an impressive stadium that was built for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Bayer Leverkusen competes in the German Bundesliga and is based in Leverkusen. They play their home games at the BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen fans at the London Stadium

How I got tickets

I checked game calendars during the days I was going to be in London and I realized that West Ham would play Bayer Leverkusen on the last night of my trip, April 18th 2024. I checked the West Ham tickets website and realized that the tickets would not go on general sale for a few more weeks. I added a reminder on my calendar to wake up at 3:45 am US Pacific time so I could try to get tickets (the tickets were going on sale at 4 am my time). I knew that I would need to be ready and move as quickly as possible because the tickets were likely to sell out in minutes.

Well, as soon as the sales window opened I logged in and started to look for tickets. I found two that were not too expensive and were at a good location in the stadium. I tried to add them to my shopping cart and boom, I saw a notification that the tickets were no longer available. I tried again with two different tickets in another location and again, the same thing happened. I started to get a little concerned that I could miss out on getting tickets because there were not too many left. I then realized that most of the available tickets were on the East side of the stadium. There were a few on the West side and I decided to give that area a try. Fortunately that worked and I was able to buy two tickets for the game, one for myself and another one for my dad. We got tickets on block 210, row 71.

How I got to the game

Getting to the game was a very rushed experience for my dad and I because we arrived from Italy a few hours before the game. To get to the game as quickly as possible, we took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station. We booked those tickets in advance at the Heathrow Express website. Then we took the Elizabeth line from Paddington to Stratford and used our Oyster cards. We ran through the commercial area there so we didn’t get a chance to look around, but it looked like an area worth exploring (lots of restaurants, stores, etc.). We could hear the loud sound of the fans coming from the stadium as we ran there.

The game

The game did not have the outcome my dad and I (and most of the stadium) were hoping for, which was a West Ham victory. Nevertheless, it was a very very entertaining match. West Ham had a chance to qualify to the next phase of the Europa League but things didn’t work out, even though they were leading the game at the end of the first half.

Both the local and visiting fans were chanting and loud throughout the game and that created an amazing atmosphere at the stadium. We had pretty good seats and had a clear view of the action.

You can also see highlights of the game below:

Leaving the stadium

At the end of the game we followed the crowd towards the exit. It took over an hour to get back to the station because there were so many people (it was a sold out game). The part we had not taken into account was the fact that, given the time the game ended, we had only about 1 hour to catch a train back to Heathrow. We had purchased tickets to return on the Heathrow Express but by the time we got to Stratford there was no way we were going to make it to Paddington Station in time to catch the last train of the day. We asked one of the London Transport employees and she suggested taking the train to a station where we could take a Picaddilly line train back to the airport. We got on a Central line train and got off at Holborn, where we ran to catch what may have been the last train going to the airport that night (there was a group of people running along with us). Since we were staying at Terminal 4, that complicated things a bit because the Picaddilly line does not go there. We got off the train at Hatton Cross station and took a bus to Terminal 4.

Conclusion

Overall my dad and I had a great experience at the game. It was very especial for us to not only get a chance to attend a Europa League match, but also one that had so much significance in Europe at the time (Bayer Leverkusen was still unbeaten at that point in the European season and West Ham had a strong team and a good chance to beat them). In the end, West Ham lost, but the game was hard fought and entertaining to watch. Also, getting to the game was very convenient with the Tube and the London Stadium is impressive. The architecture is very different from other stadiums I have been to, the ambience was amazing and the seats we got were great. Leaving the game was a bit stressful because we were not sure if we were going to be able to take public transport back to our hotel at the airport, but it all worked out in the end.

I am looking forward to going to more West Ham games in the future. If you visit London in the future, definitely check the game schedule in case you have a chance to go to one of their games.
April 1, 2025