by stealthpapes »
17 May 2019 16:48
realised previous posts should have been in the manager thread.
anyway, want to go to Baku? Get in a car.
ROAD TRIP
If you're thinking of flying to the Azerbaijani capital for the Europa League final, think again. Flights are extortionate and probably involve lengthy stopovers in Eastern European airports. Instead, we recommend jumping in a car and leaving right now. If you're going to travel all that way for European football's end of season spectacle, you might as well make about two weeks of it. We've done the journey planning so you don't have to – see you in the queue for the Channel Tunnel in a little while.
First stop on the road to Baku is Munich – the Allianz Arena. Bayern need at least a point against Frankfurt to wrap up the Bundesliga title so it could be a blast in Bavaria. It's about a 12-hour drive from London and kick-off is at 14:30 tomorrow – so like we said, probably best to leave now.
After a night in Munich, it's off to Salzburg for the 16:00 kick-off at the RB Arena. St. Pölten end of course – supporting energy drink conglomerates just seems odd. Quick hop to Vienna for a mooch around, then head to Bratislava the morning after just to say you've been there, before landing in Budapest to catch Lazio v Bologna on the big screen at Ziccer. Budapest’s finest establishment.
Tuesday will be a bit of a travelling day – Budapest to Skopje will probably be a nine-hour drive. Absolutely worth it though because there's more trophies to be lifted. It's Makedonija GjP v Akademija Pandev in the Macedonian cup final. That's right, the Goran Pandev academy is contending for major domestic silverware.
Macedonian cup final? Check. Romanian cup final? Kicks off in a couple of days. Plenty of time to drive up to Ploiești where West Ham's arch rivals, Astra Giurgiu will take on Viitorul this year. Then it's a drive to Chornomorsk the following day, but not without visiting Zimbru Chişinău's ground where Spurs once managed a historic goalless draw in 1999.
There's time to relax in Chornomorsk as the ferry across the Black Sea to Batumi leaves at 23:59. That should get us to Georgia for 21:00 on Tuesday 28th, which then allows plenty of time for the near-1000km drive to the Baku Olympic Stadium.