One night in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Starting my backpacking adventure travelling around Central Asia on an organised tour I was keeping a close eye on the local topflight fixtures. In some countries this was not quite as simple as using Futbology or google. Arriving in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, it looked as if the stars were going to align and after two weeks I would eventually be able to see a local game… as game time approached I still couldn’t find any more evidence for the game taking place as planned except some hints on google. Even the locals were none the wiser. Therefore, I decided to give it a miss. I checked back and to this day I don’t know whether the game went ahead at 6pm or on the following day.
Travelling on further we reached the beautiful historic city of Samarkand, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia dating back to between the 7th and 8th century BC. As luck would have it FC Dinamo Samarkand were hosting FC Bunyodkor of Tashkent on our second night. If you find yourself in Samarkand there is a multitude of historic sights to keep you busy until kick off rolls around. For any avid history fans, I would recommend Amir Temur’s Mausoleum, the Observatory and Registan Square, all of which are easily walkable and separated by yet more interesting historic sites.
There was, however, one more attraction to take in with the female contingent from my tour group… a rather cheesy tour bus friendly dance show which thankfully was in a pretty and leafy neighbourhood in the direction of the very Soviet era looking bowl of a stadium, home to Dinamo. The hosts who were sitting mid-table at the time of the game were welcoming their relegation-threatened friends from the capital.
Dinamo stadium was built in the 60s with a current capacity of 16,000, a running track and a rather intimidating metal fence separating the supporters from the field. Arriving 25 minutes before kick-off I had to contend with two scrums around two small windows in a non-descript concrete building by the ground that housed the ticket office. It was everyman for himself, and I soon escaped with a ticket for the equivalent of €2. Cue rigorous police checks, and I was into the bowl. It was possible to walk around the top of the bowl only being stopped as you approached the 15 or so away fans surrounded by their many banners.
It is difficult to say what the attendance was, however as kick-off loomed the stadium did fill up quite nicely aside from the far end, perhaps 7,000. Opting for the near end behind the goal I had a running track obstructed view but sufficient height to see over the thick security fence. It took a while for me to notice but the stadium was almost all male, perhaps not too unexpected in an Islamic country, albeit a more relaxed one.
Off to my left there was a rather dated but still impressive looking main stand that faces the rest of the bowl and the band of home ultras on the long far side. The group had a lot of energy and kept the chants, flags and pyro going for most of the game. I walked around the top of the bowl but unfortunately whenever I tried to set up shop and watch from the walkway, I was soon moved on by what appeared to be an excessive police presence. This was however relaxed in the second half and I watched the final moments play out from behind the ultra-section.
The game itself was a lively affair with it looking like either team could possibly score off every attack. The home team got the scoring underway, and things were looking rosy until early in the second half when the visiting team levelled things up via a calamitous goal. The keeper stepped too far off his line to deal with a looping back post cross, the ball duly hit said post and deflected in off his back. FC Bunyodkor then pushed on to take the lead.
The hosts pulled level with a rather slick quick passing play through the middle. However, with over 20 minutes to play there was still time for another lapse in Dinamo keeper concentration. Once again stepping too far off his line a free kick from the touchline sailed into the far corner sending the away fans into raptures. Dinamo managed to force a good save in the 94th minute but it wasn’t to be, and they succumbed to a 2-3 home defeat.
A brisk 40-minute walk in the now somewhat cooler evening had me back in the beautiful Registan Square for the evening light show after a thoroughly enjoyable match day experience at FC Dinamo Samarkand.
The Dolphins of Pattaya, Thailand
Continuing my backpacking adventure, I eventually arrived at the party capital of Asia and was happy to see that my trip would coincide with a Pattaya United FC (aka Esan Pattaya) League 2 match. This was something well received to break up the time spent in the many pubs and bars of the city.
Travelling around Thailand sadly no other league nor cup games lined up with my schedule, so this was my last chance to see a game before returning home for Christmas. I had had my heart set on seeing the ever-popular Buriram United, but it wasn’t to be.
Leaving our base in Central Pattaya the €5 Bolt taxi, as usual here, took longer than the estimated 30 minutes to cover only 8km to the Nong Prue Municipality Stadium in East Pattaya (there is always heavy traffic come late afternoon). Arriving just before kick-off to the 5,500-capacity stadium, it was easy enough to buy tickets in the main stand for a reasonable €4. En-route to our seats we passed by the main entrance of the stand where the players were standing suited and booted ready to be introduced onto the pitch only an arms reach away from us!
Ascending the short stair climb to our seats, as the teams came out, we were met with a rather poor playing field surrounded by a cosy stadium with stands on three sides and a high mesh fence protecting what looked like an apartment block behind the goal to our left. You can certainly forgive the quality of the playing field given the harsh daily weather here. However, it did make things difficult for both keepers and thwarted some quick attacking plays when the ball bobbled up. We were seated opposite the travelling green and white Lampang FC army, which numbered around 200. I am hoping some came from Pattaya or nearby Bangkok and that they didn’t all make the 1,050km round trip from Lampang for a 0-0 draw, albeit a lively one!
To our right behind the goal there was a group of home ultras that kept their two large flags flying for the entirety of the game and commendation should be given to both sets of ultras that didn’t shut up all game! Fantastic support for both teams. Given the popularity of tourism and the desirability to retire to the sunshine of Pattaya it is safe to say that there were a good number of expats in the home crowd; Dutch, German and English were overheard in the seats around us. It was difficult to estimate the attendance from our viewpoint, so I dropped a message to the club, who replied within minutes, confirming it as 1,712.
As the game got underway in the stifling evening heat it was time for some refreshments and for €2.80 each, we were treated to a large ice-cold beer in a bag!
Of the 18-team league, before kick-off Lampang were 6th with Pattaya languishing not too far from the bottom some 8 points below them, and this was quite evident on the pitch too. Lampang were the dominant side forcing Pattaya to clear onto their own bar from the edge of the box which had the away fans ready to explode but sadly for them it clipped over.
A lapse in concentration nearly let Pattaya in down the left-hand side, very much against the run of play, but the keeper saved well at his near post. Lampang continued to walk through the middle of the home sides defence but all to no avail. Half time allowed us to explore the stadium, something we missed pre-kick off. Behind the home ultras there was a small shop selling memorabilia and some food stalls below what appeared to be a temporary stand.
The second half was a tamer affair with both teams managing to hit the woodwork but sadly for us there were no goals to enjoy, and the points were shared, 0-0.
Given how long it took to reach the stadium in traffic, we snuck out 10 minutes early to secure a Bolt taxi back to the city in time for the Ronan Keating concert (not my choice, but my punishment for dragging her to the football!)… thankfully we were able to watch the final minutes from behind the mesh fence as we waited for our taxi which arrived perfectly on the full-time whistle! For anyone interested in checking out the Dolphins I would advise arriving in good time as there are a small number of stalls selling beers and street food outside the ground, and the regulars told us of a fun friendly pre-game atmosphere which sadly we missed.
