FK Jablonec-Dynamo Kyiv

Europa League
Stadion Strelnice
October 4, 2018

I dreamt about going to see Dynamo away in Europe for a long long time. Now as I live here in Krakow, and have enough vacation days, I decided to finally seize this opportunity. The Europa League draw was especially exciting this time and I took time to study each possible opponent. Astana, obviously, did not really tickle my fancy so I decided to try Rennes or Jablonec and arrange a week’s vacation around the game. Rennes was obviously way more expensive but with larger stadium, it had better chances to get tickets than Jablonec with its 6000-seat stadium and 400 something away section. But I still tried my luck and booked the trip, deciding to stay at my friend’s in Prague. The away tickets were sold in Kyiv so I asked another friend of mine to get it for myself and my wife and send them to Krakow via courier. And so, I was ready to go.

Jablonec nad Nisou is a small town in the north of Czechia, which is basically a satellite to Liberec. We took a bus from Prague to Liberec and then had a picturesque half-an-hour tram ride to Jablonec itself. It turned out to be a hilly little town surrounded with mountains. As all the other Czech towns, it had a nice main street, a church, a main square and a town-hall. Very neat, green and tidy. The hotel we stayed at was rather shabby but had everything we needed.

I went to check the stadium several hours before the game and I really enjoyed what I found there. It is a small ground but it feels much bigger. It lies on the top of the hill and the views are quite picturesque. Back at the hotel, my wife decided not to go as she felt under the weather. With about 45 minutes before the kickoff, I was near the away sector where I gave my spare ticket to some bloke, who had travelled to the game but was unable to enter. The guy was almost jumping with joy, too bad I had no tickets for his friends.

The section was almost full. I could see the banners of all the usual suspects. And obviously lots of diaspora fans who were also seen on the regular stands among the Czech spectators.  I honestly don’t remember much of the game itself, as you are easily distracted by all the chants that you participate in. Besides, I could barely see the closest goal to me behind all the people and the safety netting and barriers, and so I missed both Dynamo goals in the 1^st half.

I could not really see the opponents’ fans but something was clearly on. There was a banner with the Polish eagle that prompted all kinds of animosity from our sector. Turns out Jablonec was visited by their Polish friends from Jelenia Gora who were more interested in fighting and even had some staff stolen from regular Dynamo fans. That did not sit well with the those who were present, so the whole sector started “Polska Kurwa” chant, goading the poles with UPA flag and reminding them that Bandera and Shukhevych are heroes of Ukraine. Jablonec scarves were also burned right there in the stands. Our spokesman reminded us to be careful after the game, as the Polish visitors were keen on attacking.

After being 2-0 up, Dynamo basically stopped playing and were piss poor. Jablonec were much better and getting good result for them was just a matter of time. They equalized with about 10 minutes to go and were clearly happy with the outcome. All the fans were kept after the game ended for 25 minutes and then we were finally let go. I walked to the hotel among other Dynamo fans until I missed my turn and had to go back alone in the dark.

All-in-all it was a fine day, spoiled by the terrible performance on the pitch. But then, Rennes lost to Astana so everything is still wide open in our group. I loved the whole experience and will be eager to do it again.