International Special

Zurich: Easy Jet and Dean Saunders’ dad

After getting silly quotes for flights from Wrexham travel agents, and despite the TV programme, we decided to go with Easy Jet for £96 return. Our flight was early Tuesday Morning so we left Wrexham in the early hours for the long drive to Luton. On arrival at the airport we were surprised to see some other Welsh fans already there; by the time the flight was due to leave I would say that about 80% of the people on the plane were going for the football.

After a hassle-free flight we arrived in Zurich Airport and was surprised to find how easy it was to suss out how to get the train to Zurich city centre. Once we got to the city centre we headed to the hotel which again we managed to do without getting lost. Our hotel was smack in the middle of the red light district and our hotel was a brothel which for some reason was full of Welsh supporters. Next step was to find a bar to find out what the cost of a pint was going to be for the trip. It was about £3.60 - which was about the norm for the two days (except when we were charged £14 for two halves in a strip club later that night). After a few more drinks, and after we met up with a few of Cardiff mates, we headed back to the train station to get a train to Winterthur where the Under-21 game was being held. On arrival at the ground we were surprised to find it was the equivalent of a League of Wales ground with only one stand etc. But it was less than a fiver to get in and they were serving beer all through the game so I wasn't going to complain.

The game kicked off and Switzerland scored on the first attack but that was about all they did do and we were unlucky not to get at least a point out of the game. Never mind, it was only 1-0 and we were sure we’d beat them the night after in the main game (well that's what most people seemed to be saying).We headed back to Zurich soon after the game ended and hit the bars again which now seemed to be full of Welsh fans. After many more drinks we decided to head back to near the hotel as all the anti -Swansea singing was beginning to piss us off.

I woke up next morning and was surprised to find that I didn’t have a major hangover. After getting something to eat, we went to the old town where we had arranged to meet some Cardiff fans in a pub there. The whole area seemed to be full of Welsh fans within a couple of hours and at one point it got a bit dodgy. When a gang of Cardiff thugs walked down the street singing ‘WE BARMY WE CARDIFF WE ARE OFF OUR FUCKING HEADS’ they seemed to be trying to bait other Welsh fans into singing club songs but thankfully nothing really happened bar the odd scuffle. We then got the tram to the ground where I helped this oldish bloke who was wearing a smart suit and had a Manc accent to buy tickets for himself and his wife out of the machine for the tram. I had met him before in Denmark last year. He told me how he had lived in Swansea since 1958 but that he was originally from Salford. I was then told he was there to watch his son, Dean Saunders, play. I must admit it impressed the hell out of me. We got off the tram near the ground and within a few minutes one of my mates had realised that he had been pickpocketed and had over £100 robbed.

The atmosphere inside the ground was brilliant with the Welsh fans singing all through the match including half-time and even when we were two-down. I heard no club singing inside the ground anyway which made a nice change. The police got a bit heavy-handed at some points but I heard of no real trouble. As for the game itself Switzerland were shit but we were worse - two stupid defensive mistakes.

Understandably the loss killed the atmosphere a bit but we sill managed to stay out until about 4am In the airport on the way home we bumped into the Welsh squad. Savage was pushing Paul Jones about in a wheelchair and Mark Hughes looked really pissed off. All in all it was a brilliant trip with the exception of the result of course and I would recommend anybody to go and watch Wales away. Again the flight back was full with Welsh fans and I lost count of the times I said, ‘SEE YOU IN ITALY’.