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No food and crazy taxi drivers — the perils of Euro 2008
My non-journalist friends are very envious that I get to go to Euro 2008 matches for free.
If they had been with me to Italy’s 1-1 draw with Romania in Zurich, they might have changed their mind about the perks of my profession.
First of all, a colleague and I had to cram into a packed tram full of drunken fans to get to the Letzigrund stadium. This was a full three hours before kick off. Then we had a manic match to report on, the mixed zone to contend with (Sonia has already detailed the horrors there) and by the time we’d finished we discovered we were locked in.
It was only after we’d walked round the stadium to find a way out that the fun really started. First of all, we discovered that even with a big tournament going on you can’t get a meal in a Zurich restaurant at quarter to eleven at night. That was annoying but much worse was to follow.
Elbows out, dictaphones at the ready — let battle commence
For most football fans, it would be a dream come true — go along and meet your favourite player and ask him anything you want.
That is the deluded view that led me to be excited when I was sent to my first “mixed zone”, where players are available for quick interviews as they walk past reporters when leaving the stadium after a match.
