Istanbul

I took a quick trip to Istanbul, some small unfinished business to deal with.

There’s nothing better than arriving in a strange city, meeting friends for dinner then wandering home in the small hours high on life and the promise of what’s to come. Istanbul is such an intoxicating city; sprawling, chaotic and full of energy.

I had time the next morning to make a quick tour of the sights; The Blue Mosque, Haghia Sofia and the old town of Sultanhamet. The sun shone, the sky was blue, everything was blue, a sign perhaps.

A trip to the fan park in the afternoon before the long haul over to the stadium - 75,000 of us heading over on one single road with no other public transport options - thanks UEFA.

The stadium was a classy modern construction, the match itself was a tight and tense affair. The win, the celebrations were more of relief in the end. Whatever, I was there to witness history being made - Forza City, commiserations Inter- great club, superb fans.

It took 2 hours to leave the ground, herded onto 300 buses that then queued to join the single road out. Kinda kicked the joy out of the occasion. That memory will fade, the joy in victory will last forever.