Capital Dark Blues

SCARE STORIES UNFOUNDED AS DEES DELIGHT IN ALBANIA

When the draw for our first European game was made a couple of months ago, most fans described it as a “nightmare scenario.” After the elation of qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the first time in 29 years came the despondency at having to miss the first leg. Many newspapers published reports warning fans of armed gangs and rabid dogs, based on scant web research and reports on the country which were years out of date. These, plus the logistical nightmare of actually getting to North-West Albania, were enough to make most fans stay at home and cross their fingers for a first round tie in a more accessible locale.

As always, however, some fans would be deterred by nothing. The club promptly despatched Jim Thomson on a fact-finding mission and organised a charter to fly the team, officials, journalists and fans to Tirana. In just two days, the flight was sold out.

So, two weeks ago yesterday, the journey began bright and early with buses taking the fans from Dens to Edinburgh Airport. It’s not often you see “going to Tirana – meet at Dens 5.45am” in the Tele club notes!

The television crews were out in force as upwards of 75 Dees checked in for the only flight of the day, week or year to Tirana. Unfortunately, no television company was willing to send a camera crew on the plane, so thousands of Dees missed out on the chance to watch their heroes take to the European stage for the first time in a generation. You can’t help but wonder whether coverage would have been possible had one of the Old Firm been drawn in Albania.

Despite all the warnings, the only thing hot about the reception we received in Albania was the temperature when we got off the plane. The record temperatures of 100º F back home were mild by comparison. Lengthy customs procedures meant we wouldn’t arrive at the Sheraton in downtown Tirana until about 5pm local time, and the Tayzurri quickly made their way to the bar or into town to find some much-needed liquid refreshment.

"The five-star Tirana Sheraton and Towers, with Dundee flags (just) visible from the windows"	"Veterans of last year's trip to Romania - Dave Ellis, Colin McMillan and Allan Kettles - take a break in downtown Tirana"

Tirana is much like any other Eastern European capital city. It’s fairly cosmopolitan and there’s plenty of nightlife, although not as many shops in evidence as you might expect in the west. The locals were all very friendly, and the fans could walk around late at night as safely as in most cities at home. Many fans made their own way out in the evening, exploring the city and sampling the local food and drink, or watching the Champions League coverage on the big screen at a bar down the road from our hotel. It seemed that every other bar you went into had a few men in kilts sampling the local beers.

Later that night, around 50 Dundee fans descended on local hotspot Manhattan Cowboys, including the half-dozen who had made their way independently by train, plane and automobile by way of Corfu. Inside the bar or out on the terrace, the fans were in good spirits and sharing a beer or a song with the beautiful Albanian women. Then a police car pulled up and the local bobbies got out to tell us to keep the noise down as this was a residential area. Did that put a dampener on the evening? Not at all. “If you must sing,” the police explained, “do so inside the bar!” So we all crammed inside and soon drowned out the DJ. He got into the spirit and put on “Hey Jude” for us to sing along to, but unfortunately didn’t have “Daydream Believer” or anything by Jump the Q!

Next morning, after a very heavy night for some, we made our way down to breakfast. Perhaps the Tandoori Chicken served alongside the bacon and eggs explains some of the dodgy stomachs which some of the fans complained about when they got back home.

With the bus leaving at one o’clock, it was time to do a bit of sightseeing. The Sky Tower provided a magnificent view of Tirana and its mountainous backdrop, while also proving helpful for fans wanting to do a spot of groundhopping. The national stadium was right next to our hotel, and some fans toured it and the nearby home of KF Tirana, which made Brockville look like the San Siro. So for anyone wanting to go back to Albania for the Georgia match, we can recommend a good hotel!

"Tirana's national stadium and the Sheraton in the background"

During the game that evening, many of the local press expressed their admiration for Dundee’s no. 10, and when website editor David Young explained that Georgi was the captain of Georgia and would be back in Albania for a Euro 2004 qualifier next month, they all went suddenly quiet.

But back to that later. After posing for pictures and stocking up on beer and water, we were off to Shkoder. Our first sight of the suburbs of Tirana left us rather puzzled at the sight of so many abandoned buildings. In place of a slanted roof, these one-storey affairs had a rusting car or caravan parked on top of them, or else were inhabited on the first floor while the ground floor housed a pile of rubbish and a grazing cow. Once we left the city, the road deteriorated and in some places was simply a gravel track on a steep incline. The 90km journey took almost three hours, and we often had to negotiate locals out walking their cows or riding their donkeys. This, however, was easy compared with the hardship of having to listen to the bus driver’s Shania Twain CD on repeat play the whole way there!

"Fans soak up the sunshine on the road to Shkoder"

Tirana is a poor city by our standards, but out in the countryside it is much worse. We passed one village which seemed to consist entirely of multi-storey flats from the Communist Ikea Catalogue. Quite what the population of hundreds did in the middle of nowhere was a mystery, as we saw very few people working on buildings or in the fields on our journey. Instead we had a view of hundreds of sniper pillboxes, a sobering reminder of the recent troubles in the country.

When we got to Shkoder, three hours before kick-off, the streets were already filled with thousands of local fans gearing up for the game. The looks we got suggested that the sight of a coach party was to them akin to the landing of an alien spacecraft, but we “aliens” were warmly welcomed and, after collecting our match tickets, were soon mixing with the Vllaznia fans in the local bars and cafes. Here we were joined by more Dundee fans who had travelled on their own, including two who had made the trip from Barcelona via Italy, Croatia and Montenegro!

"Some of the Tayzurri enjoying a few beers with the locals before kick-off"

"Dundee line up for their first UEFA Cup tie in 29 years"

Fans swapped scarves and shirts before making their way to the stadium, a very smart three-sided bowl spoiled only by the open end with a view of the industrial complexes nearby. These were soon obscured by a collection of Dundee flags which the local police insisted were hung at the end of the ground. The police were perhaps a little over-anxious to avoid trouble and made sure the Dundee fans stayed in their own small section, which was surrounded by local fans. But the Tayzurri were nothing but good-natured and sportingly applauded each Vllaznia substitution, and indeed the early departure of the home fans as the game approached the final whistle, with the Red and Blue locals applauding in turn the hundred or so Scots in the ground.

"Dundee fans and the pressbox and TV gantry in the background - no sign of the BBC"	"The view of the Stadiumi Loro Borici from the Dundee section"

We were, by that time, in very high spirits following the goals from Steve Lovell and Nacho Novo either side of half time – a 15 minute break many fans used to nip out to the pub across the road, which was then emptied of all its bottled beer for the return journey at full time. Dundee dominated the game and could have easily scored more, but I’m sure Jim Duffy will have warned the players that Vllaznia will be better prepared tonight after an extra two weeks’ training following their recent pay dispute. Tonight we expect another victory, but with a 2-0 cushion, let’s all be patient and give the team our full encouragement for 90 minutes, in the hope that they can give us fans another trip abroad in the next round – a reward long overdue for the Dens Park faithful.