9. 18th August 2000 Presov, Slovakia

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I should have guessed it wasn’t going to be my day when I balanced my sunglasses on my head in Levoca and then smashed them in half getting onto the bus.

The day was planned to be one of life’s rites of passage – going to see my first football match in Europe. I had identified Tatran Presov v Artmedia Petrzalka as the occasion for this event. In anticipation, on arrival in Presov, I checked into the most expensive hotel in town – nearly £20 for an unrivalled view of Tesco. I spotted posters on lamp-posts advertising the game and walked the route from hotel to ground. The only decision now was how to fill the 24 hours until the match. But first a late-afternoon snooze.

When I woke at about 6, I put on the tv before going out and found.... my match! For 15 minutes, I watched Tatran close out a comfortable 4 – 1 win and was then left to ponder how even the most flawed knowledge of Slovakian had caused me to miss the Friday kick-off. It was another 3 years before NK Maribor finally was the venue for my European debut.

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