Montenegro v England
FIFA World Cup 2014
European Qualifying Group H
Gradski Stadion, Podgorica
Montenegro
26 March 2013
This will be the third time that England have played the team
from the Black Mountains. Many England fans had made the journey 17 months
earlier and most of them had good experiences (despite the torrential down pour
and lack of over head cover in the ground). Montenegro are proving a hard nut
to crack for England who have yet to beat them and current form suggested that
it was not going to be any easier. The Montenegrin national team share the
ground with club side FK Buducnost who have made appearances in both the
Champions league and Europa league.
Tickets for this match were hard to come by as the capacity of the Gradski Stadion is a meagre 12000, which they could have sold several times over, such was the national interest for the game against the 3 Lions who currently lead the chasing pack in group H. This left the England allocation at about 1200, so I knew I would need to get lucky in the ballot and avoid the second sale. This I jammily achieved, so me and the Mrs were off on our pre easter break to the Balkans (via San Marino).
The front cover of the Free Lions is graced by Glen Johnstone who has established himself as the first choice right back with 46 caps to his name
The ticket collection point is at the Hotel Crna Gora which just happens to be our hotel so everything is close to us
Montenegro 1 England 1
Attendance: 12000
Aerial view of the Gradski Stadium, Podgoricia.
Aerial view of the Gradski Stadium, Podgoricia.
After checking in to the hotel and mooching about we had our first drink in Podgorica at the Titograd and it proved to be our favourite bar in the city. The pub is themed in a traditional style and has many rare photos of the city before the war.
Day 2 and in the morning we check out the stadium before our planned trip to Mt Lovcen. This ground level view outside of the stadium shows the west
stand (main stand) which houses the VIP's and press. Underneath the stand
on the street level are a number of cafes and shops, the Prague cafe seemed to
be the main hang out. This is also the location of the official club
shops of both Montenegro and FK Buducnost
After sweet talking a member of the ground staff we get access to the stadium. Across the field is the Tribina Sjever and directly behind me the main west stand.
Sector A of tribina jug (south stand) is where the England fans will be tomorrow night.
The main stand which houses the VIP boxes and the press is the West stand, seen here from sector B of the South stand.
Buducnost Titograd is the former name of FK Buducnost
Podgorica. Titograd was the
former name for Podgorica when under communist rule in 1946 (Yugoslavia).
Marshall Tito was born in Titograd and the city was named to honour
him. The club was formed in 1925 and entered the Yugoslavian league in 1946.
They are proud about their heritage and murals adorn the stadium on most
walls, starting with this foundation stone.
There are two main ultra groups called 'Loyal Boys' and 'Varvari'. Varvari means Barbarians in Serbian
The murial above is the city of Podgorica's crest in the middle and suggests that the group were formed in 1987.
The entrance to Tribina Sjever, the home to the Varvari.
The Hotel Crna Gora is an old hotel which is starting to look tired. Although, it did display shades of its former glory with a super double staircase at reception. Unbeknown to us the hotel was the ticket collection point, bonus!
In the afternoon we took a bus to Citenje which cost us a massive 3.50 Euros each, the route is on the road to Budva and takes less than an hour. On arrival we were hoping to travel to the mausoleum at Mount Lovcen, but the roads were impassable due to snow and ice, therefore, we had to make do with a trip around the old capital city. A delightful town despite the biblical hail storm.
Due to the hail we seek sanctuary
Hail on the High Street.
A great little find in Cetinje rescued the day
The Vranac red wine is excellent and the Gold ain't bad either
Cetinje Monastry is a Serbian orthodox monastery. The full title is 'the Monastery of St Peter of Citenje' and it is the most important Serbian orthodox monastery in Montenegro.
The former British Embassy of Montenegro is still weathering remarkably well. It looks a lot nicer than the new one in Podgorica.
Day 3 is matchday and we explore Pogorica in more depth. It is the capital city of Montenegro and is full of brutalist communist style buildings from the former Yugoslavia, when the city was named Titograd. There is hardly any pre war heritage to be seen amongst the buildings because it was flattened by allied bombers during the period between 1943-45 (when occupied by the Nazis). The city suffered terribly and during its occupation it lost 4100 citizens to 70 bombing raids. It also lost 6,780 partisan fighters and 7,479 women and children in the struggle for liberation against the Nazis. Despite this the city is recovering and there appears to be a strong collective national pride amongst all Montenegrins.
The 18th century clock tower is just about the only reminder of the Ottoman rule. It is located in the old town (Stara Varos) and is the only obvious feature south of the Ribnica river.
The Osmanagici mosque (one of two in Stara Varos).
The old town shows its allegiance to FK Buducnost.
The Ribnica Bridge which spans the Ribnica river near the confluence with the bigger Moraca. The Ribnica Fortress in the background which was erected when the Turks invaded in 1474, although there is not much left of its battlements.
The King Nikola Petrovic monument. He was the last king of Montenegro and is culturally important (1841-1921).
Republic Square.
The Karadorde Petrovic monument located just to the east of the Crna Gora. He was the leader of the first Serbian uprising against the Ottoman Turks in 1804.
Under construction in the Novi Grad area is the huge Serbian Orthodox church, the Cathedral of the Resurrection.
Ruins of the Ribinica Fortress
The rather bouncy pedestrian bridge linking Novi Varos to Novi Grad to the West.
Most Millenium (The Millenium Bridge) is a cable staged bridge which spans the river Moraca and is 140m long. It is Podgorica's landmark structure.
Petra II Petrovic sculpture in the park on the banks of the river Moraca.
It's matchday and our favourite drinking establishment (the Titograd) has been occupied by the English.
Atmosphere is building on Njegoseva (bar street).
Meet up with Tommy, Deano, Craig and two of the West Ham lads (Glenn L and Johnny Mac) in the Forum. The atmosphere on bar street is awesome.
The Cheers Pub just an hour and a half before KO.
Street vendors selling last minute scarfs,
shirts, etc.. to the home support.
An impressive welcoming party at the stadium.
The scene before the anthems.
Montenegro fans setting off flares in the upper tier of the South stand. One came a bit close - no casualties reported!
The single tier East stand (Montenegrin fans) was very close to the touch line, resulting in the England players receiving a lot of verbal abuse and many had objects thrown at them (mainly rolled up news papers). It looked like Ashley Cole was spat at from there too.
Wrong result, but a great night.
Just happy it didn't rain. Now its off to the Hotel Crna Gora for a night cap or two.
For our last day (day 4) we decided to start off with a sobering walk up the Gorica Forest Park (the hill by the stadium) to visit the Partisan Memorial.
The most impressive of all of Podgorica's memorials commemorates the partisan fighters and the innocent civilians who lost their lives in the fight for liberation against the occupying Nazis between 1941-45.
The city from the top of Gorica Hill
(Millenium Bridge is in the distance).
The stadium from Gorica Hill.
St George's Church is Podgorica's oldest church and is located at the foot of the Gorica Hill next to the stadium.
Back from the hill walk and it's beer time at the Forum opposite Republic Square before we set off to Novi grad to finish off sightseeing.
A modern shopping precint in Novi Grad.
St Petar Cetinjski monument. Bishop and founder of the moderm Montenegrin state. (Novi Grad).
It's been a great trip but all good things must come to an end.
Zivjeli and thanks for the memories.
Our flight went via Belgrade so we booked into a city center hotel there and had our final night out in Serbia. The food was fantastic and Belgrade has got a really good vibe to it. If it was just about the food, then hopefully we will draw Serbia in the Euro 16 Qualifiers
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