A memory from Milan 1970...

F

Frank Owen

Well-known member
I was sitting at a kind of pavement cafe, was on my todd as my mate was sleeping off the exertions of the previous night. Just havin' a coffee watching the supporters of both clubs mixing and generally enjoying themselves in what was a very special, and rare, occasion for both sets of fans.

Anyway, I caught a glimpse of a rather stunning young lady walking towards me; she asked if it would be ok to have seat and talk about the game. I mean, what does a wee gallus Govanite do in such circumstances?
First thing I noticed was her perfect use of the English language...but with a Scottish accent.

She was wearing a Fiorentina top...and a Celtic scarf. Turned out her mother was Scottish. She took great pride in telling me she was able to attend Alfredo Di Stefano's testimonial while visiting her Scottish grandfather who was some kind of lecturer living in Spain. We agreed to meet at the same spot after the game in the hope of celebrating a famous victory...you know the rest.....( No, NOT that ! )

As it happens, I still have a kind of Fiorentina flag/ banner she gave me; it's somewhere amongst my Celtic memorabilia. It's not just "from every street is Glasgow" they make their way. What is it they say about nostalgia? a thing of the past ? Aye, but priceless nonetheless.
 
Great story Frank, I was 16 and went to Milan with my uncle and his mates, Mag 7's uncle was part of the Bhoys who hung out together, they were all around 22-23 and could drink while I was a young Bhoy who was not aware of the legal drinking age in Italy, we were in a hotel in a place called Stresa about 40 miles from Milan proper I aksed for a can of Coke and when they found out the cost (a beer was about 2 bob, a Coke was a quid) the shout was..."right, you're on the bevvy wee man" Don't know if you remember, but there was a general strike on the day before the game, so we didn't know if the buses would show up to take us to the game, after a night on the bevvy, one of the boys comes up the road driving a steamroller, yes a fucking steamroller, there was a construction zone near our hotel, and it was hilarious seeing this thing rumble up the road with the Bhoys hanging off it singing their heads off, one of the committee members came out and got everybody off it, before the polis showed up, and next day everybody was hung to the tits, as the buses rolled in to take us to the San Siro, the less said about the game, the better, but I remember the chaos at Malpensa Airport afterwards, as the Caribienieri were none too gentle, in shunting us around the terminal, using their machine guns to herd us, every time a door opened to the ramp, people were running towards aircraft, no wonder some didn't make their flights and ended up in another country, no security, no ticket inspection, just mental, the terminal was so packed we lay down on the floor waiting to find out when our plane was boarding, a wonderful memory albeit the scoreline YNWA
 
DILLIGAF said:
Great story Frank, I was 16 and went to Milan with my uncle and his mates, Mag 7's uncle was part of the Bhoys who hung out together, they were all around 22-23 and could drink while I was a young Bhoy who was not aware of the legal drinking age in Italy, we were in a hotel in a place called Stresa about 40 miles from Milan proper I aksed for a can of Coke and when they found out the cost (a beer was about 2 bob, a Coke was a quid) the shout was..."right, you're on the bevvy wee man" Don't know if you remember, but there was a general strike on the day before the game, so we didn't know if the buses would show up to take us to the game, after a night on the bevvy, one of the boys comes up the road driving a steamroller, yes a fucking steamroller, there was a construction zone near our hotel, and it was hilarious seeing this thing rumble up the road with the Bhoys hanging off it singing their heads off, one of the committee members came out and got everybody off it, before the polis showed up, and next day everybody was hung to the tits, as the buses rolled in to take us to the San Siro, the less said about the game, the better, but I remember the chaos at Malpensa Airport afterwards, as the Caribienieri were none too gentle, in shunting us around the terminal, using their machine guns to herd us, every time a door opened to the ramp, people were running towards aircraft, no wonder some didn't make their flights and ended up in another country, no security, no ticket inspection, just mental, the terminal was so packed we lay down on the floor waiting to find out when our plane was boarding, a wonderful memory albeit the scoreline YNWA
Click to expand...
Thing is Dill, even in the disappointment of defeat, you have a truly wonderful story to tell, a seldom experienced turn of events; the glorious camaraderie, the absolute chaos at the airport; all part of something we will probably never see again. Only one thing missing.....Big Ears !
 
Frank Owen said:
Thing is Dill, even in the disappointment of defeat, you have a truly wonderful story to tell, a seldom experienced turn of events; the glorious camaraderie, the absolute chaos at the airport; all part of something we will probably never see again. Only one thing missing.....Big Ears !
Click to expand...
Well, if truth be told, as were walking along the road after the game, we ran into a drunk Dutch guy, who was hauling a big European cup replica with him, it was made of brass (I kid you not) heavy AF, same size as Big Ears, and he was exhausted trying to carry it, in his state of drunken happiness, so my uncle and I swapped him for a Celtic scarf, and he went on his way after exchanging hugs...think he was glad to get rid of it, we carried it between us, until we thought "F this for a game of sojers" and a bunch of Feyenoord fans came up, and asked if we wanted to swap it for a Feyenoord top hat, we looked at each other and said "Sure thing" they left happy, and so did we, I had that top hat as a memento of the trip, for a couple of years, then swapped it for something else, can't remember, no idea what happened to it, but as you say Frank, the trip still gives me chills to this day, just thinking of all the antics YNWA
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 108 (members: 2, guests: 106)

Latest posts

Share this page

Back
Top