Sport & Fitness

The expert’s choice
Tom Gard of www.thefootballexperience.co.uk, which offers package tours to European games, gives us his personal recommendations

‘Andalusia is a passionate place and this is reflected in the derby game between Seville and Real Betis. Seville’s ground is right in the centre of town, the equivalent of Wembley being at the end of Oxford Street. It’s a real no-holds-barred, furious, barmy encounter. Seville itself is also amazing. There are some great bars in the old town where the barmen don’t bother adding up your bill, they just scrawl how many beers you’ve had in chalk on the bar.

‘Another great derby is Athletico Bilbao vs Real Sociadad. Bilbao is a bit like Newcastle in that it has improved so much in the last 20 years. It’s a bit like going to an educated Millwall game with old men chucking sunflower seeds on the pitch throughout the match. Bilbao’s ground, St Mames, is the oldest in Spain. It’s going to be pulled down soon, so I would suggest getting there now as you can sit almost right on the touchline and it’s got a real old-school atmosphere. Feature continues

‘For something a bit different, I love Budapest. There are so many teams in the city that they stagger the kick-off times. I once managed to see four games in one day. It’s not the best quality football, but it’s incredibly cheap, only a couple of quid to get in. Upest vs Fervencies is the best of the bunch. There’s a bar you must visit called the 6-3 Bar. It celebrates the time the Hungarian national team beat England by that score in 1953. The place is covered in pictures of the game and it’s possibly the best sports-themed pub I’ve ever been to.’

Extras
Other companies that offer package deals to top European games at competitive rates include the following (do remember to book well in advance).
www.activitybreaks.com
www.footballencounters.com
www.fanfare-events.com (you can also go further afield with this outfit – it organises trips to Brazil to watch games at the Maracana, the world’s largest football stadium)