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Celtic expecting 50,000 supporters in Sevilla

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) -- An estimated 50,000 Glasgow Celtic supporters have traveled to this Andalusian city for Wednesday's UEFA Cup final, the Scottish club's first final in a European competition for 33 years.

While the majority has made the trip from Scotland for the game against FC Porto, others have come from as far away as Canada, New Zealand, China and the United States.

Over half of the supporters haven't got a ticket for the game, and unless they can buy one from a tout, will be forced to watch on two giant screens specially erected in the city by Seville's Town Hall.

"I don't care about not being at the match. I don't even care who wins. I've just come here for the party," said Glasgow-born Greg Armstrong, who now lives in Palm Beach, Florida. "I was in Milan for the Champions Cup final in 1970 when I was a young man and I didn't want to miss out on this chance."

Many Celtic fans have been congregating around Flaherty's Irish pub near Seville cathedral. Owner Gerry Enright said he has 30,000 liters of beer on standby -- 10 times more than usual.

On Monday, on the street outside the pub a female bagpipe player led hundreds of beer-swilling fans through impromptu versions of the Irish folk song "Fields of Athenry" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" -- with the word Celts replacing Saints.

Some fans handed green and white hooped Celtic shirts to local youngsters as a goodwill gesture.

"I just had to come. I know people who have taken out loans or cashed in their insurance policies to afford the trip. Supporting Celtic is like a religion." said Glasgow-born Hugh Sharkey, accompanied by his 13-year-old son Seamus.

Despite the numbers, Seville police reported that so far there had been just a handful of arrests for minor offences.

Porto fans are coming mostly by car or in a fleet of almost 100 buses from neighboring Portugal and are expected in the city Wednesday.

The trip from Porto on the peninsula's western Atlantic coast down to Seville, close to the Mediterranean, can be done in six hours.

Some 25,000 Portuguese are expected to travel, though just 17,000 have tickets.

Bad pitch

Porto coach Jose Mourinho was blunt about the gnarled, patchy field. "The pitch is not good," he said. "It's slow. It has holes. We're used to playing on a green pitch, not a brown one. I think top-class soccer should be played on better grass."

The weather, too, in a part of Spain known as The Frying Pan could play a part in the outcome, even though the game kicks off in the evening. Temperatures on Monday soared to 34 C (93 F).

"The weather's not the best for teams that have played dozens and dozens of games this season. It doesn't help," Mourinho said.

Celtic coach Martin O'Neill, whose players are more accustomed to the colder climes of Scotland, hoped players would be allowed to drink water at the touchline during the game to prevent dehydration.

"It's obviously a concern," he said.

Forgery warning

"From our intelligence we believe there are probably as many as 700 forged tickets already in Spain. Fans should not buy tickets from unscrupulous sources as they run the risk that they may be fakes," Superintendent Tim Love said.

The police added that any tickets which are on offer will probably be forgeries.

Celtic and Porto both received the same allocation of 15,700 tickets for their fans, but many more are seeking tickets on the black market.

Police officers and attendants will check tickets around 50 meters (yards) from the Olympic Stadium. Spectators will then have to pass their ticket through scanners to enter the stadium.

Official backing

"We received it yesterday. I'm delighted he even took the time to consider it," O'Neill said on Tuesday. "It was well received and much appreciated."

O'Neill joked that the idea may have come from the Labor Party chairman John Reid, who is Scottish.

"I'm obviously very pleased to have received it. John Reid probably had a word with him," the Northern Irish coach said.

Out and down

Porto's 20-year-old striker was sent off in the second leg of the semifinal against Lazio and misses the final.

"I'm really upset about it," Postiga said when he arrived in Seville, included in the Porto squad as a reward for his contribution to its UEFA campaign.

He said he wept when he was shown the red card in Rome.

"It was my saddest day ever. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that," he said.

Postiga has emerged as a standout player over the past season, making his debut for Portugal.

Porto coach Jose Mourinho looked on the bright side.

"He's got lots of finals ahead of him," Mourinho said.

Career highlight

"The World Cup was very emotional but this is a different matter," Mjallby said Tuesday.

The 32-year-old defender's viewpoint coincided with his Celtic teammate, Swedish striker Henrik Larsson, who also said recently that the game was the most important he had ever played.

On Wednesday, Larsson is looking to score his 200th goal in a six-year career with Celtic.

 

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