This Is Guernsey

By Nigel Baudains

AT LEAST two Guernsey people are preparing to make the pilgrimage to Moscow for the European Champions League final on 21 May.

Andy McCarthy and Tim Booth saw their Manchester United heroes beat Bayern Munich in the 1999 final and are hoping for a repeat in this year’s showdown against Chelsea.

‘I’ve got some good friends who said they could sort us out tickets,’ said Mr McCarthy, 42. Some 42,000 people are expected to travel for the game and match tickets are being offered on the black market for £5,000 each.

Since 1995, the stonemason has seen about half his club’s away fixtures in the Champions League, which has taken him to most corners of the Continent.

Tuesday’s semi-final in Barcelona was his third visit to the Nou Camp Stadium, but he said travelling to Russia was not as easy.

‘I went to the Dynamo Kiev group- stage game in 2000 and getting there was very difficult,’ he said.

After a flight to Gatwick and a coach trip to Heathrow, he completed the journey via a stop-off in Budapest.

He expects the trip to cost the best part of £1,000, which will include two nights in a Moscow hotel. Flights are already booked and the men will be flying via Kaliningrad.

Visas are being handled by a local travel agent, which Mr McCarthy said would be more convenient, and the authorities were promising to fast-track the process for football supporters.

Mr Booth, 42, who works for ASA Recruitment, has seen his side play about eight times this season. He comes from Manchester and has lived in Guernsey for about eight years.

‘When I was growing up, I was at Old Trafford week in, week out, but that was in the days when you could just turn up and go through the turnstiles,’ he said.

‘I don’t have problems getting tickets nowadays: it’s more the logistics of getting there.’

But not all Guernsey football fans were celebrating.

Liverpool supporters were left disappointed when their side lost 3-2 to Chelsea in Wednesday’s semi-final.

Andy Priaulx, secretary of the Guernsey branch of the supporters’  club, said some had started to prepare for Moscow.

‘I wouldn’t have gone myself, but our chairman, Dave Baker, and vice-chairman, John Marquis, would have done,’ he said.

‘Dave had already sorted out his visa as he’s never missed a Champions League final when Liverpool have been in it.’

Mr Priaulx admitted feeling quite confident during the Chelsea match.

‘When we equalised I was thinking, “Get a second and it’s all over”, but it just didn’t happen.’