I never thought I’d say this, but I’m incredibly grateful that I took French in middle school.
After hearing and reading horror story after horror story for Americans in Paris, I was very nervous, and wondered if I made a huge mistake coming to Paris.
Instead, the opposite was true.
All it took for me was knowing the basic phrases (je suis, je voudrais, j’ai, bonjour, merci, etc…) and I was treated like any one else. I even had lunch in a café near the River Seine without speaking a word of English.
I stayed in a very nice neighborhood, mixed with tourists as well as Parisians. Everyone stayed out till late in the evening, 10 or 11 o’clock, enjoying a smoke and some coffee or wine, on the porches of the café’s all up and down Rue de Abessess (pronounced Ah-beh-see). I even joined them my first night and sat outside at a café two blocks from my hostel, sipping on a café chocolat,which just ended up being hot chocolate with whipped cream in a glass. I drank it with a straw. Yum.
On Saturday, after seeing the sights in the morning (Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, Champs-Elysee), I ventured over to the Parc de Princes, the home stadium of Paris Saint-Germain.
I pulled one of the luckiest moves of my life the night before. I was told I could arrive the day of the game and get a ticket from the box office, once I pick up a free PSG supporters card, but after seeing the game sold out on some websites, I decided to spend a few Euro more and just buy my match ticket through the PSG website.
I’m thankful that I did this because as I approached the stadium from the metro (subway) stop, police and security were out in numbers. And numbers. And numbers. Like literally there were maybe 500 police officers. That may even be a bit on the lower side. And there was an equal amount of security members. They set up a perimeter about 100 meters around the stadium. You couldn’t get past unless you had a supporters card, a ticket, or in my case, a good excuse.
After walking in circles trying to find a guard who could actually point me in the correct direction (I heard different answers from different guards and nearly gave up), I found one who literally led me to the ticket office, where they printed out my match ticket without even looking at my ID. Absolutely wild.
I was beyond pumped to actually have the ticket in my hands. The game ended up being sold out, and I literally got one of the last ones, as I was in the last row of the top/second deck of the stadium, in the Presidentialle side (west side). I picked up a scarf, and waited to get into the stadium for the 5:00pm start.
Once inside, I was lead to my seat by the steward (which I found out later, you have to tip after they bring you to the seat). As I took my seat, I quickly found out one of the reasons that makes the Parc des Princes such a great stadium. The seats are aren’t all facing the center of the pitch, but they are angled a few degrees downwards. Normally when you sit at a stadium, you’re seat finishes at a 90 degree angle. These seats were angled at a 93-95 degree angle (my guesstimate), which definitely makes it easier to watch the action to those seated.
The other interesting aspect about the stadium was the roof. There is a covering that protects all 48,712 fans in attendance from the elements, while keeping the field open to the heavens. But the roof is also, like the seats, angled downwards towards the field. This in effect helped keep all of the sound coming from the fans around the pitch, on the pitch, leading to an incredible atmosphere.
There are plenty of ways to describe the Parc des Princes, but the one I’d use is, “a cauldron”. The stadium was bubbling with excitement in the lead-up to the match against AS Saint Etienne, and by the start of the game, the noise pouring out of Les Virages (pronounced Vee-raj…I think!), the supporters’ sections behind both goals, was more than impressive. With an endless selection of chants and songs, and an endless supply of energy, supporters created the atmosphere I was desperately hoping to see.
Even though I was sitting in a seated section of mixed PSG and Saint Etienne fans, I could still feel the stadium rocking through my body during the match.
I knew PSG was good, but what I didn’t realize until after was that they were undefeated coming into the match, a full two months into the season. Saint Etienne paid no notice though, and did their best to quickly attack on the counter, while letting PSG have most of the possession in the first half. PSG, missing a few players due to injury including Nenê and Lavezzi, struggled to create many ideas in attack.
The best chance of the first half for either side came from PSG’s forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the best players in the world, and one of my favorite players (GO SWEDEN!), who had a 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper. Unfortunately for the crowd’s sake, AS-SE keeper Stephane Ruffier snuffed out the shot rather easily. Those two would fatefully meet again later in the match
At the stroke of halftime, PSG were booed off the pitch, and in the second half, not much had changed. Ibrahimovic was largely invisible throughout the rest of the first half and start of the second half. Javier Pastore, another one of the best players in the side, struggled to find a rhythm for his passes, and along with his midfield partners created too many turnovers.
Saint Etienne forever changed the course of the match when they brought in former A.C. Milan academy player Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang in the 51st minute. Last season Aubameyang scored 16 goals in Ligue Un, and he had a near immediate impact. Just four minutes after his insertion to the match, his shot on goal was deflected in by PSG defender Mamadou Sakho, giving AS-SE a shock 1-0 lead.
The real turning point of the match happened in the 70th minute. First half substitute Mathieu Bodmer played a long ball towards the box for Ibrahimovic to run onto. Instead of giving up on the pass, which went a bit long, Ibra tried to control the ball with his foot. Unfortunately for him, and the keeper Ruffier, Ibra missed his target and instead his outstretched leg went straight into the chest of Ruffier. Once Ibra got to his feet, it was a straight red card, and shock and dismay for the Paris crowd. From my seat, it just looked like both had hit each other going for the ball. Upon viewing the play after the game, the red card seems much more legit.
PSG barely had time to breathe, as two minutes later, a Bodmer turnover led to another goal by AS-SE, Aubameyang the ultimate finisher, putting the dagger deep within the PSG hearts and sending his visiting “Les Verts” supporters into raptures in their little corner of the PdP.
Guillaume Hoarau, a second half substitute for PSG, got a nice goal in the 89th minute, sending in a shot on the volley past a helpless Ruffier. But it was too late, and PSG fell to their first defeat of the season.
I was glad to have seen a goal, but was definitely very disappointed by the result and the red card to Ibra. On the plus side, though there were some fisticuffs in the virages, the fans were amicable in my area and after the match outside of the stadium.
Despite the game’s result, overall I had an incredible experience at the Parc des Princes, and would really recommend it to anyone who is a football fan. They have one of the best teams in the world, thanks to the petrodollars from the UAE, and they have terrific support from the fans.
My stay in France ended up being a fantastic one. I’ll be back for sure, and hopefully soon.
Au Revior.
Notes:
Parisian baked goods are incredible. The pastries, breads, meringues, all of it was fantastic. If you enjoy food, you’ll enjoy Paris.
The Paris metro is slowly being upgraded. Over my stay I went on four lines. Three of the four were very antiquated, with old train cars, no PA announcements on them, and the only way to leave or enter was to lift a handle on the car doors! Luckily, one of the lines I was on had modern train cars.
The Eurostar train from London to Paris and back is very efficient, though not much cheaper than a flight. I’d say take the train, but either way you’ll end up paying the same with a train/taxi from the airport to your hotel.
Follow Dan on Twitter: @DanKarell15
Dan Karell's Blog 