Checking into a hotel on the outskirts of Turin (because all the hotels in town were full), we bumped into some fellow Gooners to share a cab into the city with. There really is very little for a travelling football fan to do in Turin - only one pub of any note, not a great deal to see, so not one of the best Euro destinations all in all.
On the way to the ground (which takes a while as it is miles out of town), we wondered how many home fans would show up. Juventus don't have the best crowds most of the time, and given a 2-0 lead for Arsenal going into the game, it was possible that they would either all expect defeat and stay away, or be up for a great turnaround and all come out in force. In the end, it was the latter, with much of the stadium (except for the very front) full up.
Getting into the ground was an adventure, as new ridiculous Italian laws mean that everybody must have their name on their ticket, and show their passport to get in. The Italians have great problems with crowd trouble, but that seems like a stupid way to try to crack it. Some people had stringent passport checks and searches, others were just waved in without even having their tickets looked at. Italian bureaucracy and heavy handedness, mixed with Italian disorganisation and incompetence!!
As the stadium started to fill up, the Italians' flags, banners and flares came out on show - this is something they really do much better in Italy than in England - a real spectacular as the teams came onto the pitch.
In the game itself, the Arsenal 2-0 lead was successfully protected. Despite Fabio Capello's claims beforehand that Juve would attack Arsenal "like a hurricane" from the start, it didn't really happen like that. Arsenal had the better chances in the first half, but missed them all, much to the frustration of the away section - hoping that we wouldn't pay for not getting an away goal. Juve were as physical as they were at Highbury, and Nedved deservedly got a red card with about 15 minutes to go.
I forgot to check my watch as the second half started, so had no idea how long was left - and I was perpetually in fear of a Juventus goal, because I knew it would be followed by Juve throwing everything forward in search of a second - the dive in the box for a dodgy penalty was just waiting to happen. But, it never came, and when the board for 2 minutes injury time came up, I started to relax. The final whistle was celebrated wildly, as Arsenal broke the record for not conceding goals in the European Cup - now 8 games in a row. And all that with a young defence, 3/4 of whom were not first choice in their positions 6 months ago.
After the game, we were predictably locked in for 45 minutes, then released - only to be kept in the car park for another 45 minutes as the police organised enough buses to get everybody back into the city. Nobody cared though, they were all talking about Villarreal in the semi finals. Report of some trouble before the game, with Arsenal fans being jumped by Juventus fans and attacked by the police, drew much sympathy - it seems the Italian fans are 20 years behind us in many respects, and of course their police officers are no better when it comes to crowd control.
Anyway, into the the semi finals of the Champions League, for Arsenal's first time ever. After a night in Turin, and a drive back to Milan, I was upgraded to Business Class on the flight home. A nice end to a successful trip.
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