What I learned from Villa's magical European tour

It ended with a whimper, not a bang. A cruel and depressing side effect of watching the same players play the same games over and over and over again. Eventually the legs grow sore and the mind grows weary, and the blade that had cut Aston Villa into a place amongst the best teams in the world in November and December has dulled.

Changing the end-game destination from Athens to Piraeus, and boarding the last flights of the Europa Conference League journey three weeks before you had hoped, hurts.

What started out as a bit of a novelty - heading to European destinations not typically expected in the Europa League or Champions League competitions - turned quickly into a labour of love. This 'Mickey-Mouse' Cup (how dare you) became something that I wanted embedded and sealed into the trophy cabinet at Villa Park, so that on tours in the future, if I'm lucky to enough to have children and grand children, I can point at that weird spindly trophy and say that I saw Villa lift that in Athens. I saw that glory. But then I caught myself.

But football isn't about me. Like music, songs are not written about listening individuals, it's not my song, or your song, or our song. It's not always about us. There are other teams involved, with their own stories to write.

And it's to that that I raise a glass to Olympiacos, fighting for destiny only miles away from home turf to bring a European trophy back to Piraeus and Greece, and to Fiorentina who last won a European competition in 1961. It's their story now.

As for myself? Here's what I learned following Villa from Warsaw to Mostar and beyond.

Just go

Putting off that decision? Just do it. Take the flight, make the purchase, have the talk. Whatever. After journeying to Warsaw alone, I didn't have to do it again thanks to the friends I'd made, and then continued to make. Having the privilege to up and go to Warsaw (and work remotely from there - thanks to my old boss, phew!) unlocked a lot for me, and I never looked back, but taking the chance to plot a weird journey there and back, then endure it while working is something I'll never forget. Backing yourself will always take you far.

No knobhead policy

The away legs of the Europa Conference League tour were relatively free. Looking back, the only concerns I ever had were with strict Polish police after the Legia Warsaw match and a teenage Ajax fan kicking off with a train full of Villa & Ajax fans. It was nothing at all, really. I went to, how many away games? And that was it. Two things, split by months.

And mainly, that's because Aston Villa fans who travel abroad aren't knobheads. Yes, you read that right. It might surprise you, but the vast, vast majority of Villa fans didn't make a single issue.

More than a few pints down the wrong throat is always cause for concern. You'll get the wrong head talking to the police the wrong way and then the tear gas is out, or they'll think hanging a flag somewhere they shouldn't is a good idea, but incidents were few and far between.

The Villans did themselves proud abroad.

The home fans were great

Myself and a few others walked the entire way around Legia's stadium, through swarms of white shirts. I was in a converted car wash/ultras bar in Mostar. Crammed into a train packed full of opposition fans in Amsterdam.

Entirely incident free bar the issues I've already mentioned. In fact, from Mostar to Amsterdam and beyond, you felt nothing if not welcomed.

Especially so in Mostar - a place I cannot wait to head back to.

Fans across the board were loud. You saw it last night at Olympiacos, before that in Lille, again in Amsterdam. It was a constant, almost, that Villa would be welcomed with a hostile, yet jubilant crowd.

Their away fans were often better

One of the highlights was joining Pete Hitchman (AVFConcamera) on expeditions into Birmingham, between Hurst St and Broad St to find opposition fans and discover what they were all about.

AZ Alkmaar and Ajax, funnily enough, were the only two outings where we didn't find any fans to sit with - and while they crammed the pubs they weren't as lively as the others.

Legia Warsaw at home was enlightening, as was Lille, Olympiacos and Zrinjski Mostar. No matter the team, or the size of it, the away fans only wanted one thing - for you to notice them. They just wanted to be seen with their club and their community.

Every single one of them was friendly, and we always told them we were Villa fans. They loved that, and the naivety it takes to walk into a bunch of rowdy fans. It was never going to result in trouble, and I'll be doing it again next season.

It was harder than I thought

This has a dual meaning. There was a realisation in Poland that this was a big deal when Legia tore us a new one. Especially so in Mostar when Zrinjski dragged us to a draw with a lionhearted performance with pride and Bosnia & Herzegovina's coefficient at stake.

Also, getting a plane there and back from Amsterdam within 24 hours was rough -and something I'd ideally never do again!

Having more money or flexibility allows you to turn these trips into holidays, rather than hours of transit. Lille and Mostar were highlights because of this - while the first stay in Amsterdam and Poland were a little manic. There was always a train or plane to catch.

It was still a joy and privilege to attend, of course it was, but make no mistake; some of the legs of the tour were knackering.

It was never about the football

I can't really remember specific moments from most of the games I attended. It's all one blended tapestry were the guttural roars of Warsaw merge into a draw at Mostar despite being months apart. It felt like one big game, bar a penalty shoot-out in Lille.

The most memeroable moments were pre-match or post-match. Just drinking it all in. It was never, ever about what has happening on the pitch - as stunning as it was at a few points.

There's a sort of dichotomy there, as people back home can fairly critique a game, but you - having attended - will just be happy to have been there. Regardless of what happened.

And I can't wait to try and do it all over again next season.

A photo miscellany

To end it, here's a bunch of random photos taken that I didn't highlight in any other posts before.