Aviva Stadium opens for 5,000 to watch soccer

IT HAS the potential to be a Trivial Pursuit question in the years ahead. What was the first game seen at the new Aviva Stadium?

The answer will not be the Combined Provinces rugby match for July 31st nor the Eircom League XI match against Manchester United on Saturday, August 7th, but the World Cup final itself

The gates of the Aviva Stadium were thrown open for a sporting event for the first time yesterday evening and about 5,000 fans turned up to watch to Spain v Netherlands on the big screens, but mostly just to see the real star, the stadium itself.

A beautiful summer’s evening was the ideal conditions to showcase the €410 million stadium with its undulating roof, clear sightlines, open plan interior and comfortable bucket seats.

It is as far removed from the rotting old hulk it replaced as it is possible to imagine.

Not everything was perfect. The big screens were just about big enough and the tannoy system, which broadcast the RTÉ commentary was distinctly tinny. There were plenty of Spanish and Dutch shirts, but not many fans from either country. By the time that Andrés Iniesta scored, the majority of the neutrals appeared to be on the side of Spain given the negative tactics adopted by the Dutch.

For Lucia Garcia there was only one place to celebrate winning the World Cup and it wasn’t Dublin. “I wish I was in Madrid tonight. We Spanish stay up all night anyway, but now we have a great excuse.”

Mario Montes from Barcelona said the victory was tinged with pride as so many of the Spanish team played for Barcelona and were Catalan. “I’m so happy. The difference between the Spanish people is about politics not sport.”