Soccer:Liverpool will set off at lunchtime today for an epic 24-hour overland journey to Madrid for Thursday's Europa League semi-final. And Fulham confirmed they will travel by road to Germany today for their first leg against Hamburg.
The continuing problems caused by the volcanic ash will see Liverpool team take three separate trains to the south of France before a short flight to Madrid. The marathon trip includes an overnight stop-over in Paris tonight.
Liverpool officials hope other options for flying to Madrid from the middle of France may become available but the current plan is to travel by train to London, take the Eurostar to Paris and then tomorrow morning a TGV train to Bordeaux and fly from there across the Pyrenees to Madrid.
The journey will begin with a coach trip from Liverpool’s training ground to a station in the north-west making it a real planes, trains and automobiles experience.
Fulham, who are chasing their first European final in history, had hoped to fly by private jet to Hamburg tomorrow morning but they have now admitted defeat and will revert to plan B.
The team will now board a luxurious coach to Folkestone this morning, where they will catch the Eurotunnel to Calais before driving to Hamburg on the same coach. It is anticipated that the approximate 600-mile journey will take between 10 and 12 hours to complete.
Both the Champions League matches between Inter Milan and Barcelona tonight and Bayern Munich v Lyon tomorrow are going ahead with the visiting teams travelling overland by coach.
Fans also face “nightmare” journeys to watch their teams play in European this week. Even the president of Madrid Reds, Liverpool’s supporters club in the Spanish capital, doubts he will be able to get to the match.
Neil Thomas said: “I’m trapped in Liverpool and not sure I’ll make the game in Madrid.”
Pete Culvin, from supporters’ club Spirit of Shankly, said he thinks the train is the only realistic option for many fans.
“I suppose the only way to get there is by train. They’re having the same problems as the team. It’s a nightmare for everybody,” said Culvin.
The fan, who helps organise travel for supporters, said: “We’ve taken coaches in the past to European games but they have been in northern Europe like Holland and Lille in France, not as far as Madrid.”
He said the main concerns for travelling fans was money, and missing time off work.
“It’s down to the cost for the fans. It could cost hundreds and hundreds of pounds.”
Asked if he thought the game should have been postponed, he said: “We’ve got a game on Sunday and the other semi-final next week. They’ve got to get the games in some time.”