Tricolour bins, Taytos, and beers, as Poznan welcomes Green Army

IT might have been all green until now, but red and white were the only colours in town last night as 30,000 raucous Polish fans went wild.

Although the lowest ranked team in the tournament, Poland almost did a number on former champions Greece and sent Poznan into rapture.

Irish fans cheered Poland, Polish fans cheered Poland, and everybody got drunk.

Between thirsty Irish fans and ecstatic Polish fans, there were even fears that they would drink the city dry. Luckily, that nightmare scenario did not come to pass.

Even Giovanni Trapattoni was praising the sacrifices the fans had made to make the trip to Poland.

“I think also, all players. I repeat, always, you must be proud about our country, our people, because they make a very big sacrifice, the money, the travel, the trip. The players know this. I am sure, all players before the training, I repeated this to them. Our country waits. Our supporters wait.”

Although, the only sacrificing on display yesterday seemed to be some gentle sunburning and sitting down. Oh, and drinking. We sure know how to sacrifice.

If you look hard enough, you might even spot a jersey from one of Ireland’s rivals in the group of death, with a few lonely Spanish fans spotted in the fan zone.

They seemed to be a more of a hit with the ladies than the rapidly reddening Irish masses. They are better at football to boot, a fact pointed out by Javier, who wasn’t too perturbed by the threat posed by Ireland’s midfield duo Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews to the mighty Xavi and Iniesta.

“They are different players. Maybe they can block them but I don’t think so. But I hope Ireland qualify. A little bit of my heart is with them,” he said.

And then he was gone — swallowed up by a bevy of Polish ladies wanting a photograph with him.

Galway’s biggest Gary Breen supporters were not as much in demand for photo opportunities. They were here strictly for football, alcohol and to impart some statistics on the former international career of Gary Breen. All decked out in Gary Breen shirts, I was informed not to scoff at his career when compared with some of the more heavyweight football names.

“He’s a legend and we won’t hear a bad word against him. He has the same amount of goals in a World Cup as Lionel Messi so he’s as good as him. He failed a medical at Inter Milan so they saw something in him like. Put that in your paper,” explained Barry Kilkelly.

With facts of that magnitude at your fingertips, you’d have thought they were in Poland for weeks soaking up the football atmosphere. Not at all. Four hours in and they hadn’t even dropped their luggage off.

“Sure you have to experience the culture so we are having a beer here first. Feck the camp sites. There’s eight of us in the camper and we asked a fella could we park in a car park down the road there for the night. 80 zlotty, [€16] sure now that’s for nothing. No flies on us, like.”

No sporting event is complete without a visit from Hector, and sure enough he was to be seen walking around the town talking to all and sundry.

The Poles were oblivious to his celebrity status. He also took the time to admire the recycling bins of Poznan, which were in the Irish colours.

“Sure even Poznan town council are thinking of us with them bins. It’s green, white and gold for the bottle bins and, by Jesus, we’ll fill them. So a big thank you to the Mayor, that’s very decent of him.”

Mikey Gilmore from Galway was so excited about coming, he booked the wrong flights and arrived a day before the rest of his drinking buddies.

Even though they had already spent a night in Poznan, they all seemed to be carrying suitcases. That mystery was quickly cleared up. “We rented a place last night for three of us but we packed 15 in in the end.

“It was a bit of a kip but sure all you need is a roof. We will find the camps today, sure.”

With their cans in hand and their backs up against one of the Old Square’s many fountains, they didn’t look like they were going to move anytime soon.

Not all the Irish fans are here to drink and laze about singing all day. James Bolger, from Wexford, has been all over the world selling scarves for Irish matches and sure enough he was in Poznan.

“My usual spot is outside Crowe’s in Ballsbridge but this is a bit of a sunnier spot. I’m glad we got Poland. If we get one result, then we’ll go through and sure the party rolls on then.”

Our country waits. Our supporters wait. They seem more than happy to.