Liverpool's Red Army advance party arrives in Basel
It was almost like a mini-Kop.
Well, one that was about 20,000 feet over Swiss air space in the confines of a metal cylinder hurtling along at hundreds of miles per hour.
Even before the first flight headed for Basel had left the tarmac at John Lennon Airport, there were signs this wasn’t any old foreign expedition.
There, spotted in the cockpit, was one of the pilots. Proudly wearing a Jurgen Klopp mask.
As the flight neared its destination, the cabin crew took hold of said accessory and posed for photos holding a Liverpool scarf.
And then, on the taxi to the terminal at Basel-Mulhouse Airport, after the routine announcements came the familiar opening bars of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ hit “Three Little Birds”, which has become the unofficial tune to Liverpool’s Europa League run, 2016’s answer to Ring Of Fire 11 years earlier.
Cue an impromptu singalong from around 200 Reds fans, continuing long after the music had been faded out.
So begins in earnest the mass exodus of Liverpool supporters for tomorrow’s Europa League final against Sevilla.
Some will come direct from Merseyside. Others, Manchester or various airports dotted around country, via cities such as Stockholm, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Paris and beyond.
Then there are the hardy souls for whom the train is the best option.
And the really determined will be hitting the road to make the 15-hour journey by car to the St. Jakob-Park stadium in the hope of witnessing a silver lining to a European campaign that has already delivered so many highlights.
Basel, though, was still somewhat sleepy this morning, little sign of the excitement to come as locals strolled along the fast-flowing Rhine.
Not surprising, given there were only a couple of flights leaving Liverpool today.
That trickle, though, will become a torrent tomorrow as Reds from all over Europe descended upon the border of Switzerland, Germany and France.
Liverpool will officially have 10,600 fans inside the 35,000-capacity host stadium, but let’s not stick our heads in the sand.
Many, many thousands more will travel to Basel. In contrast, Sevilla have taken up only 7,000 of their allocation but already a few of their fans could be spotted around.
Basel, as a city, is prepared for the influx from England and Spain, proudly promoting the game with posters welcoming those arriving at the airport but, if a television interview with the chief of local police is a barometer, unwilling to stand for any nonsense.
But the welcome has been universally friendly, with one enthusiastic taxi driver in particular delighted to have a Merseyside contingent in his cab until one of his passengers almost inadvertently walked off with his briefcase.
The smile soon returned to his face once the momentary misunderstanding was resolved.
All that’s missing now is a Liverpool win tomorrow. Over to you, Jurgen and the boys.
Source: Liverpool Echo
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.