1:3 Ireland v Croatia - Poznan's Opening Match
2012-06-10
Another day of exciting UEFA EURO 2012™ football action has just taken place. On Sunday, 10th June at 20:45 at the Poznan Football Stadium on Bulgarska Street, the first match in the capital city of Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) took place.
From as early as 8am onwards, more than 12 hours before kickoff, you could see football fans trickling and then streaming their way from the City Centre to the football stadium from different parts of Europe, most of the fans came from Ireland and Croatia supporting the two teams scheduled to meet at the Poznan pitch that evening. It is estimated that around 10 thousand Croatian and well in excess of 20 thousand Irish football fans came to the capital city of Wielkopolska.
The colorful incomers flooded the city centre, especially Plac Wolności, where the Fanzone is located and the Old Market Square (now called by the visitors Stary Rhino instead of Rynek) the natural touristy spots for every visiting tourist. Never before have the streets of Poznan been so colourful! The Irish, who were among the vast majority, showed up in the city centre wearing green. An inseparable element of their outfits were the world famous artificial red beards and funny high leprauchaun style hats. Croatians on the other hand proudly strutted around dressed in their red-and-white checked t-shirts. What is most important however is that there were big smiles on the faces of both groups of fans.
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