AS Monaco 4-0 Tours
Stade Louis II
Att: 5842 (~50 away fans)
30/07/12
A very unique ground
Our third and final game in the French Riviera saw us cross the border to attend the Stade Louis II. We had seen Monaco's final game in Pre-season the previous week, they looked a good team so I was slightly optimistic as to the outcome of the game. Prior to the game I had given a prediction of a 4-0 scoreline, lottery numbers to come.
Arriving at the ground couldn't have been easier, we parked roughly under the centre circle. We made our way into the main entrance in order to purchase our tickets. We decided to go for the stand on the opposite side so made our way out and around the ground, turns out it's one entrance for everyone. At least we got some pictures. Taking our seats we were nearly on halfway, about 7 rows back. This would have been perfect, however the seats were just about wide enough for my westie to sit on. There was also a smell of BO looming in the air. (before you can comment it wasn't one of us three).
The ground itself is certainly unique, having a capacity of 18.500 (two thirds the population of the country!). It is built on top of the car park and houses the university of Monaco. Everywhere you look is a different feature, be it the arches, the odd roof or the crammed in sections. The stand to the right of us was covered and house the Monaco Ultras. There were about 10 of them at the start of the game with no noise being made, then in the 22nd minute around 40 more came out of the entrance equipped with drums and megaphones creating a half decent atmosphere. At the back of this stand you get a decent view to the palace on the hill in the back ground. The stand opposite us was the main stand, this was split horizontally be a row of executive boxes, the stand we were in was similar but no boxes. The stand to the left was the open end, made unique by the large arches towering over the ground. This stand backs onto the border with France. The tunnel was bizzare, as you can see from the pictures.
The game itself went exactly as expected with Monaco being too strong for their opponents. All four goals came between the 30th and 44th minute. The pick of the bunch was a superb free kick from about 30 yards that sailed into the top corner. The game was all but dead in the second half save for a Tours player being sent off for a second yellow card and a couple of Monaco goals being disallowed for offside. After the game we made a slow walk back round to the car park taking some pictures before a well organised exit straight back onto the motorway.
Arriving at the ground couldn't have been easier, we parked roughly under the centre circle. We made our way into the main entrance in order to purchase our tickets. We decided to go for the stand on the opposite side so made our way out and around the ground, turns out it's one entrance for everyone. At least we got some pictures. Taking our seats we were nearly on halfway, about 7 rows back. This would have been perfect, however the seats were just about wide enough for my westie to sit on. There was also a smell of BO looming in the air. (before you can comment it wasn't one of us three).
The ground itself is certainly unique, having a capacity of 18.500 (two thirds the population of the country!). It is built on top of the car park and houses the university of Monaco. Everywhere you look is a different feature, be it the arches, the odd roof or the crammed in sections. The stand to the right of us was covered and house the Monaco Ultras. There were about 10 of them at the start of the game with no noise being made, then in the 22nd minute around 40 more came out of the entrance equipped with drums and megaphones creating a half decent atmosphere. At the back of this stand you get a decent view to the palace on the hill in the back ground. The stand opposite us was the main stand, this was split horizontally be a row of executive boxes, the stand we were in was similar but no boxes. The stand to the left was the open end, made unique by the large arches towering over the ground. This stand backs onto the border with France. The tunnel was bizzare, as you can see from the pictures.
The game itself went exactly as expected with Monaco being too strong for their opponents. All four goals came between the 30th and 44th minute. The pick of the bunch was a superb free kick from about 30 yards that sailed into the top corner. The game was all but dead in the second half save for a Tours player being sent off for a second yellow card and a couple of Monaco goals being disallowed for offside. After the game we made a slow walk back round to the car park taking some pictures before a well organised exit straight back onto the motorway.