Table of Contents
When you love a team, you go crazy to follow them away. All the fans know it. But what happened to Mark Corbett, 44 year old Englishman and Estonian supporter It’s truly incredible. On Saturday evening he was the only supporter following the Baltic national team in the match in Azerbaijan in which Estonia was playing for important points to remain in League C of the Nations League.
A poorly organized trip
To go and watch the match live in Gabala he experienced a true three-day odyssey. Corbett, who moved to Tallinn and became passionate about the exploits of the Estonian national team, decided to go to Azerbaijan to visit a new country. But he wasn’t good at organizing the trip down to the smallest details. He left Tallinn for Rome where he then took a flight to Baku taking it for granted that the match would be played as usual in the capital’s Olympic Stadium, already the scene of the 2019 Europa League final between Chelsea and Arsenal, or at most in the nearby Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium.
He had booked the hotel in Baku
Right in Baku, a month earlier, he had booked the accommodation where he was supposed to stay. Instead, once he arrived in the Azerbaijani capital he discovered that he would have to go to Gabala, a mountain town of 12 thousand souls in the north of Azerbaijan which is a 5-hour drive from Baku. After a moment of discouragement, Corbett did not lose heart and tried to regroup. As a member of the Estonian national team supporters’ association (Jalgpallihaigla), he contacted the Baltic Football Federation explaining his problem and was given a ticket (which was also on sale at very low prices, just a few euros).
Helped by an acquaintance to go to Gabala
However, the problem of traveling to Gabala remained because it was a national holiday in Azerbaijan and there were no trains or even bus connections. Luckily for him, Corbett knew a man in Baku who offered to help him by getting him a ride on a minibus together with his contact’s uncle and a group of farmers from Gabala. “It was an interesting and unprecedented journey,” the English fan told the BBC. “The roads alternated between modern highways and sections full of potholes… During the route, then, there were no toilets and to go to the bathroom we had to use holes in the ground which gave off an unbearable stench”, he revealed.
“Whoever saw me told me I was crazy…”
Once he reached the stadium he found himself alone, on a freezing night, supporting Estonia inside a stadium where there were just 1,600 spectators. “Locals told me I was crazy for coming all that way,” Corbett said. He wasn’t even rewarded by the spectacle as the match ended with an anonymous 0-0. However, a precious result for Estonia given that with that point they arithmetically guaranteed their stay in C also in the next Nations League.
#odyssey #Estonia #fan #Azerbaijan #days #draw
–
– How did your experience in Gabala shape your perception of football culture in Azerbaijan?
1. Can you tell us about your experience traveling to Gabala, Azerbaijan to watch the Estonia vs Azerbaijan football match?
2. What made you decide to become an Estonian football supporter despite not being from the country?
3. How did you manage the language barrier during your trip to Azerbaijan?
4. How did the local people react to seeing such a dedicated fan of the Estonian national team?
5. What challenges did you face during your 3-day odyssey and how did you overcome them?
6. How did it feel to be the only supporter in the stadium for such an important match?
7. Do you think your journey highlights the passion of football fans or is it simply an extreme case?
8. As an Estonian supporter, what do you like most about following the team?
9. Are there any other countries or teams that you would like to follow in person?
10. In your opinion, what role does football play in bringing cultures together?
