POZNAN RESIDENTS are dubbed the potato people of Poland, thanks to their farming background and curious accent.
What better place, then, for the Green Army to put down roots for their Euro 2012 matches against Croatia and Italy in June?
The new €200 million tournament stadium near the city is a white membrane-covered arena with Michelin man curves. Yesterday, it was hopping when local side Lech Poznan ended a three-month goal drought.
Delighted blue-and-white fans linked arms and hopped up and down like mad things to perform their delirious trademark “Poznan” dance.
Perhaps the Irish journalists in the stand brought them luck? “Perhaps,” laughed a delighted Damian Zalewski of Poznan city council. He hopes Euro 2012 will create a new chapter in relations between Ireland and his city in western Poland.
“Twenty-four years after Joxer went to Stuttgart, we’ve done everything we can to make sure he’ll enjoy Poznan,” he said.
With a beautiful old town, excellent food and a love of a beer- fuelled sing-song, the Poznan potato people are more distant cousins than foreigners.
Centuries of foreign rule left them with a familiar, relaxed attitude to authority. “Because of Prussian and German rules, we still like to find a loophole to find ways of doing things in ways that aren’t strictly prohibited,” said Paulina Ratkowska, a local town guide. When Prussian authorities banned speaking Polish, she says, the locals created dozens of choirs to sing in their mother tongue.
There’ll be plenty of singing come June: even if Ireland doesn’t do the business, expect to hear a few renditions of the popular Polish folk song I Love You like I Love Ireland.
“We Poles have a tradition of supporting the weaker side so, if it goes that way, I know we’ll be supporting Ireland,” said Jan Mazurczak of the local tourist office. “We all know so many people in Ireland so we’re sure the Irish will create the best atmosphere.”
Like all Euro 2012 venues, Poznan isn’t quite finished, but it’s further along than most.
The train station, a smaller twin of Dublin airport’s Terminal 2, still looks rough and ready, as does the stadium approach road. But, most importantly, the stadium, has been well tested since it opened 18 months ago.
Poznan is a business capital and well used to trade-fair crowds. So the message of local authorities to Irish fans: get here for the party and don’t worry about the rest.
Hotels are poised to drop their pride – and their prices – in the coming weeks, well-informed locals say, well below the €200- plus a night many are currently asking.
Although two of three first- round matches are in Gdansk, the Irish team is based near Gdansk in spotless Sopot, a Baltic Sea spa resort with a beautiful strand and Europe’s longest wooden pier.
The gleaming white Sheraton, booked almost exclusively by the FAI, is a fairly standard upmarket modern chain hotel, with a maritime theme running through the complex.
The cheapest rooms cost €217; the top-range club executive suites – all cream-coloured furniture and tiger-print carpets – are €674 a night.
“We’re hoping the Irish do well,” said hotel spokeswoman Anna Zebrowska, “that way they’ll stay longer.”
As well as a firm bed and stunning sea view, the lucky club suite residents get a free cocktail each evening in the glazed club lounge, facing on to the sea promenade. Given Ireland’s group placement, the free drink may come in handy.
For some RR, the team can try one of the local fish restaurants or three nearby golf courses. And if things go pear-shaped on the pitch and the free cocktails don’t suffice, there’s always the Unique night club in the hotel complex.
A sign in the window yesterday appeared to pre-empt the Irish team’s arrival.“Ladies, we’re coming!”
Euro 2012: Top Tips
GETTING AROUND Ryanair flies to Poznan; the airport is 4.5km from the stadium and 5km from the city, with regular buses and (hopefully) trains running. Berlin is less than three hours away by train and on the new motorway.
FAN ZONES A free fan zone on Independence Square can hold 30,000 people and stays open to 2am after matches. Euro 2012 sponsor Carlsberg plans its own fan area with campsite and camper van park at Kasprowicza Park. It costs €27 a night to stay, with a minimum three- or four-night stay.
SIGHTS The city palace near the train station has a hulking Kaiser- era exterior and pompous Nazi interior. Its courtyard promises a football free beer garden.
