The arena was not just a place for fans, it was also a place where parents could feel comfortable about bringing their children too.
Its worth noting that although beer was on sale each night there never seemed to be any over drunkenness.
Some evenings saw the arena packed, at other times there were not many folk, but throughout it all there was a spirit of bonhomie. There was collective sighing and booing at the referees, frustration at missed shots and sheer joy when goals were scored.
After matches the crowd often congregated around the railway station and it became a noisy, but fun place to be. The police were there but kept a healthy distance, with an eye on it all whilst smiling at the fun. The law about the tooting of car horns was completely ignored, they just let the fans celebrate. If there were any problems, I didn’t see any any. What I did see impressed me enormously.
The Spanish fans were in joyous mood last night around Nyon but those whose team didn’t make it still got in their cars to wave flags and be part of the celebrations. A fitting way for a town that has the headquarters of UEFA along its lakeside. This is how football should be. The football fans of Nyon should be proud of themselves.
Take a look at the photos below to see what I mean.
I heard that there was a similar atmosphere over in Plainpalais in Geneva with the Germans and the Spanish hugging each other at the end of the match last night. Positively heartwarming.