Groundhopper Daniel and the UEFA 55

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Groundhopper Daniel and the UEFA 55

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06/07/2026

It fills me with great joy to see Norway doing so brilliantly at the World Cup. 🇧🇻🏆🔥

Some other Danish football fans, however, have a hard time watching our Norwegian “brother people” run rings around us (and many others) on the football pitch.

That applies both to Bodø/Glimt, who shocked all of Europe in the Champions League, and of course to the mighty World Cup campaign that Haaland and co. are having over there.

I visited Ullevaal Stadium in autumn 2025, where these weeks you can see thousands of Norwegian fans cheering yet another victory and yet another goal. After which they form long “rowing boats” together with the team up on the big screens.

It may also well be that I feel something special for a while about the UEFA nations I visit around the place. I saw Norges draw 1–1 with New Zealand in a friendly match without Erling Haaland on the pitch.

We cannot say that Norway’s outstanding World Cup has come as a complete surprise. After all, they had performed super well in qualification, where, among others, Italy were thoroughly put in their place.

But knocking Brazil out of the World Cup — deservedly — is a huge chapter in Norwegian football history.

In 20–30 years, men will tell their children about the time they partied all night long in an imaginary rowing boat together with thousands of other ecstatic fans.

Have we seen the peak yet? Or is England next in line?

All things considered, they just need to send the ball up to that long-haired Viking up front.

23/06/2026

I think I have to accept that I will not be attending any more stadium matches this season. 🏟

If we define the 2025/26 season as running from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, I managed to reach a respectable total of 69 matches in Denmark and abroad.

From Brøndby’s dramatic European Vikingur comeback to a crazy 6–4 thriller in Ringsted, there was certainly no shortage of memorable games along the way.

Besides Denmark, I also watched football in Latvia, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, and Wales.

Fortunately, not every UEFA league follows the traditional late-summer-to-late-spring calendar.

In Ireland, for example, the top division starts early in the year and crowns its champion in the autumn.

These competitions are often referred to as summer leagues. I visited a couple of them last summer, and at the end of July I will be heading to Ireland, where a few matches await on the Emerald Isle.

May I see your 2025/26 stats? 🍻

22/06/2026

And so I reached the end of my review of the 29 countries in which I have so far watched football. 🇩🇰

Number 30 will be Ireland in the end of July by the way.

I attented my first football match in my home country of Denmark when I was 10 years old — in the autumn of 1993.

Unfortunately, my journey began with a derby defeat to Brøndby IF, a club I would later come to love so dearly.

I will not be listing all the clubs I have visited in Denmark. But feel free to take a look at Futbology or even add me as a friend.

I should also mention that I have a nice, round 100 Danish stadiums on my CV. For that reason, I am in no particular hurry to add new Danish stadiums to my collection.

It feels good to be standing at 100. I am currently at 83 foreign stadiums, so perhaps I will aim to reach 100 there as well before hunting for anything new here at home in Denmark..

21/06/2026

11 June 2003 marks a milestone on my journey towards completing the UEFA 55. 🇱🇺

Denmark were playing away against Luxembourg, and I travelled there on a TIPSBLADET supporters’ bus to watch the match with a good friend. My first game of football outside Denmark.

Although I had no idea what the future would bring, this was where the journey began.

Fortunately, I still have a single surviving photograph of a photograph from my visit to Stade Josy Barthel, where FLF played its home matches for many years.

As far as I know, the stadium has not been demolished. However, it does not appear that any matches are played there anymore.

I was just shy of my 20th birthday at the time. Had I already set out with the specific goal of watching football in every UEFA country back then, I would probably have completed the project long ago.

Instead, at nearly 43 years of age, I choose to look on the bright side — there are still plenty of great experiences ahead of me.

Denmark won 2–0 in a rather uninspiring affair where, in truth, the three points were all that mattered.

I do, however, remember Thomas Gravesen scoring a wonderful long-range effort before celebrating like a gladiator.

Denmark went on to qualify for Euro 2004, where the journey came to an end with a quarter-final defeat to the Czech Republic. The very same country that Denmark later lost to in the decisive playoff for the 2026 World Cup.

20/06/2026

I am gradually reaching the end of my reverse countdown of the UEFA countries I have visited so far. 🇳🇱

The third footballing nation on my list was the Netherlands.

That was long before I had ever heard of groundhopping — and even longer before I set myself the goal of watching football in every UEFA country.

So, let us go back to August 2005. Brøndby IF had just become Danish champions and were preparing to take on the challenge of qualifying for the promised land of the UEFA Champions League.

AFC Ajax had emerged from the draw. Not exactly the easiest opponent. In the first leg at home, Brøndby only just managed to secure a somewhat respectable 2–2 result to take with them to the decisive match in Amsterdam.

Swedish striker Johan Elmander gave Brøndby a 1–0 lead before half-time. The travelling supporters certainly made themselves heard before the second half got underway.

But then things unfolded as they so often have for Brøndby in European competition. The party ended abruptly before it had really begun.

The Dutch giants found their rhythm, and the goals started flying into the net behind Casper Ankergren. The match ended 3–1, sending Ajax through to the Champions League.

As I do not have any of my own photographs from the game, I will have to return to the Amsterdam Arena one day to properly document my visit.

Then again, I wouldn't mind another trip to the ever-fascinating city of Amsterdam.

19/06/2026

FC Barcelona is the only foreign club I have seen play on multiple occasions. 🇪🇦

In fact, I have attended four matches at the old Camp Nou. One in 2012, two in 2014, and another in 2017.

Every single one of those matches featured a certain Lionel Messi. I am very grateful to have seen the greatest footballer of all time perform live on several occasions.

And at the moment of writing Spain is the country where I have experienced most stadium games outside Denmark: Six.

Barcelona is a football city like few others. FC Barcelona naturally dominates the landscape, but there is plenty more to discover as well. I have visited the city quite a few times by now.

Spain is not known for the kind of intense fan culture you find in some other countries. Spectators tend to behave differently from what you might experience elsewhere in southern Europe.

Of course, you can still find organised supporters with chants, tifos, and all the rest. At Camp Nou, however, the crowd has traditionally been somewhat spoiled. It takes quite a lot to get people truly out of their seats.

For me, Spanish football is also about bocadillos and the mountains of sunflower seed shells left behind in the stands after fans spend the entire match cracking and chewing pipas.

You can literally hear the constant crunching throughout the game.

Besides Barcelona, I have also watched football in Málaga and on Gran Canaria, on more than one occasion. When you are on holiday, you might as well try to fit one or more matches into the schedule.

It is a fantastic way to experience the local culture and meet the local people. It is something completely different from visiting a museum alongside hundreds of other tourists.

In addition to Barcelona, I have also watched matches involving Málaga CF, El Palo FC, Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, U.D. San Fernando and Arucas CF during trips to Spain.

18/06/2026

I managed to watch AS Roma play while Francesco Totti was still part of the team. 🇮🇹

My first match at an Italian stadium took place at the mighty Olimpico in the Eternal City, Rome.

Things very nearly went wrong when the Italian capital was hit by a rare snowstorm during the weekend of my visit in early February 2012.

Fortunately, the match was only postponed until the following day, when I was still in town. Totti played, and Roma demolished the visitors from Inter, winning by 4–0.

Aside from the football, I also got to see Rome’s classic landmarks covered in snow. Unfortunately, snowball fights were not allowed inside the Colosseum.

While I had naturally hoped for warmer weather in Rome, the unexpected snowfall so far south turned out to be a memorable experience in its own right.

Italy is certainly one of those football countries that never disappoints.

The tifosi sing their hearts out in the stands, and you do not have to be in Serie A to experience the passion — the curvas are just as lively in the lower divisions.

Italians are famous for appreciating everything that pleases the eye, the palate, and the soul. That spirit is perfectly reflected in the country’s football culture as well.

Grab a margherita pizza before kick-off to get into the authentic Italian mood. A portion of gnocchi in the stands and a quick espresso at half-time are not out of the question either.

Italy is football from north to south — there is no doubt about it. The country shaped like a boot delivers the goods from start to finish.

I have since been on other football trips to Italy, where I have watched matches involving SSC Napoli, U.S. Salernitana 1919, U.S. Città di Fasano and Alma Juventus Fano 1906.

17/06/2026

It was at Craven Cottage in March 2012 that I attended my first football match in England. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Once you have experienced football culture in the United Kingdom, you will always want to come back. The atmosphere and matchday experience over there are simply second to none.

I watched Fulham FC take a 3–0 beating from the visitors from Swansea City Football Club.

Brendan Rodgers was truly establishing his reputation as a manager at the time, while Dutchman Dick Jol and the rest of the London side had no answer.

Craven Cottage is a unique ground, as you do not have to kick the ball very far over one of the touchlines before it ends up in the River Thames.

I also remember seeing quite a few wealthy Russian visitors in attendance. They did not smile much, but they certainly knew how to shout instructions to their compatriot on the pitch. There was no small talk with the other spectators, that is for sure.

Back then, I still believed that buying an expensive ticket for one of the better seats along the sideline would automatically make the experience much better.

It does not necessarily work that way. You can get just as much of a thrill — if not more — from one of the cheaper seats with the ordinary fans around you.

Since then, I have returned to England to watch matches involving Crystal Palace Football Club, Millwall Football Club and Arsenal.

16/06/2026

I watched football in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, on 30 July 2013. 🇪🇪

Unfortunately, none of the photos from that trip have survived, which means I will have to return to Le Coq Arena one day and properly document my visit.

On that occasion, Nõmme Kalju, the reigning Estonian champions, were taking on their Czech counterparts in a UEFA Champions League qualifier.

The two game tie was effectively decided after only a short time.

Viktoria Plzeň ended up winning 4–0 at Estonia’s national stadium, where Kalju FC do not normally play their home matches.

I remember happily buying a few b**rs from one of the shops inside the stadium. My disappointment was considerable, however, when I discovered that they were non-alcoholic b**rs that tasted more like rye bread than b**r.

I also recall seeing quite a number of soldiers in the stands. I never found any evidence that Nõmme Kalju had any connection to the military or anything like that - but then again, soldiers are entitled to enjoy a Champions League match as much as anyone else.

We sailed from expensive Helsinki in Finland to much cheaper Tallinn.

I imagine plenty of Finns make the same journey every year, because there is a huge difference in the price of alcohol (and everything else) in Finland compared with Estonia — not to mention its availability.

As I said, this is one of two blind spots on my list of currently 29 out of 55 UEFA countries visited.

I am missing that photograph. But I would be more than happy to make another trip to Tallinn one day.

15/06/2026

I have been on several trips to Germany to watch football. 🇩🇪

When you live in Denmark, it is only natural to head south to take in some Bundesliga football and all the other good things that come with it. And plenty of Danes do exactly that.

German football culture is among the very best. Packed stadiums deep down in the divisions, constant singing, and fantastic atmospheres.

Add to that a steady flow of German draft b**r and perhaps even countless Wiener schnitzels sizzling away on the grill, and you have the complete package.

The first time I watched football in Germany was in Hamburg, with FC St. Pauli on the schedule.

It is by no means easy to get tickets for their home matches at Millerntor, so we travelled with the Bundesliga bus organised by the company Groundhopping Tours.

On Sunday, 7 October 2018, St. Pauli defeated Sandhausen 3–1, and just like that, Germany was added to my stadium map.

Since then, I have also visited SV Babelsberg 03, Hertha BSC, Berliner Athletik Klub 07, and Lichtenberg 47 on trips to Berlin — a city where boredom is virtually impossible.

Germany is, and always will be, a country that every football fan should experience, along with everything that comes with it.

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