Euro 2012: Supporters are right on track

Paul Radley discovers the most passionate of football fans as he journeys by train from Lviv to Kharkiv in Ukraine.

Supporters of the Holland team make some noise in a train near Kharkiv railway station. Ukraine railways are doing well out of the fans. Jerry Lampen / EPA

"Perfect for couples, but if travelling alone, sharing with a stranger can be a little awkward." So says the guidebook about long distance train journeys in Ukraine.

Eighteen hours travelling in a small compartment with someone you have never met, in a country where the language is difficult to grasp, and changes from Ukrainian at one end of the journey to Russian at the other anyway. What could possibly go wrong?

Maybe they will like cricket, and we will be friends for life. Perhaps they will snore and their feet smell.

Fortunately, there was not much time to dwell on the imponderables. Shortly after boarding train 112 to Kharkiv at Lviv's main train station into spalny vahon (sleeper compartment) No 6 walked 72-year-old Viktor, a Valeriy Lobanovski lookalike wearing a smart shirt and shorts, grey socks and brown sandals.

What middle ground could there be? Silly question. Out of his small travel bag, he pulled a newspaper wallchart with all the matches of Euro 2012 so far neatly filled in, and a portable television.

"Ireland Espagna," he said, holding up a finger to say kick off is in one hour. One hour in which to get the TV tuned. This is Ukraine. What else would you talk about but football? Even if talking itself is a significant problem.

To get his message across, he uses a pidgin of Ukrainian, Russian, German and – most effectively – sign language. All of which provided just enough scope to get across the main points of his life story.

Seventy-two years old, a great grandson who is six months old and also called Viktor. An engineer originally from Kharkiv, but worked in construction in Lviv. And, no doubt from a position of experience, he can see the pluses and minuses of both communism and democracy.

Viktor belied his age with the malleability he showed in trying to get a signal on the TV, as well as the childlike need he had to see the match.

Age has clearly not dulled his enthusiasm for the game, especially since Andriy Shevchenko boosted national self-esteem a few days earlier.

Given that this is the most geographically spread major championship since the World Cup of 1994 in the United States, Ukraine railways are doing well out of football fans this month. The trip from Lviv near the Polish border to Kharkiv in the east in over 1,000kms.

Despite the vast distances involved, letting the train take the strain is a relatively cost-effective and stress-free option for supporters at these championships.

It is not exactly a pittance. A first-class sleeper ticket booked through a Ukraine-based travel company over the internet cost US$177 (Dh650), including the courier fee. A second-class bunk in a four-person cabin is three times cheaper.

In a tournament with prohibitively expensive accommodation costs for many supporters, this is the best way for most to follow their team. There are limited air connections, so flights are far more expensive.

They can be hazardous, too, at a time of year when – as evidenced by the weather-delayed Ukraine-France match in Donetsk – summer storms are frequent and spectacular.

At the start of this tournament, five people died and 15 more were injured when a small plane crash-landed during a storm in the capital, Kiev.

Portugal's supporters were based in Lviv for the first two matches, but have had to travel for this one, and a number of them were on train 112.

"We are very happy to take the train, it is really comfortable," said Flavio, a Portugal supporter two cabins further down the carriage of the train to Kharkiv.

"We are in no rush to get between the stadiums, and we see this as a holiday as well, a good chance to see Ukraine."

The fittings on the train are hardly modern, and convenience breaks should be kept to the bare minimum given the facilities. But train travel is punctual and an engaging experience.

Viktor brought three small slices of bread, two tomatoes and a tin of chicken paste to see him through the 18 hours. Such is the communal atmosphere on the train, he only had one slice and half a tomato, but he seemed more than happy.

He never did get a signal for his television, but he kept abreast of the scores regularly via his mobile telephone. With the lights out and most people on the carriage asleep, his phone glowed again, and he promptly announced: "Four-nul – Ireland ist kaput!"

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