Help me fulfill my dream of seeing Liverpool live!

August 28, 2008 10:03 PM

Does anyone here know anything about buying tickets to UEFA Champions League games?

I have the opportunity to be in Madrid on October 22nd, the day of the Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool Champions League game, fulfilling a dream of mine to see Liverpool play live (quite a distant dream when I live on the other side of the world).

On the liverpoofc.tv official website it says I need to "apply" for a ticket (I am guessing this is because there are only so many allocated to Liverpool for their fans), and that to apply I need to be a Fancard member - which costs £30. So even with this expensive membership that I otherwise have no use for, I am not guaranteed a ticket.

I'm guessing the advantage of buying a ticket through my club is that I’ll be seated with all the Liverpool fans - something not to underestimate the importance of - but I am wondering what other ways are there to get tickets? Is the only other place to buy them going to be Atletico Madrid's website? What about all the slightly dodgy feeling websites that come up when you google 'buy champions league tickets'?

Bonus points if anyway can tell me when these tickets might start to go on sale. Okay so the draw for the group stage fixtures was only a few hours ago, but still! I'd really love to not miss out on this great opportunity! Many thanks in advance.

Oh yeah I should probably mention, I know that a lot of fans turn up to the games without tickets in the hope of picking some up from scalpers before the game, but going to Madrid at this that would mean validating my 3 month train pass signifacntly earlier than I'd planned, which I could really only justify if it was a sure thing.

posted by atmosphere to sports, hobbies, & recreation (6 comments total)

I think your best chances are getting tickets from the Atletico Website, the small Liverpool contingent is very likely to be reserved for fan club members and season ticket holders. The sale should start any day now, I know that Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen in Germany started selling tickets for group stage 2 months ago, then again they didn't have to go through qualification.

I'm not really familiar with the Spanish market, but in Germany you can hardly get the tickets anywhere but from the club, only very little are sold over other ticket services. I wouldn't travel to Madrid to buy tickets before the game, it will most likely be sold out and prices on the black market will be insane for crappy seats, at least that's my experience from a Real Madrid match we went to see once. One might say, hey it's just group stage, but Atletico is hasn't been playing Champion's League in over a decade and Liverpool is an attractive and popular team to play.
posted by starzero at 2:27 AM on August 29, 2008

i don't have any specific advice, but in general, i'd agree with the comments above, and would say..

- you're unlikely to get tickets through Liverpool, their fans are likely to take up the allocation.

- Direct from Athletico Madrid is probably the best option, but it's obviously completely dependent on demand.

- Traditionally - or at least, a few years ago - there was a perception in Britain that continental fans weren't that keen on the Champions League, and that tickets didn't always sell out for group stage matches. However, I don't really have any idea if that was true then, or if it still applies now.

- If you do get tickets from the Spanish club, or from a tout/scalper remember not to wear Liverpool colours when you show up at the ground. I'm pretty sure that segregation of fans is still the norm at most Europeam soccer matches.

- If you try to buy from eBay or an unknown website, make sure you tread carefully and use a credit card, so you're insured. It's not impossible to get tickets for matches from unofficial suppliers - I've done it quite a few times in the past with more good experiences than bad. But you need to recognise it's a risk and tread carefully.

- I don't know about in Spain, but in the UK it's illegal to sell tickets outside a soccer ground. That doesn't meen it doesn't happen, but you just need to tread carefully, if the same applies there. It probably doesn't though.

- In general, though, I'm not trying to put you off. You can always get tickets for anything if you put in the effort and want them badly enough!
posted by ascullion at 3:39 AM on August 29, 2008

Clubs reward the loyalty of their travelling support. The supporters who follow Liverpool or any team throughout Europe regularly will be rewarded with the first refusal on tickets to future European games. You have next to no chance of getting a ticket for the Liverpool end, your best bet is to roll up to the game and look for a spare for the Madrid end, or try your luck getting one from their website beforehand.
posted by fire&wings at 4:13 AM on August 29, 2008

And it will probably be a popular game for the Atletico fans as well, as I believe it to be the first time that Torres has come back to play against them...
posted by djgh at 8:35 AM on August 29, 2008

Talk to the concierge at your hotel. They're really good at getting choice football tickets. That's how I got Milan derby tickets one year.
posted by Zambrano at 9:28 AM on August 29, 2008

Probably too late for you, I've only just seen this. I live close to Atlético de Madrid's stadium and am thinking of going myself, to see how they react to Fernando Torres. I have no idea whether tickets are on sale yet. If you're still interested, just let me know. I'll be going down early-ish this week.
posted by Holly at 12:28 PM on September 7, 2008