Derren Milton left for Paris on Saturday morning by car from Dongen. There he watches the Champions League final in the fan zone with his son, two friends and about 40,000 other Liverpool fans. A football trip you will never forget, that is already certain when you leave.
Milton was born with a love for Liverpool. His family is from Liverpool; so at a young age he automatically became a fan of the club. After his parents separated at a young age, his father left for the Netherlands. So he now regularly makes the crossing to England to watch Liverpool play. “That is getting more and more difficult, especially in times of corona. But we try every year.”
He was in England a few weeks ago. “Then we did a road trip to England. Visited family and spent two days in Liverpool.”
“Watching at home, in the pub, in Liverpool or in Paris with 40,000 people.”
Then came the question of what to do during the Champions League final, in which Liverpool will face Real Madrid. “We had a few options. Be at home. We often do that in a pub in Breda. Go to Liverpool or to Paris and experience it there with 40,000 people.” It became the last option, so he drove to France with his son Jamie and friends Jasper and Herman.
More than four hundred kilometers were covered to watch the final on a square. “Or we have to feed a Spaniard and take his cards away,” Milton says with a laugh. The atmosphere is good in the car. They haven’t really talked about the final yet. “But soon the tension will be there. I think even worse than last Sunday,” says Milton, with the disappointment of missing out on the title immediately audible in his voice. “That was really shit. We were 1-0 behind, but then you hear that City are 0-2 behind. Then there is a chance. And in five minutes it’s done again, unbelievable.”
That they are on their way to a beautiful memory becomes clear about two hundred kilometers before reaching their destination. “There was a road closure, we had to get off the road. About eight hundred meters to the right, the roundabout all the way and back and back on the road again. Bizarre. We had Jamie Webster standing up, with the window open. Then came a Liverpool flag out the window and they started singing along too.”
“They say Brabant nights are long, but in Liverpool it’s Carnival every weekend.”
Shortly after arriving in Paris, Milton takes a photo, with a nice caption: ‘Turning the town red’. It will be a big party for him, his son, friends and all other Liverpool fans. “A few years ago I also went to Liverpool with my son. That was very nice. It is always pleasant in Liverpool. They say that Brabant nights are long, but in Liverpool it is Carnival every weekend. I can go on for hours about that.” talk, but those are all things that should not be written down.”
A party, with the final as the ultimate highlight. Milton is optimistic. “We estimate the chances reasonably well”, he says enthusiastically, while he falls silent and looks around the car. “Real isn’t what it used to be.” The foursome still have to look for a hotel, because without having booked anything, they got into the car. “We’ll see what we’re going to do, we’ll be fine. It will be a great adventure anyway, something to talk about for a long time.”
The final starts at 9 p.m., with Virgil van Dijk expected to kick off at Liverpool.