July 27th, 2017
Brøndby Stadion, Copenhagen
I stood on the edge of the technical area, the roar washing over me like a physical force, a yellow wall of sound that vibrated in my bones.
This was the Sydsiden, the infamous south stand, a seething mass of humanity that was the twelfth man, the heartbeat, the soul of this club.
They had unfurled a giant tifo, a Viking longship sailing on a sea of fire, with the words "HER ER INGEN OVER OS" which meant "Here, no one is above us." It was a declaration of war. The air was thick with the smell of pyro, beer, and twenty-three thousand burning hopes.
This was European football. The first European match in the 112-year history of Crystal Palace Football Club. And it was beautiful.
