Streets of Dublin a sea of blue, red and black as fans swarm to the Europa final

20,000 superfans descend on the capital for match

Red and blue dominated the streets of Dublin yesterday evening as more than 20,000 overseas soccer fans descended on the Aviva Stadium in the capital for the UEFA Europa League final.

There were plenty of Ireland-based supporters also there to watch Italy’s Atalanta defeat German champions Bayer Leverkusen in an entertaining but one-sided 3-0 victory.

Luca Adduci is originally from Bergamo in northern Italy and has been living in Ireland for 14 years.

“I’m super excited. I still can’t believe it because Atalanta being in the final of the European Cup was just a dream,” he said.

“The absurd thing is that I’m living in Dublin, and for [Atalanta’s] first time they bring the final to Dublin.”

It was Atalanta’s first ever time reaching the Europa League final, making them only the 11th Italian side to do so, and the first since Lazio in 1998 when the competition was called the UEFA Cup.

Many Irish fans were also spotted wearing red or blue.

Darragh Raethorne, from Co Kildare, was “buzzing” to be at Aviva Stadium to cheer on the Italian side.

“I’m a Liverpool fan but Atalanta is my team – I followed them since 2018 so I’m very excited to see Atalanta play,” he said.

“I’ve seen them in the Champions League two or three years ago, and they were good. To see them play, I’m buzzing.”

Father and son Dirk and Julian Roitzheim, from Duisburg in Germany, were also among the throngs of fans feeling the excitement last night.

“It’s a very big match,” Julian said, adding that he and his father were “very proud of the team” since Leverkusen had gone the entire season undefeated.

Unluckily for them, that run came to an end in Dublin.

“All in all, Dublin is a good place for a final,” Julian said. His father Dirk added: “We rent the car here after this match and we’ll go 30km outside of Dublin.”

Another group of fans spotted in red colours were brothers from Leverkusen.

Filip, Ivan, and Marko Marsic and their friend Jure Bekavac had been hopeful for a big win for Leverkusen.

He said it was an “indescribable” feeling to watch their team win the German league – the Bundesliga – this season.

“We won everything – we are unbeaten,” Marko said, as he also praised head coach ✸abi Alonso as a “living legend”.

Nadine, from Burbach in Germany,

“I’ve seen them in the Champions League years ago, and they were good. To see them play, I’m buzzing”

who also travelled to Dublin for the final, has been a Leverkusen fan for more than 22 years.

“I can’t believe it until now – we won the championship in our country and now we are here in the final so it’s very unreal.”

She added that her journey to Dublin went well. “It was really good. Many people helped us. It’s very well organised,” she said.