To Zell and back
Words: Mike Bayly
Images: Mike Bayly
There are certain grounds in life that become so frustratingly elusive that one begins to suspect the football gods are driven more by malevolent intent than benign altruism.
My desire to watch a game in Zell am See, a destination long on my bucket list, belonged firmly to this category.
My first attempt at visiting the Alois Latini Stadium on the shores of Lake Zell was scuppered by flooding that impacted large parts of Central Europe. Concern lay less in my own plans, than those impacted by the potential devastation.
The second journey was aborted for aesthetic reasons. My planned fixture was moved at short notice to an evening kick-off, a decision that undoubtedly had practical benefits for those involved but rather ruined my intentions.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
Watching football in Zell am See and forgoing the lakeside views is akin to visiting a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant and ordering a plate of chips.
I declined to spend an evening contemplating a dark void at the expense of scenic grandeur.
The third excursion turned a seemingly doomed pilgrimage into a long-running farce. I felt like the lead protagonist in a West End theatre production.
The opposition folded a few weeks prior, rendering the fixture void. There is something disquieting about a club anchored to the foot of the table with a vacated playing record, like a quietly dismissed work colleague whose fate suddenly becomes apparent through undeliverable emails.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
It is a reminder of former existence otherwise airbrushed from history.
The fourth, and as it transpired, successful attempt, bore the hallmarks of a man pursuing kismet rather than a game of sport. It was worth the wait.
Cloud caressed the distant snow- cloaked mountains, while breaking sunlight scattered across the lake like diamond and sapphire.
When summer unbuttons winter’s coat it can thaw the most stoic heart. The still was occasionally broken by distant alpine church bells or the shrill of a referee’s whistle.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
To enjoy football in such a setting is to witness a romantic collusion of nature and civilisation.
I am forced to concede the world contains more beautiful football grounds than a lifetime can ever accommodate.
Beyond failing health or spirit, there can be no end point. I do not wish to be the delusional groundhopping equivalent of Thor draining the great horn at the castleof Utgarda-Loki.
The joys of a bucket list lies not in triumphant completion, but those discoveries along the way that become forever etched in a catalogue of happy memories.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See goal celebration.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See vs SV Mühlbach/HKG.
©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. FC Zell am See interview.
Mike is on X and Instagram: @mike_bayly
FC Zell am See are on Instagram: @fczellamsee
