DAN MCDOUGALL IN SEVILLE


OUTSIDE Seville’s crumbling sandstone city walls, the Andalusian
capital’s working class quarter of Triana houses flamenco dancers,
prostitutes, bull fighters and gipsies.

On the fringes of the barrio’s daily market, Maria Calvonas, a
shopkeeper, is having a clearance sale - buy an ice-cream and get a free
T-shirt.

Sadly for hungover Celtic fans ambling around this historic market, the
T-shirts deliver a crushing reminder of their woe - they feature a
picture of Henrik Larsson underneath bold green script proclaiming:
"Glasgow Celtic FC 2003 UEFA Cup champions".

Elsewhere, on the cover of every Spanish newspaper from El Pais to the
local Andalusian El Corro, photographs of Portuguese players clutching
the trophy stare back at the Scots from news stands.

For the thousands of fans sleeping rough in doorways and parks, the
morning after the night before began painfully, with the sound of
high-powered hoses and the muttered curses of Spanish refuse collectors
who had declared a revolt against the messy Scots conquistadors and
drafted in hundreds of cleaners to tidy up the filthy beer can- littered
streets.

South of the city’s famous Alcazar - alongside the former tobacco
factory where Carmen, the fiesty cigarrera featured in Bizet’s opera,
once worked - the detritus of the long night before remained.

Along the pavement, thousands of broken bottles, stained Celtic flags
and McDonalds cartons littered the ground.

The poetic soundtrack for Celtic’s adventure, although not a patch on
Bizet, was clearly dedicated to their great Glasgow rivals, Rangers,
"who were watching The Bill while the Celts took Seville". But
yesterday, there was little evidence of the colourful songs that had
kept even the nocturnal Spaniards from sleep.

In Bar Campanario, which lies in the shadow of Seville’s cathedral,
William and John Gallagher, brothers from Glasgow, acknowledged that
they would always have the memories of the trip.

William, 40, said: "Sure, it is quieter today but as I see it, we have
been to a European cup final and for my generation, it was something I
had always hoped for. To have been here in the midst of history means
everything to me regardless of defeat. It is something I will never
forget."

After the hangover, the next headache for Celtic fans will be getting
home.

In the Maria Lusia park, a colourful labyrinth of tree-lined paths,
hundreds caught the final rays of sunshine before heading for the
airport. Among them, Keiran Sheridan, 28, from West Lothian, was stoical
in defeat.

He said: "Despite the play-acting during the match, Porto are still a
great team and we took them right to the wire. The last few days in
Seville have been the most fantastic experience of my life, although my
real worry now is just how I am going to get home.

"I stayed out last night and I was supposed to be on a flight back to
Glasgow in the early hours of the morning, but my friends talked me into
staying. I will now have to hitch-hike back or get my parents to bail me
out. I figured I might just as well get some sunbathing in before I work
it out."

At airports, bus depots and train stations all over southern Spain, the
mass migration back to Scotland was causing massive problems.

In Madrid, one of the main hubs for Celtic fans on the move, locals were
preparing for a post-match party in the city’s main squares with the
arrival of thousands who had an overnight stay on the way home.

In Seville’s barrio Santa Cruz, with its winding narrow streets and
romantic white-washed buildings barricaded with iron grilles, more than
1,000 fans said a final farewell to Spain with a far from tuneful
rendition of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life .

Seville has long had a reputation as one of the most romantic cities in
the world.

Celtic’s pale-skinned travelling army, in their sombreros, kilts and
training shoes, may not be modern day Don Juans, but ask the locals and
they will tell you the defiantly upbeat Scots fans here have won many
hearts.