"The Atmosphere in Basel
By Peter Berlin
Tags: Euro 2008
The Swiss half of Euro 2008 draws to a close on a warm summer evening after a blazing, humid, summer day on which temperatures in Basel reached 30 degrees Centigrade, or 86 Fahrenheit.
Basel was flooded by fans in Turkish red and German white. But many seemed to have traveled simply to be in the vicinity of the game. The St. Jakob stadium has a capacity of just over 38,000, meaning this was the lowest crowd for a Euro semifinal since 1992, in Sweden. The later stages of a knockout competition are in any case a problem for fans. The vast bulk of tickets are sold before the competition, and fans must hope their team will make the last four."
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