Fifteen years to the day after Bournemouth lost 2-1 at home to Bury in League One, the Cherries are preparing to host seven-time European champions AC Milan in the Europa League on Thursday (20:00 BST). For the 127-year-old Dorset club, it is a night fans once thought impossible.
‘I’m Pinching Myself’
‘I’m pinching myself,’ says Bournemouth fan Kirk Tovey. ‘It’s not long ago we were playing Oldham Athletic and Hartlepool United in League One. Now I’m about to watch us play AC Milan.’ Back then, home crowds of around 6,000 would rock up ten minutes before kick-off and walk straight in.
The journey from the brink of liquidation — bucket collections as recently as 2008, finishing 21st in League Two in 2008-09 — to promotion to the Premier League in 2015 is the stuff of football legend. Now an established top-flight side, Bournemouth are making their debut season in Europe.
‘Dreamland’ Against the 11-Time Finalists
‘Over the last decade, my hometown club has achieved dreamland,’ said Tony Pulis, who played in Bournemouth’s defence before managing them from 1992-94 and still lives in the area. Joe Partington, who played midfield for Bournemouth in League One and League Two and is now BBC Radio Solent’s regular Cherries summariser, puts it best: ‘We used to train on the park over from the stadium. Now fans walk through the park to watch European games.’
It is a game between the club that refused to die and the 11-time European Cup finalists. Last week’s 3-0 Europa League win over Sturm Graz drew 12,070 fans — the club’s highest attendance of the 21st century — and another 12,000-plus will pack the Vitality for the visit of a Milan side managed by former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim. Also Read: Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland: Evanilson Fires Cherries to First League Win of the Season
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
