‘It is for every fan who has ever followed us’: Bournemouth’s European debut caps journey from the brink

Tyler Fletcher: Club legend Steve Fletcher reflects on the wild rise over two decades to playing Real Sociedad in the Europa League It is 13 years since Bournemouth, a couple of months after finishing runners-up to Doncaster in the third tier, hosted Real Madrid. It was a balmy summer’s day, officially Carlo Ancelotti’s first match in charge, and, a few hours after checking into the Haven hotel on the Sandbanks peninsula, a wave of galácticos took to the pitch: Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Kaká, Karim Benzema, the list goes on. An early, wayward Ronaldo free-kick broke the wrist of an 11-year‑old boy befor Board reading of Guardian Football.

Sources

1. ‘It is for every fan who has ever followed us’: Bournemouth’s European debut caps journey from the brink Guardian Football