After the match, Sparta Prague supporters approached Atlético’s travelling support to exchange scarves. That scene perhaps said more about ‘this is football’ than a one-sided game ever could.
01epet Arena
Support until the end
Among the away trips I have made, Sparta Prague’s supporters and players rank among the most admirable. Despite a depleted side collapsing on the pitch, the crowd never booed its own players during the match and never stopped supporting them.
After the heavy defeat, the Sparta squad gathered in the centre circle for a meeting and then walked around the ground to thank the supporters. Only then did the crowd use whistles to express its disappointment with the performance: restrained, but deeply felt.
In light of this, Atlético’s senior supporters were already discussing how Sparta Prague might become a brother club, in the way Roma has.