Footballing Journeys - FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok

 

 

I've done a little research today into the potential journeys that some footballing clubs around Europe may need to make at some point in the future. This got me thinking - which team, eligible for European competition, is the most remote in Europe?

 

I guess it's relatively straightforward to assume that this team would play in Russia - the largest country in the World. The home of vodka, the Trans-Siberian Railway and homophobes.

 

Well yes, you'd be correct.

 

The team I have come up with, though there are a couple of possibilities, is FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok. A team who currently play in Russia's second tier, who have not yet qualified for Europe, though it is possible for them to do so.

 

How remote could they possibly be?

 

Well very, actually.

 

Based at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, Vladivostok is pretty close to Russia's borders with China and North Korea, and is by the Sea of Japan and near the Pacific Ocean.

 

 

There have been calls for Russia to split into two leagues, one for the West and one for the East because of the complications this team and another (FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) bring to the table - but a split is yet to occur.

To get to Vladivostok you are looking at a 9 hour flight from Moscow.

There's even a story from 2006 whereby three fans of Zenit St Petersburg drove the 15,000km to the other side of the country in order to watch their team play Vladivostok. Whilst there, their car broke down, and so they had to return by Trans-Siberian Rail. Upon their return, Zenit kindly provided them with a new car for the effort and loss of a car on their journey - luckily for them, Zenit won 2-0.

So, what say a team like Tottenham get their generic UEFA Cup spot in a couple of seasons time and get put in a group with FC Vladivostok. Can you imagine having a game on a Thursday night out in bloody China and then being back for a league game at the weekend? I think it's absolutely ridiculous, and I'm all for it! After all, at least these teams only have to travel there once. The players for Vladivostok have to do that kind of journey for every single away game. Madness.