The boys are back in town

“Take your drum and fuck off home,” cried the entire south-east corner of Aviva Stadium, proving that you can take the Leeds fans out of Leeds but… you know the rest. Some poor lads had been tasked with ‘entertaining’ the 51,000 fans attending Leeds’ friendly against Milan and the best they could do was beat some drums as two Irish dancers in jerseys of both teams had a ‘dance off’ before the match started.

This cringey stereotyping didn’t fit in with what had been, to that point, an incredible day celebrating Leeds United’s undeniable ties to Ireland. The concept that Leeds ‘take more’ is often parodied, but the sea of white, yellow and blue in Dublin across the entire weekend served as a reminder that Leeds are absolutely massive.

A mid-morning amble through the affluent Ballsbridge area encapsulated this as Leeds fans interrupted the gilet-draped Range Rover drivers attending the Dublin Horse Show at the RDS. Most Leeds fans spurned the flat whites and sourdough sandwiches at Roly’s and headed straight for May Mac’s, the pub with a colossal Guinness hoarding out front. I decided that food was a must before any drop of the black stuff, certainly after a two-hour journey from up north. If the thousands of fans pouring out of Connolly Station heading south hadn’t let Dublin know that Leeds were here, then perhaps those marauding around Dublin 4 might just have hammered home the point.

In reality, Leeds had arrived much earlier. I was walking through Belfast Grand Central Station on Friday lunchtime and saw numerous Leeds shirts in the queue for the Dublin train. Later in the day, a long table of locals in The Garrick bar broke out singing Marching on Together, to the bemusement of those enjoying an afternoon pint. The excitement was palpable, understandably so because Leeds hadn’t played in Ireland for almost ten years and never before in front of a crowd of 51,000.

The last time I watched Leeds outside of England, they were in League One and played Glentoran at The Oval in Belfast. Going from Lubomir Michalik to Joe Rodon in defence and playing against one of the world’s most successful clubs instead of the Glens — no offence, lads — goes to show that the dark days are in the past, we hope.

Fans from all four corners of the island converged on Dublin to create a unique atmosphere. Leeds had to share the stage with relegation rivals Manchester United when both sides met in Sweden last month, but this day out in Dublin almost exclusively belonged to Leeds. There were Milan fans there, probably just over a thousand, but it was all about their opponents. The stadium announcer took a break from mispronouncing every player’s name — including Joe Rodon — to play Leeds, Leeds, Leeds fifteen minutes before kick-off, and both sides walked out to the Kaiser Chiefs song I Predict a Riot, much to the amusement of bassist Simon Rix, who was on co-commentary for BBC Leeds.

The pubs around Aviva Stadium were packed with Leeds fans and the few Milanisti who showed their faces seemed quite happy to mix with the crowd in what was an overwhelmingly pleasant, even wholesome, atmosphere. Sickening, isn’t it? We should be throwing stones at each other from opposite sides of Perspex barricades.

Meet-ups took place all across south Dublin, from Irishtown to Portobello, but I stuck with my tried and tested method from previous trips to the Aviva by hanging around Bath Avenue, one of the streets leading to the stadium itself. That decision proved fruitful early on, having stumbled across Eddie Gray walking to the ground with the BBC’s Adam Pope.

Flowing pints of Guinness in Slattery’s took the day up a level, but it wasn’t long until we found ourselves on the street, being scolded by bouncers for drinking outside while they also informed us that we couldn’t go back inside as there was no space.

It was a little like being at Wembley for the play-off final, only without the abject misery. You had thousands of Leeds fans milling about the area around the stadium, in somewhat unfamiliar circumstances, heading to watch their team in a ground they’re not used to playing in. There was a tangible buzz in the air, aided by pre-season reaching its crescendo and optimism being at its highest, even without a marquee signing in attack to get excited about.

Leeds playing in Dublin was about much more than just football, new signings or even seeing thousands of new away shirts in the flesh. This was a chance for so many devoted fans to see their team on ‘home’ soil, an opportunity not to be missed with the return to the Premier League and matchday tickets becoming even more rare. Leeds fans fill several flights from Belfast and Dublin each weekend but there are many more people for whom that’s not an option and days like this therefore become more special than regular match goers tend to appreciate. It was a truly enjoyable experience on this occasion to share the travel to and from Leeds match with those based in England, who also travelled in their numbers and seemed to really enjoy themselves whether based in Dublin or further north.

Folks were buzzing, undeterred by the cliché drums and dancing. In fact, as the camera panned between the two dancers, Leeds fans cheered when ‘their’ dancer appeared on the big screen and booed the one in a Milan shirt. Juvenile fun, a bit of craic as we waited for the players to get out there.

There was some confusion in the south-east corner around whether or not we should sit or stand. Most were sitting because, well, it was a friendly and there were kids around, but a few men near the front chose to stand and took offence at the idea of sitting because, “We don’t sit at away matches.” Someone called them dickheads and eventually they sat down, only for the entire section to do that classic Elland Road thing of standing every time Leeds crossed the halfway line. There’s nothing quite like placing yourself in a half squat as Brenden Aaronson runs into traffic and loses the ball.

Even if the football looked very pre-season, which is to say, rusty, we were still treated to some fantastic entertainment from referee Paul McLaughlin, who inadvertently made himself the pantomime villain by giving Milan countless bizarre decisions. Not only did the players get valuable minutes in their legs, but the fans had a chance to tell the ref where to put his whistle for the first time this season.

Milan took the lead just after the half hour through Santiago Gimenez, a fair reward for dominating for a good twenty minutes after Anton Stach had hit the bar early on. They continuously targeted Leeds’ right flank, where Isaac Schmidt had to defend the area with the help of attack-minded Ao Tanaka and a seemingly unfit Dan James, and eventually their approach told. A simple overlap allowed Samuel Chukwueze to cross and the ball fell to Gimenez, who was never going to miss when left unmarked at the back post.

There was plenty of debate about just how many Milan fans were there, but Gimenez’s goal produced quite the roar, one which lasted even longer than the Mexican striker’s thirty second celebration, praying on his knees. Leeds’ best chance after that came when Joel Piroe tried to beat Pietro Terracciano from outside the box and forced the ‘keeper to make a save.

Leeds’ pre-season star has been the big man Stach. Not only did he dominate the middle of the pitch when they played Paderborn and Villarreal, but he marked his arrival at Leeds with a fantastic goal against Milan. A goal that I missed, having run off to the toilet in what I assumed would be a prolonged break as Leeds made five substitutions at once. As I double tapped the soap dispenser, the Aviva erupted and the lad behind me at the hand dryers let out a perfectly timed: “Ah, Jaysus.” Yeah, same.

Stach had just curled a shot past the ‘keeper from the edge of the box and given everyone there a goal worthy of capping off a great day. Shortly after, those in attendance were roundly booing Jack Harrison onto the pitch and singing a song about his mum that you can probably decipher by yourself, such is the life of being a Leeds fan.

The match seemed to fizzle out with all the substitutions making it a little ragged, but a late Leeds corner gave Harrison the chance to redeem himself. Everyone seemed to agree because the booing stopped as he stepped up to take the set-piece. His half-decent delivery narrowly missed Pascal Struijk’s late run and the referee blew for full-time, which gave Harrison a chance to walk around applauding the fans who had denigrated him minutes earlier.

A 1-1 draw felt like the right result for all there and allowed everyone to go home feeling some sense of satisfaction. Many parents had brought their kids along for their first Leeds match, so Stach’s peach of a goal likely went some way to creating new Peacocks fans in the next generation.

We walked back to the car and headed for Belfast, bound for the christening of my best mate’s son that evening. Truly rock and roll stuff, I know. Driving through Dublin heading north, we came across pockets of Leeds fans everywhere; hanging out of pub doorways, in takeaways, there were even some supping cans in the back of a rickshaw.

Dublin is notorious for traffic and, of course, we found ourselves stuck at a junction in Irishtown with a Garda, police officer, standing directing traffic. It seemed to be taking forever and tempers began to flare, only for the Leeds team bus to come into view and be allowed to pass through, presumably heading towards Dublin Airport. We agreed that, just this time, perhaps the road rage shouldn’t manifest.

A day that began in Dublin ended in a function room in Belfast, with a pint of Guinness in hand. It felt pretty surreal that we’d been watching Leeds United play less than four hours earlier, in the national stadium against AC Milan. It’s a feeling that thousands of Leeds fans around Ireland will have experienced that Saturday evening, sitting at home after a long day watching their beloved team, a truly novel moment for so many of us.

What a sight it must have been for club officials to see a sold out stadium in a different country, full of Leeds fans decked out in team shirts old and new, or as many of them were, sporting some fantastic TSB gear.

It won’t be long until summer comes again, so let’s hope the club take the chance to get another bumper crowd in Dublin. If Leeds stay up this year, why not go for Croke Park and its 82,500 capacity? Shoot for the moon, Leeds.

More than just an opportunity to celebrate Leeds United’s vast Irish contingent, this match served as a reminder of the club’s potential, a dedicated following in what is a relatively small island. Add that to the Scandinavian fans and those elsewhere around the world, and it’s time for football to accept that Leeds United do, in fact, take more wherever they go. ⬢

This article is free to read from The Square Ball magazine issue one, 2025/26 — get your copy here.