Inter Milan v Bayern Munich in Madrid. An Italian club against a German outfit in Spain with no players from this country. However, scratch beneath the surface and you find a man with a massive role ahead of the showdown a week tomorrow.
Actually, scratch beneath the surface at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and you will probably be chased by Paul Burgess as he attempts to stick his pitchfork where the sun doesn't shine.
Because the head groundsman at Real Madrid is a 31-year-old Blackpool fan who started off at his hometown club before spending more than a decade with Arsenal. Due to continued problems with the famously-poor pitch in Madrid, Burgess was brought in as a troubleshooter 13 months ago.
Such has been his success, he has been hailed by Real's fans and players for his work and is known locally as the 'Galactico Jardinero with his special lamps'. Yet, hilariously, this man who has won numerous awards confesses that he laid an artificial surface at his home back in Hertfordshire to avoid cutting the lawn.
Burgess said: "Real have always had problems with this pitch, since the stadium was built 80 years ago. The stands are 70 metres high for a start.
"Players have got injured and players have become more expensive, so they decided to change their structure, got rid of their one-day-a-week consultant and employ a full-time consultant - me.
"Arsenal became a massive part of my life. I was there between 18 and 30 and really enjoyed it but I have no regrets about the move to Spain.
"Stadium design is important but it is not the be-all and end-all. You need the right pitch construction, right growing environment and right maintenance.
"You need the right lighting system - in the winter here we use lamps - and the right heating system. You need to use all the right technology available.Here in Madrid, I had to change everything. A lot of people have said nice things and even the media have been very complimentary. I am looking forward to the Champions League final but, for me, every game is equal.
"And, to be honest, I'm a bit gutted as I won't be able to watch the Blackpool v Cardiff play-off final in the afternoon as I will be so busy. But I'm convinced Blackpool are going up. Obviously, I watch the grass more than the game. I look at the ball, the speed of the game and the body language of the players.
"Sometimes it is difficult to enjoy the game if you are not happy with what you are seeing. The pitch today does not look as good as it will in a week. At the moment, it is like a car before it has been in the car wash."
Burgess laughs nervously when asked about the Wembley pitch which has been laid for an 11th time ahead of tomorrow's Cup final between Chelsea and Portsmouth. He said: "There are a number of issues with the pitch but it is not my place to start telling people how to do it. But there are solutions and, if asked, I would be happy to give them my opinion."
Burgess took the first steps towards life as a groundsman when he went to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road as a 14-year-old on work experience. He added: "I went to college and got a job at Blackpool when I was 17. They created a job for me. I worked there for a year and a half.
"I then replied to an advert for an assistant groundsman at a Premier League club. It turned out to be Arsenal.
"I started at Arsenal in November '96 as an assistant groundsman and then became head groundsman. The Highbury pitch was always known for being exceptional. I went back a few weeks ago and my old store room is a £400,000 apartment.
"But the pitch at the Emirates is amazing - there is plastic beneath the grass. Normally, the pitch is three per cent plastic but every time the grass wears down, a bit of plastic comes up from the ground to replace it. Next month, all the grass will be taken off so the surface at the Emirates will be 100 per cent plastic. But when the pitch is reseeded and the grass grows, the plastic fibres disappear back into the ground."
Burgess returns to London regularly, not least because his girlfriend Melissa still works in the Gunners' ticket office. But when asked about the grass at home in Stanstead Abbotts, Burgess turns as red as an Arsenal shirt.
He grinned: "I have an artificial lawn. The last thing I wanted to do when I go home is cut the lawn. That is the main reason.
"Our first house was a wreck and the garden was a disaster. My girlfriend threatened to tell everybody that Arsenal's groundsman could not keep his grass lawn at home.
"So with the new house, I put down the plastic. I haven't had to cut the grass in three years. It's the way forward."
Burgess, meanwhile, is on a shortlist to win his first award for his pitch at Real, so when it comes to getting a decent surface at Wembley, maybe he is the way forward.
Published: 21/05/2010
Source: The Sun
