After my last trip to Poznan I wasn't particularly looking forward to going back. The first time around it was so cold that after wandering outside for 20 minutes I made a beeline for my hotel and spent an hour in the bath just to thaw out. It was even worse in the evening when my laptop died of hyperthermia in the middle of my match report, never to be revived again.
Among subsequent disasters, like trudging through a snowstorm at three in the morning in search of a taxi, and having to bribe the hotel manager to drive me to the airport the following day as all the taxis in town had ground to a halt, it was with some relief that I got out of the place in one piece.
But first impressions can be misleading and in midsummer Poznan was a world away from the dark days of December. It probably helped that, after two rain-soaked previous matches, the sun had come out for this last encounter.
There was also a match on and with Italy playing Republic of Ireland there was a decidedly party feel about the town. Italians, in truth were few and far between. "We are feeling the pinch back home," said Mattia, who had flown in from Genoa with some friends and was sharing a pizza at Al Dente. "This is my holiday for the year but most Italians refuse to sacrifice August at the beach. Luckily I live near the sea so I can go to the beach at the weekends."
There are no beaches in Poznan but there was certainly a sea of green in Old Market Square today, where Irish fans outnumbered Azzurri by a ratio of 4:1. Around 20,000 were expected at the game tonight, an admirable show of loyalty in spite of the fact their side was the first to be knocked out of the tournament after two heavy losses.
"We're camping in a town called Carlsberg," said Neale, one of hundreds of green-shirted Irishmen drinking in the Old Markey square. "Unfortunately, we couldn't find anywhere called Guiness. By the look of the beer bellies on many of the fans there has been plenty of the black stuff flowing over the last fortnight.
In fact a couple of Irishmen were asked to move to the front of the plane on the flight in from Krakow in order to better distribute the weight of the cargo in transit. "Are you being serious," said one of the chastened passengers, who admittedly was by no means pushing maximum density. "He's fatter than me!" he argued, his defence drowned out by the howls of laughter from his fellow passengers.
While the Republic are here with nothing to lose, defeat is an outcome the Azzurri simply can't contemplate. Even a victory might not be enough if Spain and Croatia help themselves to a 'biscotto'. The word Italian for biscuit but is also used as a term for when two sides play out a result that is mutually beneficial to each - as a 2-2 draw would be for Spain and Slaven Bilić's side.
"Spain would never contemplate such a thing," insisted Italy manager Cesare Prandelli. "In the last few years they have broken new ground in terms of the way football should be played. They play entertaining, fascinating football and have become world and European champions by doing so.
"They don't think about the result. They only ever think about playing football the right way, which in turn attains results. They are the example that everyone is trying to follow. So any talk of them settling for a result is utterly inconceivable."
The punters don't all see it that way and the odds on a 2-2 draw are available at 11.521/2. Italy, meanwhile are only 1.422/5 to win tonight, but despite their new-found brand of free-flowing football they have still not tasted victory in seven months. Having drawn their last two matches 1-1 and having lost to the Irish last time out, it is tempting to plump for another 1-1 at 11.010/1 but with Antonio Di Natale expected to start the 6.05/1 about Totò scoring first has the greatest appeal.