MARSEILLE, France -- When you sit way up in the top tier of Marseille's new Stade Velodrome, you're immediately struck by the contrast: the futuristic, white waves of the ground's superstructure set against a barren, dusty hill. It was a fitting backdrop to what was ultimately a game of contrasts.
The first and most obvious one was the fact that a football match was being played hours after running violent battles just a few miles away. You couldn't help yourself; you scanned the crowd and wondered how many of these fans thronging the stands with their flags and full-throated cheers had been clashing with each other and police an hour or two earlier.