Who knew that hanging out with a lad in Malta and the Czech Republic, bonding over the fortunes and (mis)fortunes of the local side, Cardiff City, would eventually be the ticket.

The ticket of a lifetime, that is.

Robert Smithson, of Long Beach, was so close to giving up on his dream of attending the FA Cup final between Cardiff City and Portsmouth on May 18 at Wembley in London. Not just any old FA final -- soccer's oldest competition -- but the first to feature Cardiff City in 81 years.

Think the Cubs in the World Series and stretch the bounds of imagination a bit more because Cardiff City isn't even in the elite Premier League, residing one level away from the top flight.

"It's the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup of ice hockey," Smithson said.

But back to the ticket.

He had been surfing the Internet in search of tickets and was finding prices of around $500, and was concerned about making a purchase, wary of counterfeits. Smithson held off on buying a plane ticket too.

"One thing I could not do was watch the game in a pub in London," said Smithson, who moved to the United States in 1983. "That would have been terrible to be so close and not be there. It would be awful."

Then his old Welsh friend who now lives in Denmark, veteran of those long-ago soccer campaigns in Malta and the Czech Republic, surfaced with a face-value ticket of about $160 (U.S.)

Smithson went to his first Cardiff City game as an 11-year-old in 1969, and the club was long part of the family lore. The Welsh side was founded in 1899.

The high point, obviously, was the epic 1-0 victory against Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup final. "It's so famous," Smithson said. "My granddad would talk about it. They're still talking about it."

To reach this year's final, Cardiff City beat Barnsley, 1-0, last month. Barnsley did a lot of the heavy lifting along the way, knocking out Liverpool and Chelsea to reach the final four. Smithson noted that, for Barnsley, the last time that happened was in 1912, also the year the Titanic sank.

"And 96 years on, the iceberg won again," said the Mail on Sunday after Barnsley beat Chelsea.

Wonder what will be written if the relative minnow, Cardiff City, prevails in the final?

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Not from disappointment over a soccer loss or two . . . but it seems to be all about tear gas in Europe, of late.

Not only was a game delayed by about 10 minutes in France on Tuesday by its use but tear gas was needed in the usually staid Switzerland when fans from rival cities Bern and Zurich squared off on Friday. News reports said there were about 45 injuries.

Oddly, it was tear gas outside the stadium in Amiens, France, forcing the French Cup semifinal game between Amiens and Paris St. Germain to be stopped. Apparently police used tear gas on boisterous Paris St. Germain fans who were trying to get in without tickets, and the tear gas drifted into the stadium, causing the delay.

For those planning to go to Austria and Switzerland for the European Championship, the travel checklist might want to expand beyond a passport and credit cards to wet towels and gas masks.

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It just keeps getting worse for embattled AC Milan striker Ronaldo.

He tried to pull out of his self-propelled tailspin by doing an Oprah-like interview with the Brazilian network, Globo TV on Sunday, and mentioned, in almost an aside, that his recent problems with prostitutes would not get in "the way of my position as an ambassador" with UNICEF, the UN's children's agency.

UNICEF then came out with a statement a day later on its website, saying Ronaldo had no "official link" with the organization.

And that solidified Ronaldo's firm grasp on worst-last-month-for-a-prominent sportsman, leaving that Roger Clemens guy far, far behind.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com