Meeting Rooney, watching Manchester United an 'unbelievable day'
The 2-0 victory over Everton was just another step towards the English Premier League title for Manchester United, but for a group of 20 Red Devils fans from Thailand it was the highlight of their soccer-watching lives.
For the second year in a row, the country’s favourite bike-maker AP Honda offered Thai supporters of Man Utd and Liverpool the chance to watch their favourite team in England, with five tickets up for grabs across five regions.
The response to the prize draw was huge, reflecting the place the two clubs hold in Thai fans’ hearts. One lucky winner revealed he had spent evenings after work each day filling in prize-draw coupons so as to increase his chance of winning a ticket he would never have been able to afford otherwise.
For other winners, joy turned to despair when their visas failed to arrive in time for the trip. But for the 36 fans – 20 Red Devils and 16 Kopites – who climbed aboard for AP Honda’s ride to England last week, the journey was well worth the wait.
The company sprang a surprise on the 20 Man United fans, with an opportunity to meet 11 United players led by Portuguese winger Nani and Mexican forward Javier “Chicarito” Hernandez, when they were expecting only England hitman Wayne Rooney.
Each fan brought along a souvenir to be signed by four United players including Brazilian right back Rafael and young star Phil Jones, before bagging a photo with the other quartet led by Tom Cleverly and Spanish keeper David de Gea.
Rooney attended the event, but he and team-mates Chris Smalling and Ashley Young were on a tight schedule and left early. The fans had no complaints – they were just happy to get a glimpse of the England striker in the flesh.
On match day, bitter cold and rain did nothing to dampen the Thai visitors’ mood as they made their way to Old Trafford, where all were eager to make their “debut” at a stadium they previously only knew from television.
To mark the 55th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, a giant banner of the “Busby Babes” captioned “We’ll never die” was unfurled at the Stretford End as both sets of players took to the field to an emotional roar.
Two of the Thai fans sitting behind the goal opted to don flashing Devil’s horn’s in a bid to attract attention from the TV cameras. It didn’t work, but at least they got a close-up view of the goals that saw United edge closer to a 20th top-flight title.
“I can’t explain how I felt today. It’s unbelievable to get a chance to experience what I normally only see on TV. Today, I could feel how loud it was when fans sang in support of the team. It’s incredible. I had no idea what it felt like because we never hear much noise inside the stadium watching the game on TV,” said veteran fan Veerachai Denduangpairoj from Nonthaburi.
No doubt the 16 Thai Kopites who watched the hosts play West Bromwich Albion last night experienced even louder singing – Anfield is famous for its passionate atmosphere.
