MY FIRST VISIT TO OLD TRAFFORD

Ifirst visited Old Trafford around ten years ago, it was the first time in ten years that I visited the UK since I was a teenager. The match I was going to attend was against Everton.

I had been planning to visit for years, however due to work and study commitments I never managed to do so.

This labour of love with the club started through going with my uncle to watch the match on the telly in a pub and whenever I was in England, I would hear him mention Manchester United. As I got older (6 years old or thereabout), I started to take interest, even though my mother’s family live in the North East and are vivid Newcastle United supporters. I would be given a NUFC kit or birthday card in order to get swayed, but I was fascinated by Giggs at the time and also Kanchelskis: two fast wingers, who left defenders in their wake and were deadly in front of goal.

During the 90s live matches were like golden nuggets, rare to watch on TV. At times, I would go to Valletta on a Sunday to watch a taped game on the TV next to the bar, short as always trying to get a glimpse of the match. As the late nineties got on, my parents would buy me the monthly MUFC magazine as part of my pocket money and once I started working, I kept it going till I had too much and gave them all to charity apart for some which were my favourites. I still purchase one magazine together with a match programme for every match I attend.

Growing up and earning abuse from AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus & Liverpool fans, held me in good stead for what we are experiencing at the moment which is still changing of the by Daniel Cuschieri

guard and trying to restore normality to the club after a lot of chopping and pasting, but that story is for another day. During the 2008 season, I started saving up to go and watch a match, I booked the tickets through Joe, and was petrified that something would go wrong and it nearly did which you will hear about shortly.

Joe had advised me that the fixture might change due to some FA Cup games which involved Everton and Liverpool, which if Everton qualified the fixture would have moved. I booked the tickets with fingers crossed that they wouldn’t.

United had just won the Club World Championship and I was dead excited to watch this team play. I think United fans have had it good for the past 25 odd years, however I believe that team could have won even more but fine margins hindered that and also the major departures of Tevez and Ronaldo took a lot out of the team. Some might say otherwise, but when you have a forward line including Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov & Ronaldo plus the other class players in midfield and defense, this team could outscore any team.

December had passed, and I was geared up for the match, for the trip, counting the days to the holiday. We flew into London, we suffered an air pocket and I had the fright of my life, praying to get my feet on the ‘terracotta’. Once I got the train to Newcastle, three-and-a-half-hour train trip through the great British countryside, I began to relax, unwind and begin enjoying my holiday. The Everton match was due, and they were winning, I was cursing my luck, luckily Liverpool scored. And the match was on, we were due to travel down to Manchester. We drove down early morning and arrived in Manchester a couple of hours prior to kick off. The day started off by me getting up at the crack of dawn and to increase the panic I had for the day ahead, I couldn’t open the suitcase where I had the paperwork to collect the tickets. By hook and by crook I opened the suitcase and I calmed down abit.

I bought my match programme and got inside to watch them train, I have visited Old Trafford many times after but this first time, I nearly froze to death. The Rocky theme came on and the players headed out the tunnel. It was game on.

The match flew by quickly and it was a quite a quiet affair, a goal from the spot from Ronaldo. This was a time whereby Ronaldo’s future was still up in the air and his actions at the end of the game put it straight in my head that he was off in the summer.

After the match, I had a lovely walk to the hotel next to the Trafford Centre, still on a high from the game. I was drugged and from that year on I have visited once or twice a year.

The feeling going to Old Trafford hasn’t diminished on me, and I believe all fans like me look at it the same way.

The next day I went to take the Old Trafford tour on a lovely sunny Manchester morning, spent the good of 3 hours listening to a jovial tour guide.

As soon as we left the stadium, it snowed down and the next day was a record snow fall in the UK for a number of years.

That holiday ticked a lot of boxes, I even got to build a snow man.