A little scary story to start off with.. As MUFC is about 20minutes walk from the hotel, I decided to walk there after getting really CLEAR directions.. Along the way, I also asked passer-bys if I was on the right track because I can't afford to be late! Then I reached this junction which I recall seeing yesterday but I decide not to continue because I saw the train station and decided to take the train though Old Trafford is probably another 8mins walk away.. After I board the train, I realise that it was a Non-match day and trains don't go to Old Trafford! Out of panic, I hurriedly alighted at the next stop and that's it! I ended up in this super run-down place with no roads, just a park and a canal.. I was super worried not because I had lost my way but because I could miss the Stadium Tour and that MUST NEVER happen! So I quickly look for the direction which I see cars and ran all the way there... Fortunately, I managed to find my way out and reached Old Trafford safe and sound at 9:35am... **Phew**
It was super packed by the time I reached though 9:40am is the first tour for the day. I quickly hurried to the reception, pay for my tickets and went up to the museum to prepare for the tour.. Like I said, the tour at ManU is a very professional one and the guide was quite funny.. He will say some crappy stuffs or lame jokes along the way and I followed him closely not because he's cute or whatsoever but because I wanna absorb everything that he says! The tour group is quite large about 30 people so if you stay too far away from him, you won't be able to catch what he says!
Anyway, our first stop was the North Stand and we just sit there while the guide introduced to us the different facilities in the stadium, the structure of the stadium, its capacity and a little bit of the its history. Capacity at Old Trafford is around 75,000-76,000 and it's the largest English football club in England! Last August, the seats at the quadrants have just been fully furnished so now when you look at the stadium, it is totally filled with seats. There can't be any additional capacity. The guide explained to us the reason why we don't see replay screens in the stadium as you need to put up 4 of them and there isn't any space to put them otherwise it will block the audiences' view. Furthermore, if they were to put right at the top, it will mean that the shelter will have to be lowered and more sunlight will creep in and that will affect the goalkeeper's vision be it home or away. FYI, because of the high popularity of the Big 4 clubs in England, sponsors have requested for all their matches to be scheduled not earlier than noon time that's why when the sun sets, it affects the goalkeepers' vision.
Something interesting to share: Commentaries which we hear on TV are not live from the stadium itself. For e.g, the commentary for ManU Vs ManC match was done by the commentators at Chelsea Vs Liverpool game and the commentary for the Chelsea Vs Liverpool game was done at Old Trafford but I can't recall the explanation for it. I am so sorry...
The 2nd Stop was of course the Press Conference room as usual but you guys will be disappointed because unlike Chelsea, interviews with Sir Alex ain't held in that room. It's held at their Carrington training ground. That interview is usually for away team managers to take interviews or Champions League interviews. Quite sad.. But see the video.. It's hilarious..The guide wanted to let us feel how it is like when a Champions league interview takes place there.
We then went into their executive lounge where players used to hang around but not now anymore. It's just a room to entertain officials or the press etc. There's this nanny room in the lounge so kids of the footballers are babysitted there while their dads train or play. So, Brooklyn Beckham once sat there! There was this International Honours Board in the lounge so each time you earn a cap for your nation, it will be updated accordingly. But because the lounge is no longer used by the players, it is really outdated (it was last updated 4 years ago). You see big stars like Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo blah blah blah.. But Carlos Tevez, Owen Hargeaves ain't on the board yet. If you were once a Red Devil Captain, your portray will be up in the room too. The more recent ones are Roy Keane & Gary Neville.
The very next stop is the Home Team Dressing room! It's super spacious with tons of facilities like spa, massage and even a warm-up room. That warm-up room was initiated by ManU Legend Eric Cantona. Apparently most of the French teams have warm-up rooms for their home team so when Cantona came to ManU, he suggested one and that's how his successors get this privilege now. According to the guide, the away team dressing room does not have any of these facilities, just shower and lockers haha.. Like when the Champions League finals was held in Old Trafford a few years back, they will lock the warm-up room and seal up the spa and massage facilities so as to be fair to both teams and ensure they receive equal treatment. Like Chelsea, you see the players' shirts hanging outside their lockers & friends usually sit together like Ronaldo with Nani (Portuguese), Evra with Saha (French) etc. But we didn't get to open up their lockers to see as it was all locked.
We also passed by the room where they hung their boots. Along the way, you see lots of photos of Man United players during a game & not to miss out, I saw the man who influenced me to like ManU--DB 7! Woah!
That's DB-Smiling so happily with his team-mates
Like DB-7, CR-7's boots
Mins later, I ended up at the tunnel! haha.. DB, CR once stood there like I did :) The way the guide did it was totally PROFESSIONAL! He had the background music and effects on for us and made us get into two rows as if we were two soccer teams. Then he made us shake hands with our "opponents" and we had to mimic the warm-up exercises footballers do before the game! Totally hilarious!! Catch the video!Once I was out in the Managers' area, I was engrossed into taking photos and kind of lost track of what the guide was blabbering about but it was the usual stuff about who sits where, and rules & regulations, the 4th officials.. All I was interested was to take a photo at the stand where Sir Alex Ferguson sits because I had always held in awe the cool AUDI LABELLED seats! haha.. I know people will think I am totally MAD but if I am not MAD or CRAZY over cute guys or such crappy stuffs, I am not just ME!
Ok, this is where the Managers enter and exit
Yeah, these are the COOL AUDI SEATS I was talking about...
The tour ended at the dugout and my next destination was the Munich Tunnel. It's something totally new in Old Trafford and they created it because it was the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Disaster. To non-MUFC supporters--It's History lessons NOW: Manchester United was a very strong team back in the 1950s under the management of Sir Matt Busby. He led a bunch of young kids to great success especially in 1956, 1957 & perhaps 1958. However, when his team of officials & players were in Munich for a European game, tragedy struck on their return flight to Manchester. The plane failed to take off twice and it crashed on the 3rd attempt to fly. 23 people died and among them 11 were ManU officials & players while 21 others survived. Sir Matt Busby was one of the survivors together with the famous ManU legend Bobby Charlton. Everyone thought it was the end of ManU in England as they lost their young promising captain, Roger Byrne & Duncan Edwards and 6 other players. But they shocked everyone! 10 years down the road, Bobby Charlton, George Best & Law (I can't rmb his full name) under the leadership of Sir Matt Busby & Jimmy Murphy bought the European Champions (Current day Champions league) honour to ManU! It was the first European Cup won by an English team and Sir Matt Busby was conferred the title of Knight (that's how he became Sir). That's history, that's the disaster that caught everyone's attention 50 years ago & has lived through till today. Of course, Sir Matt Busby has been CERTIFIED (A term coined by my cousin) but Bobby Charlton was at the game the previous day & I saw him. A man who has lived through the ups & downs of life, the wrinkles on his face tells it all!
Inspirations from the Munich Tunnel...
As I was going through the tunnel, I really thought to myself: If one day I leave the world out of the blue just like those boys, how would life change for the people dearest to me who are still alive? Or how would it feel for me & how would my life change if I just lost one of my best friend overnight? I know this is a question that resembles "Why do people live?" where there is no answer to it but everyone should seriously ponder about it one starry night when you are all alone. Perhaps it could help create more intellectual brain cells. :) But I reached one Conclusion after thinking about it. We all LIVE ONCE! So make the best out of your every single second and minute that you have each day. You will want to leave this world with NO REGRETS!MUSEUM! The ManU museum is totally HUGE compared to the Chelsea one! The first section was the trophies cabinet and you see TONS of trophies there! I don't know all of them because some were won well before I was born. The more familiar ones are the League Champions, FA Cup, Carling Cup, Community Shield, Champions League etc..
** A small test for everyone: How many FA Cups & League Champions has ManUtd won up to date? **
TaDa--> Ans: 16 times league cup winners & 11 times FA cup winner!
Majority of the trophies were won under Sir Alex Ferguson to be honest (he won the league cup 9 times in 22 years of management) and Ryan Giggs was the only player who had all 9 league cup medals!
After seeing the GLOWING trophies, the next section was dedicated to players! You will be surprised when I tell you who was the key player under scrutiny--> Gary Neville. Well, I understand it's partly due to the fact that he's the current CAPTAIN of ManUtd and I don't doubt his loyalty to the club but his CONTRIBUTION?! I don't know seriously. They sound like he's the best right-back around which I don't quite agree. They had displays of the caps (real caps) he won for playing for England, the jerseys he got in exchange during International competitions etc..Of course, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs & even Ruud Van Nistelrooy had their own display cabinets. What surprised me was Cristiano Ronaldo had a display there too. Young yet influential in the team, even Rooney wasn't there. Some personal thoughts- I feel sad for David Beckham! I remember reading his bibliography -My Side which was published right after his move to Madrid and he spoke of his love for ManUtd. He didn't want to leave the club at all but when your relationship with the Gaffer changes, that's it. You EXIT! Just like the way Jaap Stam, Roy Keane, Ruud Van Nistelrooy all move out of ManUtd eventually. DB wanted to end his career as a Red Devil because he has always been with them since young. His dad is a ManUtd Fanatic though they are 'Londoners' and he won the Bobby Charlton competition when he was 11. He was approached and signed as trainee at the age of 12. He fulfilled his dream to be part of the Red Devils at 12! Maybe he had fame too young so he didn't know how to treasure it. But when you are torn between your family & your career, it's always a hard decision. He's really a sad case. I didn't see much of his display at ManUtd despite his contribution to the club like scoring freekicks during important games, part of the treble team etc etc. I guess that must be his greatest REGRET in his life because he failed to leave a legacy in the club he supported most and once played for.
The next section that came along was the Managers' Honourary Section. Of course it was Sir Matt Busby & Sir Alex Ferguson's territory! To be conferred as a knight, you really have to make some contributions to the Nation and both of them brought glory as Winners. Sir Alex Ferguson was knighted when he completed the Treble. If I didn't remember wrongly, ManUtd was the first football team in England's history to complete the Treble.Lastly, it was the display of all the awards the footballers have won over the years. DB had his trophy there as he did won some ManUtd player award. Of course there were other big names like Roy Keane, Eric Cantona as usual. Anyway, there's this really cool interactive computers at different areas of the Museum where you can read about the statistics of the ManUtd players or review the goals that they have scored! It's totally cool and everyone was like queuing for it and totally ENGROSSED! That's what I meant when I say ManUtd is just so professional!
Before I left, I went to take photos with the Barclay's Premiership Trophy & the Charity Shield which costed me 12.99 Pounds! Chelsea had that service too but it was the FA Cup & Carling Cup since they were the winners the last season. Though it seems really expensive but that might be a once in a lifetime chance so I just WHACK it! That's my display pic on my blog!I think i kind of fully utilise every facility available in ManUtd. After the tour, I went to the Red Cafe to have a meal! A big Hearty Meal! I ate the famous Red Cafe Burger! It's just the typical quarter pounder but it's served with wedges (my fav!) I was never a beef fanatic before I went to Sweden but I am kind of addicted to beef now. I have it every other day. haha.. But does beef makes you fat? Check it out and let me know so I will try to reduce it. haha..
The seats in the Red Cafe!
My Red Cafe Burger! Totally filling!!
The last stop was definitely the MEGASTORE where I grabbed the jerseys and merchandise for all my ManUtd-lover friends! I bought a jersey for myself :) and one for my brother. It's definitely an expensive one but COME ON! It's MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB MEGASTORE we are talking about, the printing are all MADE IN MANCHESTER.The Poster At the Entrance of the MegaStore
I left Old Trafford after that to go back to the hotel to pick my bag. I had 3 plastic bags filled so I decided to take a cab back since cab wasn't too expensive compared to Stockholm & London plus I was still lingering over the morning incident. Headed to city once again to prepare to go to Liverpool Airport and fly back to Stockholm.Finally finally, I had time for shopping!!! But it wasn't that great because I had my backpack with me and the bag of MUFC merchandise so I had to watch it carefully in case I lose it & I will be like crying on the streets. Hahaha.. Anyway, I only had like 2 hours so I need to be fast. London is not a bad place to shop seriously because it is comparatively cheap (to Stockholm) and a normal tee will cost you probably $25/-. I was totally TIRED after the shopping and I had to run to catch the Airport Bus because I kind of "shop-past" the time. haha.. Well, I am a girl so you gotta forgive me for losing track of the time when I am shopping!
Slideshow of the entire stadium tour---
Slideshow of the Museum Tour----
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