If only I were.......

At times I really wonder......

If only I were a professional sports player.....

I guess I am someone who is very inclined towards freedom, regardless of freedom of speech, freedom of rights, freedom of diet, blah blah blah... In return, you get freedom to do what you love most professionally. On top of that, I adore the power and responsibility that accompany the profession of a professional sports player.!

Just look at people like Roger Federer and Cristiano Ronaldo. They are doing so much for the world, for their country, for their families, for Africa, for the poor, for the under-privileged, etc. These are things that I would really like to accomplish in life but I guess it ain't easy and hitherto, I am not empowered to do these things yet or at least heading in that direction.

Cristiano can bring much pride and glory to his country and family, a comfortable life for his family, much entertainment to the soccer fanatics worldwide, much inspiration to kids who aspire to be as good a soccer player as him, much happiness to the underprivileged kids whenever he visits them, much revenue and sales to the various products he endorses, much donations and money to help the poor and Africa, and most importantly, much sense of satisfaction for himself.

Likewise, Federer does the same. He has done so much for the tennis scene, creating milestones after milestones, helping the victims in Haiti, encouraging the many out there to pick up tennis as a sport, doing his country and parents proud, blah blah blah.

If I were to become a professional sports player, YES I will lose all of the freedom which I currently enjoy. Furthermore, I am someone who lacks discipline. Even basic stuff like getting my hair properly dyed for school is more trying than scoring an A for an examination. However, I get empowered to do the many things that I have listed above. The trade-offs are only fair and just. Nothing beats being able to play the one and only sport which is the love of your life. At least for me, someone who sees sports as one's life's work.

It is not as though I will not be able to do these things unless I become a professional sports person. However, being a sports person is just so COOL and EXTRAORDINARY. Your capacity to do something is entirely different from a normal OL or a CFO or even a CEO. I don't exactly enjoy sitting in the office bossing people around. It sounds extremely boring to me at least.

Perhaps the high utility I attach to sports could be due to my failure to fulfill my dream of playing a sports competitively for at least once in my life. Somehow they always end up in flames.

And so what if I am an EDUCATOR of LIFE and MORALS and ECONOMICS now? I feel so inadequate in terms of completing the tasks that have been on my checklist since time immemorial, and I see no light at the end of the tunnel that will enable me to successfully cross out the various items. I need to find the strength to convince myself to continue this journey of life.

That's what you do when you are bored....

The love for the sport.... That's what I do when I am bored and feels stagnate amidst the thesis work......

This invited whelming response.

Ginnelle took What Is Your Future Job

Footballer
You will be a footballer.
You will earn £60,000 a week.
You will play for your dream club.
You will never get married but have a fit girlfriend.
You will have loads of kids (accidently).
You will die young because of your alchohol abuse.

*I wished* I guess it's the picture that suits me! :)

From Ronaldo..

"I have to thank him for all that he taught me. He's been fundamental. I'll always have great affection for him and he will occupy a special place in my heart.

Ronaldo, who is set to travel to Manchester in the coming days to say his farewells to Ferguson in person, also thanked the United fans for their support.

He added: "It was my home. I played there six seasons and I was always well liked by the United fans.

"We won many things together. They always sang my song in the stands and I have to thank them for the affection they showed me during all the time that I played at Old Trafford. The fans of Manchester (United) are special."

Even though he will not be putting the United Shirt anymore, I'll always support him for all that he brought to the club and to my world of Football. Obrigado, Ronaldo! :)

Ronaldo's Song. Just before he leaves.

Just before I bounce off to bed... And before he leaves...

He plays on the left
He plays on the right
That boy Ronaldo makes England look shite



BenC a.k.a Liverpool fan showed me this.

Nonsense Transfer Market

I honestly have no clue what Real Madrid is doing exactly. First, they brought Kaka over from AC Milan, with a record transfer fee of 59.7GBP. Subsequently, they baited Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for 80GBP. Now, Zidane is being employed as a messenger to try to lure Franck Ribery to Real Madrid as well. If all of the top players in the world play in your team, what else is there to watch?! STUPID!

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I anticipated that C.Ronaldo will leave for Real Madrid this Summer. I do not deny that I feel the pinch that he's leaving because he is someone who scores like 30-40 goals a season and he is an eye-candy of mine. He is near to being irreplaceable. With him gone, no doubt it will take some time to reorganise the squad and do something in the coming season.

I hate Real Madrid! I will never buy any of their merchandise. They are a bunch of idiots! :(

Cristiano Ronaldo :) I will always love him...

Pay attention to the 40second when he does the trademark smile... So cutee......!

Battle - Messi Vs Ronaldo?

Alright, I have to say that the Champions League finals on Wednesday night was indeed disappointing, not purely due to the fact that the team I root for lost but also because I felt it was a sub-standard CL final. There had been so much commotion and build-up to the game since many had been continuously making comparisons between darling Ronaldo and petite Messi. Perhaps many would point fingers at me saying that I am biased and favour over Ronaldo but I am just contributing my two cents worth on neutral grounds.

ManU was a disappointment that night. There was no glimpse of the ManU that dominated and outplayed Arsenal in the semi-finals at all. Instead, it was deja vu of the night when we lost to our arch-rivals, Liverpool. The defence looked so weakened despite having the rock-solid combination of Van de Sar, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra. When I scrolled through the starting line-up, my heart skipped a beat because I saw the combination I would vote as disastrous Carrick-Anderson-Giggs. Apparently, the suspension of Fletcher resulted in this make-shift midfield. Despite having a pretty decent good season, Carrick is never the guy that you can expect a moment of brilliance from him. When you are leading, Carrick is the most effective guy to keep the pace of the game at a consistent level but when the tides are turned around, he impedes your progress because he is way too slow! To worsen things, an inexperienced Anderson was fielded. No doubts he has had contributed to us reaching the finals but he is definitely not the hard-core guy that you want to include in your team against such a seasoned Barca team who has Iniesta and Xavi bossing around the mid-field. You need people like Scholes or Fletcher who can exert the right pressure, make the tackles and break their play. Save the sissys for the Premier League games, boss!

ManU was the boss before Samuel Et'o scored. However, that moment of brilliance at the 10th minute definitely changed the game thoroughly. The winning attitude on Ronaldo's face, the never-say-die mentality of ManU and the champion aura simply vanished into thin air. I do not deny even till this moment that Barca were the better team after the 10th minute. They played their usual Catalan game, passed the ball around, kept the possession, threatened with a few run-ins into the penalty area etc. It was the sub-standard play of ManU that protrayed a glittering Barca on relative standing terms.

Under such circumstances, do not try to make comparisons between Ronaldo and Messi. Critics of Ronaldo often highlight the fact that he is never the star who shines in big games but ask yourself this question: is Messi one yet!? Everyone is denying Ronaldo of his merits and credits just because he appears to be cocky and dives quite a bit. Come on, search your soul and touch your heart, which soccer player don't dive?! Puyol was one big standing statue and display of the diving tactics that night!

Sometimes I can't help but think the Ballon d'Or is merely a big piece of pork whereby all soccer players take turns to grab his share. Messi had been coming in 2nd place behind Ronaldo in all major individual awards standing last year because the latter had helped ManU to a doubles last season whereas Barca did not get your hands on any silverware. Think about it, if ManU were to successfully retain the CL, wouldn't Ronaldo be crowned the Ballon d'Or winner again because he had assisted in rewriting history since no teams had managed to defend the CL trophy? If that had happened, wouldn't all the media and critics who are desperate to crown Messi as the best footballer hitherto, have to reset their count-down timer to 730 days instead? That seems distant and what if swine flu infects Spain and accidentally took his life away? It will be one of the greatest regret in football history to fail to acknowledge such a talented and gifted player!

I watch Messi for Barca quite regularly especially during the time when I was in Stockholm. Creativity is apparent in his play and he is daring enough to take on defenders. However, he plays a different style of football and I vote for Ronaldo's way of play. He is always the best! :)

Now that Perez has officially assumed the President post of Real Madrid, he will try to bring Ronaldo to Madrid at all cost. Despite Ronaldo himself declaring that he is happy at ManU and will still stay there after the turn of the Summer, I take those words with a pinch of salt. I identify with one of the ManU supporters who said the following:

"If he had left last Summer, I will definitely boo him if ManU ever plays against Madrid. Yet, if he choose to leave this Summer but do the appropriate thanksgiving and show his gratitude to the club, the manager, the players and the fans for all that we have given him and contributed to his transformation from a boy to a man, I will root for him and cheer him when he puts on the Madrid shirt. If he finally choose to leave when he is around 28-30 (still pretty fit and perhaps at his peak), I can fully apprehend his intentions to want to fulfil his dream of playing in Spain and be closer to his family and friends and by then he would have dedicated more than half of his career to the club that raised, supported and cared for him so much."

I can't agree more with the above! Yet, my gut feeling seems to tell me that somehow he will leave this Summer. I will miss the kind of entertaining football that he integrates into the games but I always insist that everyone has the freedom and right to pursue their own ambitions and live out their own dreams. Only when you have done so will you be able to identify with that sense of achievement and satisfaction, so go ahead, live out your own dreams!! :))

What a long piece of post full of my rants, my praises, my evaluation and nonsense concurrently....

Manchester-Day 2 11th February 2008

The day started with the MUFC Museum & Stadium Tours at 0940hrs..

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----

Manchester-Day 1 10th February 2008

The one & only reason I am in Manchester is for the Football Game! First I have to apologise that I posted the wrong Singapore time as it should have been a 9:30pm kickoff instead of the 7:30pm which I had written previously! *My Apologies*

Reached Manchester rather early at around 6am so went to the hotel to put down my bag before walking around & finally ended up at Old Trafford at around 9am! There were lots of vendors setting up to sell scarfs, flags, merchandise of MUFC (illegal ones I guess) but I didn't buy anything from there. Everything I bought from MUFC was from the Official Megastore! :)

I took a brief walk at the stadium before heading to the Lanchashire Cricket Club for the hospitality brunch they had in place for us. It started at around 10:30 and I left at around 12pm to go to the Football Stadium to feel the atmosphere of the build-up to the game!See the slideshow of pictures....

I've to say I bought the RIGHT tickets! It was definitely a very Memorable Day at Old Trafford because it was the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Tragedy. If you are a Hard-Core ManU fan, you will know about it. Lots of people in their ManU jersey, red or black, gathered round the stadium waiting to get into the Theatre of Dreams to catch this memorable yet tensed-up Manchester Derby game! There was this wall outside the East Stand which tuned the time to 6th February 1958 3:03pm when the Munich Disaster took place and lots of people prayed there and there flowers around it.

Me at the Stadium where my seat is

Anyway, I am not sure if you guys had seen the 1-minute silence being observed before the game and why the players are wearing jerseys with no name & sponsors, but only numbers because they wanted to bring game back to 50 years ago. It was an important game not because it was a Derby game but because it was to be played in memory of the BUSBY BABES (the players who died). The moment when everyone lifted up the red,black, white(for ManU supporers) or blue,black, white(for ManC supporters) scarf to observe the 1-minute silence was definitely GRAND & if you had seen it on TV, you will be impressed too. I got that SCARF too! :)

Players coming out from the dugout

Waiting to observe the one minute of silence

The atmosphere in the stadium was definitely lively & tensed-up. You hear cheers and lots of singing throughout the game and there was this rivalry which you can feel because the ManU fans will be going "F*** Cit" all the time! I was hoping to hear the hit "Glory Glory Man United!" but i didn't get to. I guess it was due to the outcome of the game!

Though I was sitting rather far back from the pitch, I could see every movement clearly and when the ball struck the back of the net, past Edwin Van De Sar, not once but twice, my heart sank. Not just me, I guess the heart of all the people around me sank! haha... I was sitting at the end where ManC attacks during the first half so I saw clearly how both goals went into the net! I have to say ManU played rather badly that day and I was kinda disappointed.. As usual, some fans left before the game ended maybe because they feel that ManU won't be able to make a comeback in the closing minutes since they were 2 goals down. But I held high hopes! Yet with greater expectations comes greater disappointment.

The thing about watching it live is that there are no commentaries & no replay screens so people who have short-attention span may just drift away after some time. But for me, both my eyes were on the pitch every single minute except half-time break! The most exciting part of the game took place in the 2nd half for me when it was ManU's turn to attack in my direction. With every attack that came near the penalty box & each corner, everyone would just stand up hoping that the ball will get into the net. Though it was quite tiring to stand and sit every now and then, the probability of seeing ManU score just overcomes the tiredness especially when ManU was falling behind. Sometimes, I don't even feel like sitting down to be honest. Never did I wanted time to slow down so badly in my life because I wanted the outcome of the game to be triumph on ManU's side but that didn't happen.

When Carlos Tevez scored, everyone was cheering only to see it being disallowed but he was clearly offside. Even when Michael Carrick finally earned a goal for ManU, it was too late. The game was already in the closing minutes. When the final whistle blew, you could hear the CHEERS of the ManC fans LOUD & CLEAR & their players applauding their fans. What about the ManU players? Heads down, pace fast, heading back to the dressing room. But their fans ain't that bad too. They sang this song which says that No matter what the outcome of the game, we will follow you.

There's this Nigerian guy that sat 2 seats from me and like me, he came specially for the game. Both of us shared similar thoughts because this may be our only chance to be in Old Trafford to watch a game & the outcome of the game was definitely not what we desired. I lingered around the stadium as there were lots of people exiting and I don't wanna squeeze my way through. The ManC fans weren't allowed to leave until all the red fans had exited for safety reasons. After I finally made my way out, guess where I went?!

Alright, I went to the North Stand where the players leave the stadium. I was trying to catch a glimpse of C.Ronaldo! Anyway, FYI, players don't train at Old Trafford. Their training ground is at Carrington, some suburb place in Manchester. Haha.. Yeah, I saw him! He's damn cool! Actually I don't really like CR when he first came to ManU. Maybe it's because he wears the No.7 Shirt which my all-time favourite DB wears so I always feel that he took away DB's place. What's more, he kicked England out for 2 Competitions consecutively, Euro 2004 & World Cup 2008.! I watched both matches & I was super pissed! But maybe it's the influence of my brother! He's a Ronaldo fanatic, always telling me how good CR is, the tricks that he do & how he always win free-kicks, penalties, corners, fouls etc etc... Plus there's just this charismatic aura that surrounds the Portuguese! It's just Jose Mourihno.. They have got this attitude that makes you love & hate them at the same time.. I like his cheeks, especially when he smiles so now, I not only accepted him as part of ManU, I love him!

Talk about the people that I saw.. the first that came out was Nemanja Vidic with his wife and kid if I didn't see wrongly. But he got onto his car rather hastily and left. Then it was Park Ji Sung! He's nice.. He went around for autography but I didn't get it as I wasn't standing in the first row at the time & I ain't that crazy about him. Subsequently, Nani came out and he was out there signing for the fans too. I could have gotten his signature but I didn't want to. Then out came John O'Shea. He's very friendly and he kind of waved before he went into his car. The big shot CR came out but he just got on his car after waving. He drives a Bentley Convertible, with a red top! So no autography from him but I got one of his pictures. Before I left, I caught sight of Giggsy who drives an Audi! I didn't wait for all the other players to come out because you don't know how long they will take though I would have love to see Rooney or Tevez. But it's boring to wait there and a rather waste of time anyway. So I left...

Nemanja Vidic (I think that guy beside him looks like Anderson)

Park Ji Sung

Mr Nani!

Yeah CR 7 with his Bentley

John O'Shea

Took the metro to the City Centre, walked around, passed by Chinatown (rather lively but I didn't feel like walking much) and headed back to rest.. End of the Match Day!

I paid 199.75 pounds for this day & this dream-----But it's worth it!