Date:    22nd Jan, 2002 (Tue)

Time:    8 p.m. (Kick-off)

Venue:   Old Trafford Stadium of Manchester United Football Club

People:  Sandy only

Weather:   

Details: 

Can a person be considered a 'true' football fans without having ever watched one match at the home ground of the club he/she supports? (What's the definition of a 'true' football fans, by the way?) If that's one of the criteria, I can dare say I've fulfilled it, after watching a not-so-exciting match between two well known rival clubs of this country, sort of a derby tonight, you can say. Anyone who has watched a match in the flesh can tell you how different the experience is to watching a TV broadcast game on your couch with a slice of pizza bought from some take-away. The atmosphere, the view from your seat, what's happening on and off the pitch, all make the experience special. I can't wait to watch another game soon after the final whistle!

Talking about the game, a nail biting match had been expected before the kick-off and a lot had been talked about on newspapers and radio (especially as far as the title race was concerned). I started getting nervous but also excited when the clock was drawing near 8 p.m. What would it be like watching a big game at a stadium with the biggest seating capacity of the country? What're Manutd fans like? Living in Manchester saved me a lot of travelling time and I arrived at the stadium around 45 minutes prior to the kick-off. It was a usual practice for players to warm up on the pitch. In this game and the one I watched at Anfield Road the players of the away team came out first. I didn't miss this golden chance to take a closer look at and take photos of my favourite players (Oh, Michael Owen...) near the touchline. But still it was so far away from them that my ordinary camera failed to catch a big shot of any of them except the guy standing close to me then!

The atmosphere was terrific, contributed partly by a group of Liverpool fans who were sitting next to the stand where I was seated. From the second I entered the stadium there was no single moment I didn't hear their chants. 'You'll never walk alone' was a warm up. 'Liverpool, Liverpool' was chanted repeatedly. In the middle of the match something like 'fly back to Lazio, targeted at the Argentine midfielder Veron obviously, was heard. I wouldn't disagree that Liverpool fans are very loyal to their club, which was already shown when I watched a game at Anfield. Manutd fans was relatively a bit quiet, at least that's what I saw in my stand.

A few guys responded strongly to the neighbouring away fans with expressions like 'you Scouse bastard'. Well, what a good chance for me to learn the (offensive) English used by fans from the guy who was sitting next to me and kept a close watch on every word the Liverpool fans chanted. I was not alone in watching the game as a female. There were some other female fans, reflected by the queue outside the toilets at half-time. A cup of coffee, a cigarette and a bag of fish 'n chips were what it was all about during the half-time.

On the pitch, my long-awaited game kicked off at 8 p.m. sharply. The first half was a bit boring with very few shots from both sides and most of the time the players competed for the ball in midfield. The second half was, however, much more exciting and a few near-post shots attempted kept us standing up and sitting down repeatedly. The result at the final whistle was disappointing for Manutd fans like me, who were thinking a goalless draw was a more likely result (but I didn't expect Manutd to win since LFC always manage a win over Manutd in recent years however badly they perform against other teams) until 6 minutes from the stoppage time.  The deafening voice of the proud away fans was followed by a stick when we were heading disappointedly for the exit. Sir Alex Ferguson said after the match that they were a better team that night and deserved the three points. I couldn't agree more with that. Not because I support Manutd that I say so. It is true that the home team had a better performance on ball control and possession and attacking. In terms of individual performance Roy Keane and Veron were really brilliant. The former was a great leader while the latter had excellent skills. Danny Murphy and Riise also had a good game. Michael Owen (a small but well-built lad) got few chances to perform himself. David Beckham (really tall and thin) maintained his standard performance on his usual right wing position.

I was lucky to watch a game at both Anfield Road and Old Trafford. Hopefully there's more to come. The atmosphere, the fans, the stadia and my feelings are different in the two games but I enjoyed very much both of them!!

(Can you identify who is who in the picture? Where's Michael Owen? Taken before the kick-off) 

Photos at the Theatre of Dream:

This part was last updated on 27th March, 2002

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