Saturday July 18, 2009
Screams of adulation greet Man U as they set foot in Malaysia
By CHARLES FERNANDEZ
Manchester United hits KL
Manchester United in Kuala Lumpur
We love you Man U: Some of fans waving at the players being ferried off in the bus. Photos by S.S. KANESAN
THE Red Devils are in town. The Manchester United team arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang at 11.30am yesterday.
The team is scheduled to play the Malaysian national team at the National Football Stadium in Bukit Jalil today at 5.30pm and die-hard Red Devils fans can get to watch their superstars in action.
Since ProEvents, the promoters of the tour had kept the arrival time discreet, many of the fans gathered at the arrival hall of the Main Terminal Building hours before the 11.30am arrival time.
They rushed to the Bunga Raya Complex when told that the team buses would be leaving through the complex instead.
About 200-odd Red Devils fans gathered outside the complex premises, several groups holding banners and many others holding MU merchandise,
Waiting patiently: A group of fans waiting outside the Bunga Raya entrance. They had gathered to get a glimpse of their favourite players but were left disppointed as they only got to see the team’s buses leaving the complex.
All they could do was wave and scream out at the players as the buses drove out of the Bunga Raya Complex at 12.15pm for the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
But this evening, their disappointments will be translated into joy as the English Premier League champions are expected to take on the Malaysian selection.
While some Malaysians are hoping for the local outfit to turn the tables on the English champions, it is however, a tall order.
All the way from the north: Kimberley (right) with her friends from Bangkok. For United, the Malaysian leg is the first stop of their pre-season tour.
The got down to serious business with an opening training session yesterday at 5.50pm at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Besides KL, the United Asia Tour will also have stops Seoul (July 24) and Hangzhou (July 26).
Red Devil fan Kimberly Arts came all the way from Bangkok with a group of friends, hoping to get up and close with the players.
Bangkok is not part of the MU Asia Tour and she wanted to be the first among the huge followings to catch the Red Devils new signings.
“I am very disppointed as I did not get to see any of the players.
“My favourite player is Micheal Carrick but it does not matter now.
“All I hope is for MU to win. This will make up for the disppointment today,’’ said Kimberley.
Kimberley, 25, said she became a MU fan five years ago.
Fazly Abul Kadir, 27, made a trip all the way from Kota Kinabalu to see his favourite team.
“I have been following MU’s progress since I was 12-years-old.
“I want to watch Ryan Giggs as he is the most decorated MU player,’’ said Fazly.
For Fazly, unlike the other players, Ryan Giggs is the only Red Devil through-and-through.
THE TEAM: Edwin Van Der Sar, Thomas Kuszcak, Ben Foster, Johny Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Luis Nani, Gary Neville, Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Fabio Da Silva, Zoran Tosic, Darren Fletcher, Anderson, Darren Gibson, Paul Scholes, Micheal Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Fredrico Macheda, Micheal Carrick.
The notable absentees are; Nemanja Vidic, Park Ji-Sung, Owen Hargreaves, Rafael Da silva, Gabriel Obertan, Antonio Valencia and United’s two other new signings.
Regardless of some famous names missing on the tour, fans are in for a big match.
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