(Originally posted April 11, 2007)
Champions League: Manchester United 7, Roma 1
Wow. What an unbelievable day…
But first a little background: A week ago, Manchester United played what is called the first leg of their Champions League game again AS Roma in the Olympic Stadium in Rome. (In this stage of the Champions League, teams play an opponent both home and away. At the end of the two matches, the team with the highest goal total from both games advances.) At the game in Rome, United fans were basically attacked by Roman security in the stands during the match. Who knows who started what, but it was fairly ugly. Roma supporters also clashed with United fans before the game, which Roma won 2-1. So, we knew the game Tuesday night would be a bit intense.
We spent much of the day on a bus from London to Manchester. It was actually a nice rest from the hectic days we’ve had so far. Amy and I slept most of the way.
After arriving in Manchester around 2, we spent a bit of time wandering the city. We needed some cash and I’d left our AC converter back at the hotel in London. We found the cash but not the converter.
We headed back to a pub near our hotel and sampled the local brews and had some tasty meat pies for dinner.
Once back at the hotel, we readied ourselves for the nighttime match. We learned by watching the BBC that Roma and Man U fans had already clashed outside the stadium, Old Trafford. We had no idea what “clash” really meant.
So the anxiety of our group was a bit high as we boarded the bus for Old Trafford. It was bit of a quiet ride over to the historic stadium. Our tour guides warned us to make our way inside as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we knew we’d be sitting near the Roma fans, (visiting fans are segregated away from home fans at European soccer stadiums), so our guides seemed concerned about our path into the ground.
Their fears proved to be valid. As we made its way toward Old Trafford, we saw a group of Roma fans, surrounded by a police escort, signing and chanting as they approached the ground. Suddenly, angry hooligan Man U fans, some with their faces covered, started pelting the Roma fans with bottles and who knows what.
Police, some on foot, others on horses, charged into the area. Our group scattered in all different directions to avoid the chaos. One very nice English gentlemen tried to pull Amy and I behind a large sign to keep us safe. But we didn’t want to lose one of our tour leaders so we ran past the police line that was converging on the area. We caught up with one guide as things began to calm down a bit. He recommended that we walk completely around the stadium to get to our entrance rather than walk back through the Roma fans. This proved to be a good suggestion. Things seemed much quieter as we made our way around.
I asked Amy if she was scared and wanted to go back to the hotel. But she just shook her head, and we entered historic Old Trafford.
Once inside, things were much calmer. Old Trafford is called “The Theatre of Dreams” and it certainly lived up to that reputation. The stadium is gorgeous. Certainly a cathedral to the greatness of Manchester United.
Still, it was tense. There were two sections of Roma fans, one above us just to our left, and another two sections over on our right. I worried that if things got ugly we would get pelted by flying objects.
Before the match, the Roma fans were already LOUD, singing with choreographed movements.
However, as the Man U fans filtered in, they began to drown out the Roma supporters.
As the game got underway, we became engrossed in the match, and our earlier scare slipped out of our mind.
Quickly, Man U scored an incredible goal from Michael Carrick. After than, there was no stopping the Reds. Goal after goal hit the back of the net. If Cristiano Ronaldo is not the best player in the world, I don’t know who is.
In the blink of an eye, it was 4-0 Man U. The fans at Old Trafford grew louder every minute. For those of you who have sat with crazy Sam’s Army fans at a U.S. game, this was like that. Only the WHOLE stadium was the Sam’s Army section.
The Roma fans grew quieter (but never completely silent) and it ended 7-1.
All was calm after the match as we trekked back to the bus and to our hotel.
Most of our group headed across the street from our hotel to a local pub. It was suppose to close at 11, but once the owner was told that a bunch of Americans had journeyed across the pond to see his beloved Manchester United, he kept the establishment open well past 1.
We’ve now seen 10 soccer matches on European soil now, and this is the only bit of violence we’ve witnessed. It’s too bad that the world’s game can’t seem to shake this. Manchester United’s performance this night was incredible. A thing of beauty. It’s too bad the fan behavior outside the stadium didn’t match the glorious skill of their team.
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