Once again it is up for an English breakfast then off to a busy day in both Liverpool and Manchester. The highlight of the day for many of the boys was the visit to the home of Manchester United.
Before the trip to Manchester; however, there was the business at hand of matches against the Transmere Football Club in the Liverpool area. The boys arrived at the fields in the shadows of the TFC stadium, ready and eager to play some football. The matches were good and we all enjoyed the hospitality and conversation with many of the TFC fans.
Then it was off the highlight of the day and even the trip for many of the boys, a visit to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. Upon arrival, the sharp contrasts between Old Trafford and Anfield, where we had visited the day before, were clearly evident. While Anfield oozed hundreds of years of history and the simplicity of wood, Old Trafford was anything but old and gleamed with a modern look of steel. The stadium tour was fascinating and the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves; with many taking the opportunity to sit in the coaching chair of Sir Alex Ferguson, who we had just seen the evening before at the match, in the Home dugout.
Then taking merchandising to an extreme, we were treated to a real mega-store, where you could almost literally buy anything and everything (which a lot of boys tried to do) with Manchester United on it. There were many bags loaded onto the bus.
Then it was back to the dormitories for a quick rest before a dinner in downtown Liverpool. The group visited the restaurant owned by Jamie Carragher, of the Liverpool Football Club, and had an absolutely fabulous meal with much chatter, friendship, and camaraderie. A quick walk through downtown, including seeing the statue dedicated to Eleanor Rigby of Beatles fame, and it was back to the dorms to pack up and prepare for the trip back to Ireland.
That’s all for now.
Quote of the Day
“I don’t think I could have a higher opinion of any footballer than I already had of the Irishman, but he rose even further in my estimation at the Stadio Delle Alpi. The minute he was booked and out of the final he seemed to redouble his efforts to get the team there. It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player.”
Sir Alex Ferguson (on Roy Keane after the European Cup semi-final in 1999)
English soccer manager
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