He had tears in his eyes. Me too. For his eighteenth birthday, Sonny was offered a trip to Manchester, England, to see our favorite football team play “in person”, one who had no choice but to love giving birth.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Gossip claims that Fieston’s first name is inspired by the club his father has worshiped, Manchester United, since King Eric Cantona’s coronation in the mid-1990s, and not all legends should be believed.
Truly I tell you, if Sonny had become a fan of Manchester City, the club on the “blue” side of the city, I would have disowned him, three times instead of once. At home we are red. I was before he was born, when I covered European football Journalismin 1999, the year of the Red Devils’ famous Triple Champions Cup.
So we met in April at Old Trafford, Manchester’s legendary stadium, better known as the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. We had planned this trip for a long time, and it was postponed three times due to the pandemic. The match against West Ham became a match against Wolverhampton and then against Norwich.
We also went to watch Salford City, a fourth tier club owned by former United players (including David Beckham), at a small family stadium in the outskirts of Manchester.
Fortunately, United faced Liverpool two days later at Anfield, just 50 kilometers from Manchester. The two greatest teams in English football history: 20 trophies at United and 19 at Liverpool. The greatest competitions. The equivalent of a Canadian-Northern match for the Power of 10.
We can’t miss it. I gave myself a Father’s Day gift in advance. We hid United shirts under our jackets and shared beer.
In the seventh minute of the match, 53 thousand spectators sang you’ll never walk aloneLiverpool fans worship song, in honor, in his absence, of United star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, whose son was stillborn the day before. I got goosebumps.
A German told me that he came to Liverpool openly with his son and daughter to see Ronaldo. I didn’t dare tell him that we were glad to see him play in Manchester four days ago. I am aware of my privileges…
We have also made this pilgrimage to North West England in particular to see in the flesh one of the greatest players in history. Last September, Cristiano Ronaldo (as he is nicknamed) made his big return to the club which revealed him on the international scene, after more than a decade of exile in Spain and Italy.
I remember as if yesterday Son jumped for joy in front of the TV, when Ronaldo scored in the Champions League final, which Manchester United won in 2008. He was barely 4 years old. We were on vacation in the States.
The following year, after winning the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world, Ronaldo left for Real Madrid. I never thought I would get a chance to see him again in United’s red shirt. Then he returned to cement his legend at the Manconian Club, at the age of 36.
So we got to Old Trafford early, time to visit the club museum and for Sony to buy a shirt with pocket money. classic From the Cantona period.
He knows football like the back of his hand. He is aware of the latest player transfer rumors, about the small mass growing in the ranks of such a French club. Admit it: I created a monster.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored an early goal, due to a ridiculous defensive error. Then there was a corner in the opponent’s area, and Fiston reacted to the shoot, just in case … Ronaldo, of course, scored with a header by jumping higher than anyone else. Norwich returned in the second half, so at 75e It was the 2-2 minute when Ronaldo scored a powerful and unstoppable exemplary free kick.
we shouted. We jumped for joy. Smiles on ears and tears in eyes drenched in emotion. United won 3-2. Ronaldo became the first player in history to score 50 hat-tricks for the club, a month after he was named the club’s all-time top scorer. We could not have imagined a better scenario.
“We’ll do this again in 10 years, Dad,” Sonny said. And next time, I’ll be the one paying! »
