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Winston Zhang
28 March
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Man Utd [Since '99]
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
21:53:00
Some of you must be wondering why I haven't said a thing about Man Utd's amazing achievements this season. Why I did not say a thing after we won the Premier League on the last day of the season. Why I did not say a thing about making the Champions League Final for the first time since 1999. Well, the fact of the matter is, with the Premier League title going down to the last day, I was too nervous to say anything about it. And then, after we won that, I was too nervous for the Champions League to say anything about it. Now, after it's all done and dusted, I can finally talk about it all.
Some of you might know that I am a very superstitious person. I hardly ever watch Man Utd matches 'Live', because I believe myself to be a sort of jinx to their fortunes. Sounds stupid, I know, but I do have anecdotal evidence to back this superstition up. The only matches I've seen in full this season were the 4-0 win over Dynamo Kiev and the 4-0 win over Villa, both of them matches which were either deadweight (Kiev), or one I felt mightily confident about (Villa). However, this should take nothing away from my support of my team. I'll tell you why.
Most fans (at least Singaporean ones) would probably be going 'Man Utd champions! Woot!'. While that's all fine and dandy, it's not a very good measure of how much the person supports the team. I have actually cried tears of happiness at 3 key parts of the run-in to the two title-winning games:
First time: The Champions League semi-final 2nd Leg against Barcelona. Granted, I didn't watch the match live, but I've seen the reruns of the match as well as video clips of Scholes' goal, and every single time I've seen it (3 times), I've cried. I just start sobbing when I see Scholes receive Zambrotta's poor clearance, set himself up for the shot, then let rip with a trademark Scholes effort, totally unstoppable. Why? Because Scholes is, well, Scholes. A long-serving and brilliant member of the United squad, a certified United legend. For him to score such an important goal... It's just fantastic.
Second time: The final Premier League game against Wigan. Once I got news that Ryan Giggs had scored a second goal to all but secure the title for Man Utd, I rushed down to watch the final 10 minutes of the match. When the final whistle blew, I shouted in delight. The best was yet to come, however. Watching Ryan Giggs, Man Utd's appearance record holder at 759 (and counting) appearances for the club, and club captain, step up to receive the trophy and raise it triumphantly into the air also made me start sobbing, crying tears of joy once again. Why? Because Ryan Giggs. 'Nuff said.
Third time: Obviously the Champions League Final. Having seen only the penalty shootout so far (on Youtube), there's not much to pick from. Nevertheless, Van der Sar's trophy-winning save also made me cry. Seeing the whole team (including the management team) run towards him from the dugout and the centre circle, that's just amazing. It reminded me of the images at the final of '99, with Solskjaer being mobbed after scoring the winner. I cried, I cried unabashedly.
The best thing about all this success is all the fate and destiny associated with it. It had to be Scholes to score the goal to send the team into the CL Final. It had to be Giggs to score the goal which clinched the Premier League title. And it definitely HAD to be Giggs to score what proved to be the winning penalty in the Champions League final and winning the two biggest trophies an English club can win in the same season he becomes the new holder of the record of making the most appearance for Man Utd. As captain, too.
Of course, we cannot forget that this amazing season is on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, which makes it YET more special. The survivors of that disaster were in the audience of this historic achievement at the expense of the club.
All this history and fate and destiny intertwined in the success of Man Utd is the main reason why I love them so much. I honestly cannot think of another club whose success has so much history involved with it, from any part of the world.
So I'll end off by saying that I'll always be a Man Utd fan. It's been 9 years since I started supporting them. I don't intend to stop, ever.
SALUTE THE DOUBLE CHAMPIONS! KINGS OF ENGLAND, KINGS OF EUROPE!