THAT was unprecedented. 2 big (probably biggest) match in 2 days by the biggest team in England and most probably Europe (bar Barcelona who is the champs league winner). I believe never in any country in any season that Manchester United FC played against a team twice in a space of 2 days at the same venue. And it happened here, right here in our beloved country. To the fans and instant-fans out there, what the hell can you ask more?

I am one of thousands of lucky people who happened to stay in KL and had the opportunity to witness Man United played in the stadium twice! I think that that made way for the one that I missed in 2001. While other team never wanted to come here for very obvious reasons, one of them being ‘not enough supporters to justify their appearance’, this team turned down a 1 million quid offer to go down under and instead adopted Malaysia as their second home. What a treat to their long serving fans . In all that we have to thank God for the prosperity our country had and pray for it to stay.

I would like to write down some pointers from my experience in the last couple of days:

1. The idea of having a match at 5.30pm is a tremendously great idea to Malaysian football, as Shebby pointed it out in a football talk show some time ago. He suggested that in order to improve viewing rating and stadium attendance, our Malaysian league should start at evening, instead of night because the time won’t clash with the EPL matches which is of course live every week.

2. People can go to stadium and watch the Malaysian league start at 5.30pm – 7.30pm. After that, people go home, pray, have a shower, then go out again and watch EPL live anywhere of their choosing. EPL matches earliest kickoff usually at 7.40pm. In rare occurrence 6.40pm. It makes perfect sense to me.

3. At 5.30pm, the weather inside the stadium is not that hot like some people are suggesting. You are bound to get hotter if you are in you car.

4. The first match was probably the best match I’ve ever witnessed at the National Stadium.

5. I’ve been to a couple of Malaysia Cup final, Pestabola Merdeka & FA Cup final matches and nothing as entertaining as this match eventhough it’s just an exhibition match.

6. MOST people say that they got 2 goals because Man United ‘give chance‘. But in 2001, when Man United definitely given their fair share of chance, our National team still lost 0-6. So, a 3-2 result is worth our deep respect to them. They earned their goals, period.

7. I’m a big Man United fan of course, but nothing beats seeing our national team scoring against an opponent, especially as big as Man United. For me, how big we claim to be a Man United fan, we should applause more if our national team scored. In fact, we seldom see our national team score in a match so put the food where the mouth is.

8. I’m a bit sad to hear people condemn the national team of being a little bit aggressive. They said “main rilek- rilek cukup la” and “dok buat terlebih semangat lak”. What would you expect if our team ‘main rilek- rilek’ against a team as big as Man United? Probably another big loss like 0-6, or 0-10 is more likely.

9. If the national team played a bit aggressive to contain the attacking prowess of Man United, they jeer them as being over the top, but then if they ‘main rilek- rilek’ and lose, they also jeer them because ‘they didn’t showed fighting spirit’. TO THE SO CALLED FOOTBALL FANS, WHICH IS WHICH?? STOP CONDEMNING YOUR OWN TEAM FOR GOD’S SAKE!

10. Personally I can’t help but to praise the fighting spirit our national team showed throughout the 2 matches they played. Of course they won’t qualify for the World Cup in 50 years, but the composure and fighting spirit they’ve shown definitely gives a glimpse of hope of what lies ahead (hopefully).

11. In those 2 matches, I can’t help but FEEL DEEPLY SORRY for Liverpool & Barcelona fans that had the courage to show their faces at the stadium.

12. Because their team will never set afoot in this country, they willing to sacrifice their ego and pride (?) just to see a team from the UK playing here, even though Liverpool is a big rival of Man United. (And Barcelona happened to beat Man United in the champs league final)

13. Probably they feel so frustrated that their team will never come here, they had to imagine as if Man United was actually Liverpool/ Barcelona that are playing here. What a pity… I feel really sorry for them, I really do…

14. They tried too hard to get attention and make a statement. In their mind they probably wanted to say “I’m a Liverpool fan, so what??”. CAN YOU FEEL THE FRUSTRATION INSIDE THEIR HEART? They probably cried when they gone home. huhuhuhuhuhuhu…

15. In any other country or club, those wearing Liverpool and Barcelona shirt in a Man United match would probably be dead by now, but we as a professional and dedicated supporter, and a normal human being and leads a normal life, didn’t give too much bull to those people who tried too hard to get the attention. It’s just not necessary to give a damn to the provocateur..

16. If Liverpool were to play here (will they??) and few Man United fan happened to be in the same stadium, I can definitely bet that we can see bottles and tin can flying across the stadium.

17. Lastly, it’s great to see a few familiar faces in the stands having a great time, most notably Alex Yoong who, despite being a VIP, opted to watch the match from the place where we sat.

18. While Liverpool Football Club will never ever land their asses in this country, I had the privilege to watch them live, not once, but twice in a space of 2 days. How lucky we were.

19. Good luck for their 2009/10 campaign.

The crowd getting their way to the stadium

Does my lens has magnet attached to it?

Recent events has prompted the authorities to beefed up security

Malaysian head coach K Rajagopal acknowledges the crowd

Alex Yoong in the stands

An actor making his way with his partner

Van Der Sar with some clearance to make

A Ben Foster missed kick led to Malaysia’s 2nd goal from the 1st match

2nd match warm up session

Rooney shows some of his silky skills

You’d better stick to the front mate!

Strong challenge from Amri Yahyah

A minute silence to the Jakarta bombings victims

Welcome to the EPL lad

This sliding challenge annoys Fletcher to some degree

Trademark Giggs dribbling past 3 defeders

Half time entertainment

Rooney misses this chance by a mile

P/S: Conratulations to Man United & Malaysia team for the entertaining games, and to Man United supporters who had great times in both matches. Definitely they appreciate the warm atmosphere we created and surely they would want to come again for another shot at our team.