Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has revealed all about this season’s decision to play John Denver’s 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' song shortly before kick-offs at Old Trafford.
The 1971 track has been an anthem for Reds supporters across many decades, with these adapted lyrics:
“Take me home, United Road, to the place, I belong. To Old Trafford, to see United, take me home, United Road!”
In an unmissable Q&A with season-ticket holders, Bruno is asked about his role in the ensuring the song is being played before the start of matches at the Theatre of Dreams.
“I think it's a song that everyone knows in the dressing room, so it's a popular song for us in the dressing room, and the understanding we had from the outside was that it's one of the most popular songs for the club,”
explains Fernandes with typical passion and detail.
“I think the lyrics, at home, work well, so everything together, we thought it would be a good thing.
“Obviously, we don't want to make it as something we do because other teams do it, but we felt it's something that the players... we spoke with certain players and said 'what do you think about this, how would you feel about having this before the game, would it give you a push, lift you a little bit, what are your thoughts?'
“For example, in Portugal, it is very natural that everyone has their own song, we call it an anthem. Everyone puts the song before the game starts and, as the referee whistles, they put the song down and the fans carry on singing. I was watching the Sporting game the other night and they didn't even end up singing the song, because Sporting scored after 50 seconds!
“But it's a moment where every fan lifts up. Everyone in the stadium feels that song very much and it's a song that resembles the United history as well. It was little mix of things that we thought might be a good thing to try.”
“Our main thing in the beginning was that we don't want the song to be on by itself, we want the fans to get that. We put the song on, it starts and then the fans can carry on, we don't need the song to be there.
“We don't need to be the loudest, it's a moment of union between the team and the fans, because it's a song that means a lot to the fans and we know that. So it's a moment we want the fans to take on for them but it's going to go to the pitch. Sometimes, I find myself singing that song in the beginning, when I am waiting for the referee to come to choose the ends.
“It's a song I like personally, the people of the dressing room like it, it's a song that when we won the FA Cup, straightaway in the dressing room it was the first song that came on, from the kit-men, from the physios, people that have been in the club, fans from the club, that have been supporting the club since they were young, like you guys.
“They were also part of the choice for the song. We wanted to understand from the point of view of a fan, what they thought about it. They said, 'if we have to choose one, this is the song for you guys and, for us, that makes sense'.”
To enhance the atmosphere and inspire our team, a first-ever ‘tifo’ banner will be unveiled in front of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand on Thursday.
The club worked with fan representatives on the idea and image. It was then shared with Bruno to get the captain’s seal of approval.
The 'tifo' will be raised from the ground to the roof, in front of the halfway line, creating a spectacular moment ahead of kick-off in M16.
The exact design of the ‘tifo’ is being kept under wraps for now, to retain an element of surprise and inspiration on the night.
If you’re coming to Old Trafford on Thursday, make sure to arrive in plenty of time to take your seat for the big reveal.