United fans offer warm welcome to Bayern
Bayern Munich's fans were welcomed into Manchester earlier this week, by a group of United supporters keen to thank the Germans for their support in commemorating the Munich Air Disaster.
The Bundesliga champions were in town to face our rivals Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
But before Tuesday night's match, they were invited to well-known United pub The Old Nags Head for a few drinks, as a mark of our fanbase's gratitude.
“Especially since the 60th anniversary of the air crash, we've grown very, very strong bonds with the Bayern fans,” explains Mark Holt, who had the initial idea.
“They're always incredibly welcoming of us when we go over. Although it's obviously a very sombre event, we always have a marvellous time with them, and the respect between the two sets of fans is massive.
“So when we found out that they'd drawn City, we immediately contacted them. We spoke to Sean [Brett, landlord] at the Nags, who is always great with us, and immediately he said that he'd be delighted for the Bayern fans to come.
"I have a couple of very strong contacts over there, so we spoke to Simon from Bayern's fan group and let him know that the pub would welcome them on the afternoon of the game, before they had to meet up to be escorted down to the [Manchester City] ground.”
A pleasant afternoon followed, with the United fans present glad for the opportunity to repay the hospitality shown to them each February, when many Reds travel to Munich for the anniversary of the air crash.
“We had a lovely afternoon just socialising and just generally having a good time,” says Holt, who is Finance Trustee for the Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation, whose mission is to preserve the legacy of the Busby Babes.
“It was nice for us to be able to welcome them instead of them welcoming us, as normally happens! And we clubbed together to buy a couple of rounds of drinks for them.”
Bayern's amazing kindness to United
ArticleThe Germans have made an incredible contribution to the commemoration of the Munich Air Disaster.
There was one topic of conversation that was quietly off-limits, however.
“1999? We're kind to them about that!” laughs Mark. “In fact, when we're over there, we tend to tell the other United fans that don't know them so well not to sing 'Who put the ball in the Germans net?' and to sing the Liverpool version instead ['Who put the ball in the Scousers' net? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer!'].
“But joking aside, obviously both clubs have fantastic heritage, and there's just such a massive respect between them and us. It was a really friendly gathering, between two sets of fans who have the ultimate respect for each other.
“They've been in touch since, thanking us for the hospitality and to say how much they enjoyed the time with us and how much they're looking forward to next year for the memorial – and hopefully the Champions League!”
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