Manchester United fans head for Moscow

8:26am Friday 16th May 2008

Comments (6)   Have your say »

TWO loyal Manchester United fans from South Lakeland who are always there to cheer on their beloved football club will be joining Rooney, Ronaldo, Carrick and Co in Moscow.

Steve Buswell and Robin Baines will be in the Russian capital representing Kendal alongside thousands of Red Devil supporters who have not been put off by the cost and concerns over getting a visa to watch their team take on Chelsea in the European Cup Final.

For the duo, who have travelled across Europe many times for their love of the club, it is all part of life and nothing will get in the way - Mr Buswell even gave up his job last year when it threatened his chances of cheering on the lads in a crucial match in Italy.

"I went to the Roma away game and then we got drawn against AC Milan in the next round," he said. "I wanted to go to the Milan away game but they wouldn't give me the time off at work, because I'd been to Rome, so I said: Okay, well I'll finish work on Friday then.' And that was that."

The friends - who have paid £126 each for their tickets - are both members of the Manchester United Supporters' Club Westmorland Branch, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

More than 1,080 matches at Old Trafford have been attended by the branch, as well as numerous away trips in England and overseas.

Branch secretary Dennis Alderson is one of the longest serving in the country, after more than 27 years in the role, and though he is not heading to Russia next week, he has seen more than his fair share of games.

There have been some amazing trips to play the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus, but those visits to lesser-known clubs stand out the most.

Mr Alderson, who went to the European Cup Finals in 1968 and 1999, said: "The best away trip for me was when we played Rotor Volgograd (in Russia) in 1995. We ended up flying back on the same plane as the team."

Much has been made of the game being played in Moscow, with two English teams and their fans having to travel more than 1,500 miles.

Mr Buswell, who as a boy of 12 saw the Red Devils overcome the mighty Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final, said: "The venue has got to be shared around but they should have sorted it out before as there has been a lot of confusion over the visas."

Mr Alderson added: "The organisation of visas and so on was moving very slowly until Russian team Zenit St Petersburg got into the UEFA Cup Final at Manchester City's stadium - that definitely worked in our favour and as soon as they got through everything started to move a lot faster."

Mr Buswell and Mr Baines plan to do some sightseeing and visit Red Square during their three-day stay, before watching the newly-crowned Premier League champions in one of the biggest game in their history.

Mr Baines, who was there for the historic last-gasp victory in 1999 over Bayern Munich, said: "I'm hopeful we're going to win, especially after beating Chelsea to the Premier League on Sunday. We're really looking forward to it. We couldn't miss this one."