New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS): India cricketer Rinku Singh revealed that he is a core Manchester United fan, and his support for the Premier League club began after fellow cricketer Nitish Rana introduced him to football and helped him understand how to watch and follow the game.
Rinku recently attended his first-ever live football match at Old Trafford, witnessing the Manchester derby against Manchester City in the Premier League. The experience gave the Indian cricketer an opportunity to watch the rivalry from inside the iconic stadium after previously following football only on television.
“Earlier, I was a United fan, and I still am to some extent because of Nitish Rana bhai. He introduced me to football and showed me how to watch the game. From there, my interest in football grew a bit. And Rana Bhai is a United fan, so I used to spend time with him, and watching him, I became a fan of United,” Rinku told JioStar.
The derby, however, did not produce the result Rinku’s adopted club would have wanted. Manchester City secured a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford, with Erling Haaland scoring the decisive goal in the second half.
Despite arriving as a United supporter, Rinku admitted that he found himself backing City at certain stages of the match as United struggled to create an impact.
“Yes, I found myself supporting City a little bit as the match went on. United weren’t playing that well, while City were looking better at the time,” he said.
For Rinku, though, the result was secondary to the experience of watching a football match live for the first time. He said the atmosphere inside Old Trafford helped him understand why the sport has such a strong following around the world.
“I consider myself lucky because I got to watch a match between City and United. I was very lucky to be there and watch the match at such a time. It was the first live football match of my life, and it was a completely different feeling altogether,” he said.
“I realised what it feels like to watch a football match live in a stadium. I had only watched matches on TV before, so it felt really good to be there. I loved the vibe. The way the entire crowd supports the team when a goal is scored or a player does something special, the crowd screams out. That is something you really feel and experience when you are there at the stadium,” he added.
Rinku also named Marcus Rashford as his favourite player, while highlighting Bruno Fernandes for his composure and calmness on the pitch.
“I really like Marcus Rashford. I’ve followed him a lot, so he’s my favourite. And when it comes to composure, I think Bruno Fernandes. He stays very calm, plays very calmly, keeps strolling on the pitch, and when the ball arrives, he instantly scores a goal or does whatever is needed on the pitch,” he said.
