The stadium was not the only star as Wayne Rooney and co drew a sell-out crowd
MANCHESTER UNITED came to town last night and turned Dublin into their home town.
It is one of the great idiosyncrasies of Irish sporting life that a foreign football team can play an Irish team on Irish soil and the bulk of the home fans will be supporting the visitors.
A crowd of 49,861, just short of capacity, paid at least €45 a head to see a near-full strength Manchester United team play an Airtricity XI made up of the best of the League of Ireland in the first soccer match at the Aviva Stadium.
The home team were outclassed and looked like a team that had never played together before. It was playground stuff for United who won 7-1, though the biggest cheer of the night was for St Patrick’s Athletic’s Dave Mulcahy who scored the home side’s only goal.
On Saturday more than 30,000 turned up for an under-20 interprovincial challenge that would have attracted about 300 people had it not been the stadium’s opening match there.
Last night the gleaming stadium with its undulating roof and clear sightlines was not the only star around, not while Wayne Rooney was on the pitch. His every touch was met with a sense of expectation and when he dragged a shot across the goal after just 10 minutes the crowd shouted “Rooney, Rooney” in that peculiar way which sounds like a boo. Would he get the same reception in an England shirt? We think not.
The streets around Lansdowne Road were full of fans wearing red. There were plenty too wearing green and gold, but they were not Irish colours but United’s original colours when known as Newton Heath and now a gesture of protest against the Glazer family who own the club.
Former Ireland and Manchester United legend Paul McGrath was mobbed by fans as he entered the ground.
“It’s an unbelievable stadium,” he said reflecting a sentiment shared by many last night. “I just wish it had been around when I was playing. The players will love playing here.”
Many League of Ireland fans stayed away and instead vented their spleen on the internet against what they regard as armchair aficionados of the worst type.
“Our new stadium and you have Irish people in foreign team jerseys cheering against players who represent their home towns in the LOI. I feel sick,” wrote one.
The exchanges online got so heated that one contributor said it was “pathetic to get wound up over a pre-season friendly”.
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin turned up with her nephew Dáire, who said he had a dilemma being a Manchester United fan.
“He asked me who I should support and I told him that when an Irish team is playing, you should always support them,” she said.
Afterwards, fans photographed themselves outside the stadium, its saucer like exterior providing a picturesque backdrop.
“The acoustics are very good when the match took off. It is very futuristic looking.
“I can’t wait to get down to a Six Nations game or an Irish game,” said Gareth Thomson from Belfast.
