Abu Dhabi // Young football fans scored a dream goal of their own yesterday when they got to meet and chat to a pair of Manchester City stars.
Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho, who signed for the club during the summer for £30 million (Dh177m), and English goalkeeper Richard Wright, who recently renewed his contract for another year, were at the City Store in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall for an autograph session.
“Oh, awesome,” said eight-year-old Hassan Rammal when he spotted the players.
Like many of the youngsters in the queue, Hassan and his older brother, Ali, took a wealth of souvenirs for their heroes to sign.
Many of the about 150 fans who came along were wearing the sky blue of Man City, with some kitted out in the team’s full strip.
When it came time for Ali to meet the players, he proudly waved his goalkeeper’s glove at Wright, his idol.
He had also taken a football, a homemade autograph book, two postcard-sized photos of the players and a baseball cap to get signed.
The players happily obliged, smiling for the young fans as the crowd gathered around snapping photos.
“I’m the biggest fan – I love Richard Wright,” said Ali, a 10-year-old pupil at Gems American Academy in Abu Dhabi. “He told me that it’s fantastic that I’m a goalkeeper and he told me that by your look, it looks like you’re a good player.”
His little brother was equally thrilled.
“Oh my God, I really met Fernandinho,” said Ali, a grade 3 pupil at the same school as his brother, as he held his green mobile phone case in the air to display his idol’s autograph scrawled across the back.
Alaa Ragi, 15, from Sudan, said Man City was his favourite football team.
“I’m a really big fan, a really, really big fan,” said the International School of Choueifat pupil. “If you support the team, you don’t care if it’s strong or weak.
“I think now Manchester City can beat any team. They’re scoring more goals, they’re playing better.”
He said Fernandinho was worth every penny the team had invested in him, adding: “He’s assisted many goals.”
After meeting Fernandinho and getting his autograph, Alaa was even more impressed with the 28-year-old star.
“You know what was the best thing? He looked straight in your eyes, that’s the best thing,” he said.
Fernandinho said that visiting Abu Dhabi and meeting fans was just as much of a treat for him as it was for the supporters.
“The fans here love English football, they love City, and to have this opportunity to let them meet the players, I think it’s as exciting for the fans as it is for the players,” he said.
Although he had been to Abu Dhabi with the Brazilian national team and with his former team, Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk, this was his first time in the capital as a Man City player.
“This is a fantastic city,” he said after the hour-long autograph session. “It’s very beautiful.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
