My third shift - Manchester United vs Real Madrid

5th March 2013 - the night every Manchester United fan had been waiting for. 

The second leg of the last sixteen tie against Real Madrid in the Champions League. The first leg finished 1-1 at the Bernabeu, with Manchester United scoring a crucial away goal.

Not only this, it was the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford, after a world-record transfer to Real Madrid, over three years ago.

On Monday 4th March, I left my house in Lurgan, Northern Ireland - and traveled to the airport to board my flight to Manchester. After arriving in Manchester, I met up with a friend whom I had met at London 2012, and was able to stay at hers for the night. 

When it was time to leave for my shift, I hopped on the tram and made my way to Old Trafford. The stadium looked amazing as I arrived.

My brother was also going to the match that evening, as a fan of course, so I met up with him for a while outside Old Trafford before I started my shift.

My brother Shane, and I

Once I had finished seeing my brother, I checked-in, received my uniform, and headed towards the Red Café.

For anyone who has ever visited Old Trafford and the Red Café, they may have seen an entrance to some hospitality boxes, just before the entrance to the Café. Due to the magnitude of the game against Real Madrid, that meant there were major sporting figures using the hospitality boxes that night.

In the middle of my shift, I felt a little light-headed, so I decided to take a walk.

I ended up walking past the hospitality boxes, and I bumped into a small, stocky man - who was extremely familiar.

I had just walked past DIEGO MARADONA!!!

Not only that, I also bumped in to Robbie Savage and Steve McManaman. Amazing!

At the end of an extremely controversial game, the result didn't go our way, and I decided to try and see the players before I left Old Trafford.

There was an incredible amount of people waiting for the players to come out - but the majority of the players went straight to their cars, with the exception of Chicarito, who happily signed autographs.

When the Real Madrid players began to filter out, everyone was waiting for the special one - No, not Mourinho; Cristiano Ronaldo.

When he eventually came out, the screams from fans were incredible, and I even got to touch his hand!

However, once he had jumped on the team coach, the fans began to disperse. And when most of the crowd had gone, Eric Steele and Tony Strudwick appeared, and they were happy to pose for a photo!

With Eric Steele, Goalkeeping Coach

With Tony Strudwick, Fitness Coach