Man U visit christens New Arrowhead with record soccer attendance
by john silva

Sunday was a day that will shine for a long time as a beacon of light for Kansas City sports. The new Arrowhead held its first event as the newest pristine palace of the Midwest. Worthy of the sea of red was its first big name visitor.

The most valuable sports franchise in the entire world came calling. Manchester United brought 43 states worth of Americans from across the country to Kansas City as 52,424 fans set a record for any soccer match played in this city.

Bringing the Red Devils to town as part of their four city North American pre-season tour was no easy feat. The person perhaps most responsible for their visit is the owner of the Chiefs. Clark Hunt was thrilled in his understated manner to see the convergence of a huge event and an unveiling of his remodeled venue. “We’re excited to christen the new Arrowhead with a visit by Manchester United.”

Taking little credit for his accomplishment, Hunt detailed the difficulties of attracting a top European club to Kansas City. He then confirmed he did have conversations with fellow NFL owners, the Glazers, who happen to be the majority owners of Man U about the lure of opening the new Arrowhead and estimating 50,000-55,000 of his closest friends would attend.

He could also get a team to play them with no problem. The Wizards would gladly gain the exposure of playing the EPL giants and would be a sentimental choice. “If we were not going to christen the new Arrowhead with the Chiefs I couldn’t think of a better way than with the Wizards because of the history our family has with the club,” the former KC Wizards owner said.

As a third party member of the match, Hunt could sit back and enjoy 90 minutes of soccer. It took all of 11 minutes for the scoreboard to register. Was it Bulgarian scoring machine Dimitar Berbatov, Portuguese Midfield flier Nani, or perhaps Captain Midfielder Ryan Giggs? While every logical betting pool would’ve included these Man U stars. No one really expected Midfielder Davy Arnaud of the Wizards to be the one to tally first.

From the Wizards point of view Arnaud would be a logical choice as a man who shoots from any distance at any time. But his goal was pure class as he made a run past the defense into the United third and received a pinpoint pass from Forward Kei Kamara then beat Goalkeeper Ben Amos to the far post. The goal was surreal for the former British resident who still has family living in England.

The Wizards continued to put on the pressure as Kamara and Midfielder Ryan Smith kept the Man U backline busy. Outside of one nice run by Nani the headliners made little noise until the 40th minute. A counterattack caught the Wizards defense off-balance and Berbatov got free in the box. Thinking he could make a sliding tackle Defender Jimmy Conrad attempted a tackle and received a harsh red card ejecting him from the match.

It also gave Berbatov a penalty kick he slid into the right side netting to tie things up. Only two minutes later the Wizards earned a corner kick and Ryan Smith’s floater caught Kamara in the air. The header roughly eight yards from goal bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and was deemed a goal to retake the lead. It was a lead Kansas City would not relinquish as Man U made wholesale substitutions throughout the second half in an effort to prepare for their season with playing time for all.

The game ended on a positive note for all with a win by KC, match fitness training and no injuries for Manchester.

Arnaud explained that the win would be relished, “When you play and you’re a competitive person, you want to win the game. Realistically do you think you’re going to win (vs. Manchester United)? Not nine times out of ten.” He then summed up the day best, “I’m just really happy. Not just for the Wizards, but for soccer in Kansas City.”