THOUSANDS of jubilant Man United fans turned
out to welcome the team home last night as they returned in triumph
with the Champions League trophy.
Supporters crammed into Manchester Airport
hoping to catch a glimpse of the Moscow marvels. Hordes of fans
lined the roof and top levels of the airport car park, while
baggage handlers and other workers turned trucks and carts into
makeshift vantage points.
The moment they had waited for all day finally came at
9.40pm when Ryan Giggs was first off the plane carrying the giant
cup. He was followed by manager Sir Alex Ferguson and skipper Rio
Ferdinand, clutching the Premier League trophy claimed earlier this
month.
The team posed on the steps and did a victory jig for
the cameras. And last night there was growing clamour for United to
be given a full-blown victory parade through Manchester. A planned
bus tour was axed after the trouble caused by Rangers fans after
the UEFA Cup Final in the city last week.
Wayne Rooney’s fiancée Coleen McLoughlin and
the rest of the WAGs waited until the players had gone before they
left the plane. Reds legend Sir Bobby Charlton beamed broadly as he
made his way through the airport.
The players then boarded a team bus to continue
their homeward journey. The bus needed a police escort as it inched
its way through huge crowds of chanting fans. Rooney and goal hero
Cristiano Ronaldo smiled and waved as they sat on the upper deck
with the gleaming trophy between them.
The airport arrivals hall had echoed all day to chants
of "Champions". Fan Bob James, 27, said: "We just had to get here
to give them a welcome." Sheila Worsley, 28, added: "I just wanted
to be part of it because the atmosphere is great."
Ferdinand had earlier kept the victory bash
going at 8.20AM — by urging pals: "Where are you going? The party’s
just getting started!" The thrilled stars celebrated so hard
yesterday that staff at their Moscow hotel struggled to keep
up.
And the astonishing knees-up was STILL
going strong at 10am. Some of the double-winning players who jetted
home last night had not slept for 48 hours. The group hired a
conference suite to toast their success with champagne and lager —
then danced until dawn.
Waitress Marina Konkova, 19, told how skipper
Rio stunned workers with his 8.20 party plea to defender John
O’Shea. She said: "We couldn’t believe the players’ energy. They
just didn’t stop. And the wives and girlfriends were having a great
time, too. The players were dancing — and kept singing We Are The
Champions. "It was a wonderful night. They sang songs and were very
funny on the dance floor. I worked all night and still haven’t been
to bed, but it was lovely to be part of it."
Exhausted O’Shea said later: "We didn’t go to bed. On a
scale of one to ten, this was an 11!" AROUND 100 holidaymakers who
flew into Manchester from Cyprus at 11pm say they waited two hours
for luggage — as bag handlers were celebrating Utd’s win.
THE cup final drew the biggest TV audience of the year
— 14.6million tuning into ITV’s coverage during the penalty
shootout and a further two million watching on Sky.
