An inspired Al Ain FC may have beaten Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the first leg of the AFC Champions League quarterfinal on Monday, but it failed to break the spirit of the Portuguese superstar’s fans.
Scores of Ronaldo supporters arrived at the majestic Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain to watch the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in action.
But not all of them had arrived in the Garden City with match tickets.
They travelled nevertheless from different parts of the UAE, hoping to get a ticket at the stadium before kick-off.
Among them was Pong Wang, a Vietnamese tourist and his five friends.
“I have come here from Ras Al Khaimah with my friends, they are also from Vietnam. We don’t have tickets, but we are crazy for Ronaldo. He is huge in our country,” Wang told the Khaleej Times long before the start of the match in Al Ain.
“I am trying to find someone who can give us tickets. It’s very expensive.”
Wang did try to book tickets online, but all his attempts failed.
“Tickets were not available when I tried to book them online. Obviously, everyone was trying to get one, it was not easy,” he said.
But moments after chatting with the Khaleej Times, Wang hit the jackpot.
A Saudi national, who noticed his desperate plea for tickets at the main gate of the stadium, offered him and his friends tickets for free.
It was a dream come true for Wang who had only seen Ronaldo on TV.
Soon, Wang and his friends also received the bright yellow jerseys of Al Nassr from Saudi fans.
Al Nassr also shared the images of the smiling Vietnamese fans on their social media platforms before the start of the match.
Those smiles probably disappeared after Ronaldo and Al Nassr lost 1-0 to Al Ain in the match.
But it was a night these football fans from Vietnam will never forget in their lives.