DURBAN — Manchester United fever is sweeping South Africa with tickets selling fast for a two-match tour despite the absence of England star Wayne Rooney and many other first choices.
The lack of many first-choice Red Devils has had no effect at the box office with organisers saying only a few thousand higher-price tickets are available for the AmaZulu match at Moses Mabhida Stadium today.
The Rio Ferdinand-skippered Red Devils arrived in the Indian Ocean city Durban late Monday ahead of a midweek friendly with AmaZulu and another against Ajax Cape Town this weekend.
Rooney, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck (England), Patrice Evra (France) and Nani (Portugal) are resting after starting their close-season breaks late because of Euro 2012 commitments.
Veteran Ryan Giggs and Tom Cleverly (Great Britain) and David De Gea (Spain) are also absent as they prepare for the football tournament at the London Olympic Games.
Injuries and sickness rule out Nemanja Vidic, Chris Smalling and Darren Fletcher, leaving legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson with just a few instantly recognisable names like Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez on tour.
A spokesman said all 11 000 tickets for yesterday’s training session had also been snapped up in a country where English Premier League football enjoys a passionate following with many games broadcast live.
Before leaving England centre-back Ferdinand dismissed suggestions that depleted United might struggle: “We do not want to lose a game – it is as simple as that. At United we want to win every game.”
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A lot of attention will focus on major close-season signing Shinji Kagawa from Japan, who arrived at Old Trafford last month after several successful seasons with Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, who he helped win the domestic double last season and the title the season before.
South Africa-born former United goalkeeper Gary Bailey, who analyses Premier League matches for the Johannesburg-based Supersport channel, is not surprised by the buzz surrounding the visit.
“The AmaZulu game is on Nelson Mandela Day, which is an enormous day on the South African calendar. It is great that United are playing on such a special day.”
