Manchester United's pre-season tour sparked into life in its final week, with a crowd of more than 80,000 at Croke Park in Dublin and a surprisingly warm reception in Wroclaw, Poland. After low-key stops in Helsinki, Trondheim, Stockholm and Gothenburg, the club stepped it up a level in Ireland and Poland, and once again it felt like one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
Return of Bruno Fernandes and squad bonding
The whole squad were back together by the time they reached Dublin. Marcus Rashford got a warm welcome when he arrived on Sunday, and Lisandro Martinez checked in on Monday. But it was the return of Bruno Fernandes that the squad were waiting for. Fernandes relishes the role of host in the card game Werewolf, based on The Traitors, which the squad played every night at Carton House. It was a huge hit and was said to have knitted the group together over the last week. Dermot Mee mentioned it in the mixed zone, and a video of the squad going wild during one edition went viral online.
There were also a couple of rounds of golf at Carton House's courses, and the table tennis table got serious work, with Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Shea Lacey the standout players.
Amazon filming and pitch invaders at Croke Park
Amazon began filming for the first time after a slow introduction to the squad. They were in the dressing room at both games and around Carton House, and production staff have struck up a rapport with key figures. They would have got footage of the chaos that surrounded the Croke Park fixture, which ended early when a series of young pitch invaders started dashing onto the playing surface for selfies. PA announcements tried to stem the tide, and one United security guard produced an impressive rugby tackle as he stopped another fan.
As the team boarded the coach after the game, some VIP fans were waiting for autographs. JJ Gabriel, part of the squad all week without playing, was one of the most popular. Michael Carrick had been on the coach early but disembarked to chat with Wes Brown.
Warm welcome in Wroclaw and Amorim reunion
The squad flew to Wroclaw on Friday afternoon, and the reception was a surprise. Hundreds of supporters were gathered outside the team hotel, but it was considered too dangerous for players to stop for autographs as supporters were desperate to get to the front and it was turning into a crush.
The game against Milan was full of narrative, with Ruben Amorim as Milan's head coach adding extra spice. His backroom staff are essentially the same faces that worked with him at Old Trafford, and there were many reunions. Amorim spoke to director of football Jason Wilcox in the tunnel, despite their bust-up, and was said to have been friendly and respectful with everyone.
The United squad waited on the pitch to see the Milan players get their trophy. Bruno Fernandes spotted Amorim and went over, and players followed, including Jack Fletcher, who was given his debut by Amorim. There were hugs for Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, two signings made on Amorim's watch, and he had a long chat with Cunha as they walked down the tunnel.
Amorim posed for pictures with United-supporting VIPs, signed shirts, and took more photos as he left the stadium. On his way out, he came over to the Manchester-based journalists in the mixed zone. "Do you miss me?" he said. "We miss your press conferences," he was told. "More boring now," he shot back, before walking off and laughing heartily. United are certainly a more stable and settled club than they were in his days. Pre-season came alive in the final week, but for Michael Carrick, a summer focused on hard work on the training pitch rather than making headlines can be considered a success.
