Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United
Dimitar Berbatov has lifted the lid on how Manchester United spent Christmas under Sir Alex Ferguson, including a show from the club’s reserves. The festive period is of course always busy in the Premier League, with games coming thick and fast and not much time for players to spend the festive period with their families.
Dimitar Berbatov said: “At United we always used to train and then have a Christmas lunch. We’d be sat around the tables and Sir Alex Ferguson and all the staff would serve the Christmas dinner. We also had some of the players from the reserve team come in and perform a show, mocking the players from the first team on how they dress, how they walk, talk, play football, everything was picked up on and nobody was safe. We had a lot of laughs, it was great to have that fun as a team at Christmas. There were also players’ Christmas parties and we went to pubs, but that was boring to me. I remember one year the boss cancelled our night out, I think we may have lost a match.”
On playing over the festive period,
Dimitar Berbatov added: “There are a lot of games in a short space of time which can be tough but you know that you are entertaining people who are working hard all year round and that is what people like to do, be with their families and watch the football. As a player, you prepare for the games during Christmas and New Year but honestly, I loved it. There is something so special about the football tradition in England, showing people what you can do and entertaining them. You may lose a game or miss a chance but it’s still a special time to play football and enjoy what you love doing.”
