Miners Savour OT Trip

The world’s most famous miners – the men rescued from the San Jose mine in Atacama, Chile – have been credited with helping United to beat Arsenal this week.

The courageous group, whose story inspired people around the globe when they were trapped underground for 69 days, were invited by the club and its official wine partner Vina Concha y Toro to be guests of honour at Old Trafford. Of the 33 men rescued, 23 took the opportunity to come to Manchester. Their presence, it seems, may have conributed to the Reds reclaiming top spot with victory over the Gunners on Monday night.

“It’s been a privilege and a real honour to have you with us, and we wish you all the best for the future,” said United chief executive David Gill, when issuing a formal farewell to the special visitors on Tuesday afternoon.

"It’s been a brief but a magnificent trip - to see you dancing and singing in the directors’ box during the Arsenal game was fantastic. Not something we often see in our directors’ box but it was brilliant.

“You played a part in that important win because I know Sir Alex referred to your story in his team talk before the game and used the motivation from that to galvanise the players into putting on a great performance.”

The miners cheered when the chief executive quipped: “I’m sure you’re all now big supporters of Manchester United and trust you’re going to spread the word when you get back home to Chile!”

David Gill was joined at the event by Giancarlo Bianchetti, global marketing director for Concha y Toro wines, who said: “I’d like to thank everyone at Manchester United for what has been an absolute dream trip for us all. The idea for the trip was really initiated by the people here at United, we at Concha y Toro were really just the bridge, the people who put things together at our end in Chile.”

The party from Chile also met Sir Alex and the players at Carrington during their stay, an experience which no doubt evoked memories for the miners’ VIP companion – Elias Figueroa, arguably the greatest Chilean footballer of all time. He overcame adversity of his own – being diagnosed with polio at the age of eleven and told he would never play football – to make more than 800 career appearances in several South Anerican countries and represent Chile in three World Cups.

“As a football person, I certainly know what a big football club Manchester United is,” said Figueroa.

“I was grateful for the invitation to come to Old Trafford and grateful to Concha y Toro for allowing me to come along on this trip with the miners. Like everyone else around the world, I watched the miners’ plight on television. I thought to myself what great guys they must be, to have come out of that situation.

"However, I was only watching from a distance then. Now that I have met up with them I know they are even bigger characters than the images we saw on television during their troubles when they were trapped underground. They are fantastic human beings.”

Some of the rescued miners later spoke to the media at Old Trafford. Omar Reygadas, 56, said: “The highlight of our trip was the match and to see Manchester United win. But we have seen many beautiful things during our time here.”

Ricardo Villaroel, 27, reflected: “Britain is beautiful, I have really enjoyed the visit. As for the football, I am more of a fanatic of Colo-Colo in Chile but my brother is a huge supporter of Manchester United.”

The historic trip to Old Trafford ended with an exchange of gifts, with each miner receiving a framed photo of their group on the pitch before the Arsenal game. In return, David Gill was presented with a Chilean national team shirt signed by the miners – soon to be proudly displayed in the club’s museum.