Crerand Ready For China Tour

After missing last summer's pre-season trip to America, Manchester United legend and MUTV pundit Paddy Crerand is itching to climb aboard Tuesday's flight to China for Tour 2016, presented by Aon. The 1968 European Cup winner gave this interview to Inside United...

You missed last summer’s trip to the USA… what happened there Paddy?
That was a mistake! I thought my visa was correct but it wasn’t. I had looked at the date in my passport and that was fine, but I had forgotten all about the visa. I made a mess of it. It was disappointing that I didn’t go because going with United on trips like that is tremendous, seeing the support and the people that you meet. It’s just a terrific experience.

So you must be glad that you’re back involved now?
Yeah I did miss it last year. I am not a great one for going on holiday, I go for a day somewhere, but I enjoy these trips. This is my holiday. Although I should say my wife does go on holiday – I don’t want the readers thinking I am a selfish so and so. That isn’t the case! [Laughs]

How is life for Paddy Crerand in China – do you enjoy the culture, or do you struggle?
I have been a few times and it is fantastic. You hear so many stories about different countries and politics, so you are bit wary but I really enjoyed China. It’s a fantastic country. The great thing about travelling the world is that people are people. Forget the political views - they are have the same likes and dislikes. In China they are football mad, too. They have great support for United, it’s incredible, and they could tell you things about the club that I don’t even know.

Stewart Gardner says you get mobbed by fans in China…
They have MUTV over there so, yes, occasionally I do. We sometimes think that MUTV is most popular in Britain but it really is worldwide. Tours have opened my eyes to that! People who don’t actually live next to Old Trafford know as much about the ground as those that do.

How intrigued are you to see Jose Mourinho up close for the week?
I am really looking forward to it. I don’t know him that well, I have met him a couple of times, but he has great enthusiasm. I remember when Porto drew 2-2 at Old Trafford and he ran down the touchline… I could have strangled him! [Laughs] But I have found him to be a very charismatic character in the times I have met him since.

You interviewed him on MUTV in 2013 and met again this June. How was that second meeting?
He was terrific. I just think he has that charisma that only certain people have. When he enters a room you know he is there, because there is buzz in the place. He has obviously done a great job in football at the different clubs he has been at. I just think we are going to win the league this season. Am I going daft? Maybe I am, but I don’t think he is finished in the transfer market yet and he is a great student of the game. I’m excited for the new season.

Are you happy that we are playing two high-profile friendlies against Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City?
It is fantastic in actual fact. I remember when the Chinese Prime Minister came to Manchester and the people at City couldn’t get him down to their training ground quick enough. But it turned out he is actually a United fan so he should have been at Old Trafford! The great thing is that the fans will get to watch these games on MUTV too. Television has changed the sport and it is a global game now. Everybody around the world knows every player. When I was growing up, I’d heard of great players, like in the Real Madrid team that won five European Cups, but I’d never seen them play. When I came to England from Scotland all those years ago, it was like a different planet! Nowadays everybody knows everybody and it’s fantastic. These games will be huge events, make no mistake.

All eyes will be on the derby with Mourinho and Pep Guardiola involved. Are you excited?
That will be hilarious! To be fair, Jose understands English football and the rivalry. The other fella doesn’t as he hasn’t been in England, so the Manchester derby may be a culture shock for him. It is great that we have two outstanding managers in the city and it will be fun and games. I go into Manchester city centre most days because I go to the gym, with a City fan, and the place is jumping. Manchester is known as a football city around the world and even more so with these two new managers. It’s brilliant.

A number of young players will presumably go on tour, with our international stars taking a break after tournaments. Can any of the youngsters make an impact and force themselves into Mourinho’s plans?
They all want to impress the manager. It’s sad that the people in China may not see all the big names playing, but there have been so many international games this summer and they need a rest. It will be interesting to see the squad. Jose might rely on Nicky Butt’s knowledge of the Academy. There will be kids who have a wonderful opportunity to show the manager what they have got. It is really interesting. You get all that rubbish in the papers about Mourinho not playing kids but that is a fallacy.

Given how popular football is becoming in China, with so much money involved, do you expect more and more big-name players to move over there?
Yes! I will tell you why… I remember many years ago, going to America with United in 1967 to play Benfica in Los Angeles. There were 10,000 people at the game and the following year, we played Benfica at Wembley in the final of the European Cup. It was a huge game but only 10,000 fans watched it in America. But when we went to America and played Real Madrid in 2014, it attracted the biggest-ever crowd for a soccer game. It’s booming over there and the same will happen to China. They have more than 1 billion people living there – do you think they can’t make a football team? If 300,000 people in Iceland can make a team then China can! The game is going to explode there.

Did you have a chance to move abroad as a player, and would China have tempted you?
Not really no. There was a little bit of talk once when I was at United about going to Roma. But in those days it wasn’t common, even though Denis Law and Joe Baker went over to Italy. But for me, Rome was like going to the moon! Could you imagine me playing in the Rome derby? I was married then as well so it wasn’t a good time to move overseas. But now it is so easy for people to hop to different countries and you can get to Rome in a couple of hours. It’s a good thing, but it wasn’t for me back then.

Credit: Manutd.com