Rio Ferdinand and Sergio Aguero getting ready for battle
Rio Ferdinand and Sergio Aguero are in Singapore, as part of the SG Game On! Ultimate Selfie Challenge and Football Carnival, during the last two days.
Click here to find out how the SG Game On Ultimate Selfie Challenge yesterday went.
To find out how the SG Game On Football Carnival went today, do read on.
It was finally his turn to take the penalty – and Mohammed Nabin’s “teammate”, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, was looking on – encouragingly.
But Nabin was a complete bundle of nerves – and the ball missed the goal by a whisker.
His miss would not impact Manchester City’s title challenge
A future Manchester City striker and his mentor.
However, his miss today, would not really have made an impact on Manchester City’s title challenge this season – because Nabin doesn’t ply his trade professionally for the English football club. Rather, this 13-year-old is an Edgefield Secondary School student in Singapore and an ardent Manchester City fan.
Quipped Nabin, “Aguero would be proud of me, because I came so close to scoring!”
The penalty taker added, “And I was very happy to stand so close to Aguero. It was the only opportunity I would probably have, to stand side by side with my idol,”
Nabin would certainly remember his once-in-a-lifetime experience forever – even though he didn’t manage to score, in his idol’s “team.”
Football Carnival
Nabin had been one of the lucky Singaporean fans to have had a rare chance to team up with the top Manchester City striker in a penalty shoot out at the SG Game On! Ultimate Selfie Challenge football carnival today. This was organised by both SingTel and Samsung Mobile.
The two-day publicity event featured both Aguero as well as his rival, Rio Ferdinand, a Manchester United defender who is leaving his club after 12 years. Both players were in Singapore to take part in different challenges. Yesterday, they tried their hands at speaking Singlish, did Tai Chi, ate local food and showcased their fancy football skills.
Fans crowding around to watch the Xbox football game between Ferdinand and Aguero.
Football Challenges
Today, besides the penalty shoot out, the two players and their fans also joined forces to take part in a short football quiz and an X-Box football game challenge.
Ferdinand’s teams won the quiz and the penalty shootout, but Aguero’s side took home the title of the X-Box football champion.
Fans interacted with their idols and got autographs
As well, fans were also given the chance to interact with the players and get autographs from their idols at the carnival. But due to the huge crowds that turned up to compete for the players’ attention, some of the fans went home disappointed.
Manchester United fan Teo Hui Min is one of the fortunate ones who managed to get Ferdinand’s autograph, though.
Sergio Aguero in a happy mood (Credit: Ong Hong Jie).
The 25-year-old, who works in admin support, said, “When I saw him, I was really excited. It is hard to see a real Manchester United player unless you fly to England, or they come to Singapore. So it really made my day.”
Fellow United and Ferdinand fan Aesraf Azman also managed to get an autograph. The 15-year-old Edgefield Secondary student said, “My heart was pumping so hard when Ferdinand took my football boot. I felt very lucky and happy.”
Like Nabin, both of them will also treasure the memories of seeing their idols in the flesh and getting their memorabilia signed by their favourite football stars.
Click here to find out how the Ultimate Selfie Challenge went, on the first day.
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