A group of Chilean miners who survived the San José mine accident earlier this year have arrived at Old Trafford after accepting an invitation from United and Concha y Toro.
The 23 miners, accompanied by Chilean football legend Elías Figueroa, were welcomed on Sunday at a dinner hosted by Sir Bobby Charlton, who paid tribute to the courage shown by the miners in their 69-day underground fight for their lives from August to October.
"I can’t believe these are the same people the whole world dropped everything for," said Sir Bobby. "You took it in your stride and everyone around the world is very proud of you."
On Monday, the miners are taking part in a training session at Carrington, before watching the Reds’ match against Arsenal in the evening.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is looking forward to meeting a group of people for whom he has huge respect.
"It’s fantastic that they’re coming," he said. "We’re doing a training session and I’m looking forward to seeing them. These are people who showed real substance and perseverance to make sure they survived.
"There are examples in life which you should always take note of. I mean, the life of a miner, having to work in the bowels of the earth and not being able to see anything. That’s a great sacrifice to earn your living. I’m sure they’ll enjoy themselves on their trip."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.”
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