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Marco Fu practises his kick-ups in front of his Manchester United heroes. Photo: Now TV

Hong Kong snooker superstar Marco Fu awed as he meets his Manchester United heroes

The world number five shows off his soccer skills in front of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers

He’s competed in finals of the most prestigious snooker tournaments in two decades as a professional, and rose to his highest ever world ranking of number five last month.

But even a star sportsman like Marco Fu Ka-chun gets starstruck sometimes.

The 39-year-old Manchester United fan got the chance to meet his heroes earlier this week, at a promotional event plugging local broadcaster Now TV’s live football and snooker coverage for next season.

Fu has proved to be a master of snooker balls with a cue in his hand, but sharing a stage with none other than United legends Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary and Phil Neville, and Nicky Butt, he got the chance to let his feet do the talking with some silky football skills.

“I’ve been supporting Man U for over 25 years,” Fu told the Post. “Eric Cantona was when I started, obviously the Class of ’92 was at the peak of my following.

“I followed every game during the ’90s and the early noughties. So it’s a dream come true to be able to meet my heroes.

 

A post shared by Marco Fu 傅家俊 (@marcofu147) on Jun 29, 2017 at 7:51am PDT

“It’s such a great feeling just talking to them and getting autographs and taking photos with them. It’s just great, absolutely.”

It’s set to be a momentous second half of 2017 for Fu, who has an upcoming autobiography in the works.

“I always wanted to have an autobiography,” he said at the event. “The timing just wasn’t right. This is my 20th season coming up, so the timing is perfect.

“I can look back on 20 years and share my feelings with my friends and fans.”

But what can his fans expect?

“Some things they may not know, because they watch me play but they don’t know quite what’s happening behind the scenes and what I’m going through when I’m faced with pressure sometimes throughout the 20 years.

“So it’s nice to share everything.”

Marco Fu with the Class of ’92 and Hong Kong snooker queen Ng On-Yee. Photo: Now TV

Fu will certainly be under the spotlight at the inaugural Hong Kong Masters later this month, in a tournament marking the 20th anniversary of the territory’s historic handover.

Seven of the top eight ranked players, including Fu, plus crowd favourite and five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will participate at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium competition, which will offer prize money totalling £315,000 (HK$3.14 million).

“It is gonna be pressure,” Fu admitted of playing in front of his home fans. “But I’ve experienced it before. We don’t have tournaments a lot here in Hong Kong, the last one was 10 years ago.

“It’s not easy playing in front of your home crowd, but it can work both ways. It can make you play your best game or your worst game, so hopefully it’ll be my best will come for this tournament.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Snooker star Fu in awe after meeting Man United heroes
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