It was 18 April 2001. Manchester United was about to kick off an away match at Bayern Munich in the knockout stage of the Champions League. After the handshaking routine between both teams, the Manchester United players – made up of Fabien Barthez (goalkeeper), Gary Neville, Jaap Stam, Wes Brown, Mikaël Silvestre (defenders), Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs (midfielders), Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke (forwards) – posed for the team lineup photos.
It was at this time that a stranger joined in the Manchester United’s lineup, standing proudly – chest out stomach in – in the same away jersey together with the rest of the players. Poor Andy Cole, looking confused, had to slightly give way to the “extra” player, while team captain Roy Keane, standing at the other side of the lineup, spotted the abnormality and stared fiercely at him. But with the flashes of the cameras, the odd 12-player lineup photos were taken and instantly became a classic.
The intruder was later found to be a guy called Karl Power, a notorious prankster in UK. It was said that he disguised as a TV crew to gain access to the football pitch, before performing his outrageous yet funny stunt. After the photo-taking, he simply walked off to the stands. The entire stunt was less than one minute.
Karl Power after that went to perform similar stunts at an England national cricket team match, the British Grand Prix and Wimbledon. In 2003, he again dressed in a Manchester United jersey and sneaked onto the pitch in a Premier League match against Liverpool, re-enacting a goal scored previously by Diego Forlan. This time, he was banned for life by the Red Devils.
15.01.2021
Best 100 Footballers in the World 