Dong Fangzhuo smiles at the memory: It was Christmas and he was far from home, but Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson took pity on him by arranging a holiday get-together.
The one-time Chinese star recounted the story in Xiamen, China, where the 34-year-old former United striker is coaching children, some with special needs.
Dong admits that his time at Old Trafford from 2004 to 2008 was a tale of injury, crippling shyness and ultimately unfulfilled potential.
Photo: AFP
However, he has no regrets, calling it “a dream” to join the club.
Dong is discovering a new-found joy in passing on his soccer knowledge to China’s next generation at Dong Fangzhuo Football Club.
Some of the children are barely old enough to kick a ball, while others have physical limitations, but they all know Dong’s story.
Dong arrived in Manchester as a teenager without a word of English and stayed with a host family, using hand signals to communicate.
He would make only one English Premier League appearance, in 2007, when he played up front in a 0-0 draw at Chelsea alongside current United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The young Dong joined a squad containing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy, and he still talks glowingly of Ferguson.
“The relationship between me and him — the relationship between him and all of the Manchester United squad — was more like father and son,” Dong said.
The good-natured Dong remembers well Ferguson’s thoughtful act for what was the striker’s first Christmas in Britain.
“He worried that I had nowhere to go because everyone might be celebrating with family, so he arranged for someone he knew to invite me to celebrate with his friend,” Dong said. “As well as helping me on the training ground, Ferguson helped me a lot in life.”
Dong was loaned to Royal Antwerp for a prolonged spell soon after arriving at United and gave a glimpse of his potential with 30 goals in 53 matches.
In 2008, Dong left the club to return to Chinese soccer, and retired aged 30.
Dong has the broad shoulders and stature that hint at his days as a professional soccer player.
He still enjoys a kickabout, but has had problems with his knees, feet, heels and back.
Dong cherishes old photographs of him tussling with Wayne Rooney in training, signing for United with a smiling Ferguson and playing with Ronaldo.
He occasionally pops back to England to watch matches and stays up into the early hours to see United games on television in China.
Dong, who still gets stopped in the street by fans, hopes his training club in Xiamen can bring a happy denouement to a turbulent life in the game.
He gets a satisfaction from coaching children that he never experienced as a player, even if it is a world away from the glamour of the English Premier League.
“I feel the purity of their eyes and their hearts,” Dong said. “Although they might have some physical limitations, their kind of concentration, their seriousness ... that passion really moves me.”
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