By Matty Hewitt
It’s close to 5pm on Monday afternoon in Orlando and the sun is still baking the ground outside of Murphy’s Pub Orlando – just a stone throw away from all of the city’s main tourist attractions and theme park.
Having spent little under 14 hours in the city of Orlando, most of those asleep given the time of my arrival flight, you’d have little to no idea that the Club World Cup was even on, such is the size of the city itself and the various other tourist attractions drawing in the crowds. It wasn’t until I actually pulled up to the pub that I saw any football fans at all.
The hole in the walll pub is easily missable from the main road, but it’s where Orlando Cityzens – the city’s Manchester City supporters group – call home after the covid pandemic. I stepped out of my Uber and was greeted by the unmistakeable sky blue shirts.
Some were topping up their tans, while others made the most of the Bud Light on offer. I was right where I needed to be. As I stepped inside to take cover from the 30 degree humid heat outside, Oasis ‘Don’t look back in anger’ faded out and heads turned to the door.
A quick look at the food menu while getting my barings before tucking into a Chicken Ranch burger and soft drink before working the room. The humidity outside meant there was no way I was indulging in a nice cold one.
After taking in my surroundings, it was time to get to work. The walls of the pub were adorned with numerous Man City flags, while the travelling Citizens had set up their ‘Fresh air, not armchair’ and Prestwich flags across the street on the fence of a the crazy golf establishment opposite.
Inside, fans watched on as Inter Milan were dumped out of the competition by Brazilian side Fluminense. There was a cheer that went round the bar as the full-time whistle rang – an ‘easier’ route to the final on paper should City come through the tie with Al Hilal – more on that later.
It was at that moment that I spoke with Jeff Heier, the treasure and co-founder of the Orlando Cityzens who was more than happy to explain to me their humble beginnings.
“I’ve been a fan since the lean years! I went to school in London in the 90’s which is a long time ago already but that’s when the club was introduced to me,” he said. “It was hard to follow City then in the States, at least until the early to later 2000s. It wasn’t until after the takeover until they started to become big in the States.
“That’s when they really started to groove and I personally started to follow them a lot more closely. The supporters group started in 2019 and Nikki Boehmer, we just happened to be watching a game one night and I said to her ‘there must be other people who want to watch this and follow City.’
“I went onto the Man City website at that point in time and found out how to become a registered supporters club. Then I said ‘Nikki, I’m going to send this to you. I’m the idea guy and Nikki took it and ran. Once it started rolling, now, it’s been over six years that we’ve been and official supporters club.
“We started off with probably about 15 people. During the last year we had about 128-150 members. Right now, during the current registration for the next year we have around 100 members. Because of where we’re located, very close to the theme parks, so many of the visitors from England stop in here. That’s why we get so many commaraderie with the folks in Manchester because they come visit us, go to the parks and watch the games with us.
“We’ve seen it grow every year and there was a pause during the pandemic. We switched venues at that time during the pandemic and we’ve been here for the last four years. It’s just grown since then. The atmosphere has been absolutely fantastic.
“We had a watch party which we did in conjunction with Man City and we had events and giveaways last week. Joleon Lescott and Sean Wright-Phillips was here. The place was packed! Even over the last couple of years, we’ve had the trophies here because the Premier League has had an event over at Universal and we have a great relationship with the club.”
It was a lovely warm welcome from Jeff and the rest of the Orlando Cityzens, but there was one duo that caught my eye in particular. As I tucked into the final few fries that I’d ordered earlier – I saw a man and his son, throwing darts and celebrating wildly as Fluminense defeated Inter.
Jose from Peru – as he later told me – was as enthusiastic as they come. He’d travelled from Tampa with his son Santiago to watch Erling Haaland in action, his son’s favourite Man City player.
“We drove here to follow Manchester City because we love them!” he told me around a pool table. “I’ve been a fan for the last ten years. When we found out they were playing here, we bought all the tickets for Orlando!”
Jose and Santiago watched City defeat Juventus in style in the final game of the group and the Peruvian was looking for a similar goal rush against Al Hilal. The father and son duo were buzzing with excitement when Inter were defeated, but it means very little with City were on the wrong side of the result.
Again, more on that later. Having spoken to a number of City fans inside the pub, I began to prepare for my taxi ride to the stadium, while they endulged in a few more beverages before the supporter’s bus came to pick them up to take them to the ground.
It was then I was approached by Nigel Gregory who’d tell me his own brilliant story. The die-hard City fan has been following his club away from home since 1971 and hasn’t missed a game, home, away, abroad, for the last ten years.
“I’ve not missed a game anywhere in the world for ten-and-a-half years, anywhere in the world. Wherever City are, I’m going to go. There wasn’t a decision to make. I’m on 566 and there’s 76 Covid-games that nobody could go to but I’ve airbrushed them out. They’re not going to ruin my run.
“I’ve had runs before of 250 or 350, but this is the first time I’ve managed to hit 500 without missing one. It’s an obsession, regardless of where they are I’m going to be there. This was obviously a bit of a stretch with it potentially being a month, but I’m retired now, so family aside, work and money wise it wasn’t a problem. The idea of a month in America appealed and watching City – there’s nothing better!”
We’d speak at length about his thoughts on the competition, his views on City and even his own book ‘To The Blue Moon and Back’ which documents his time following his beloved club. If he writes a second instalment, I hope there’s a section on the Club World Cup!
With the clock ticking ever closer to kick-off, I made my way to the ground and was genuinely shocked by how many Manchester City shirts I saw. Haaland adorned the back of so many shirts, as did Rodri and the lesser spotted Jack Grealish. Surely tonight they’d outnumber Al Hilal and make it through to the next round at a canter?
I’d be severley mistaken with that notion. The game itself was a utterly bizzare. City were the dominant side and lead at the half-time interval, infront of a crowd that resembled a pre-season fixture midway through preparations for a Premier League campaign.
It wasn’t until the second-half that the game and the crowd burst into life. The Saudi Arabian side somehow turned the game on its head in the opening ten minutes with Marcos Leonardo equalising a minute after the restart.
Fellow Brazilian Malcolm put them ahead on the 52nd minute after a brilliant counter attack. Three minutes later Erling Haaland had restored parity, Al Hilal were awarded a penalty, which was then overturned by a semi-automated offside in the build-up. Crazy.
Just like that, the crowd sparked into life. City were booed on every attack by both neutral supporters and Al Hilal fans, who now sounded like they were outnumbering the Premier League fans. It was a pleasant surprise to see a bit of needle in the stands, all in good gesture though a few youngsters gestured and taunted some City fans, without reply.
At the end of the game, they approached the City fans to wish them well and a safe journey home. The result may have let the City faithful down, and the few that I spoke to wanted to win the competition, but the message was clear – it’s memories like those made on the day, meeting strangers and sharing stories over a pint or a game of pool, that will live long in the memory.