Man Utd Women players’ boots lost before CL defeat; ‘They bought 15 pairs in our shop’
Manchester United were defeated 1-0 by Brann in the Women’s Champions League third qualifying round on Thursday after some of the squad’s football boots were lost on the way to Norway.During United’s journey to the city of Bergen, where Brann are based, for the first leg of the tie, a bag of some players’ boots went missing, forcing the team to secure new footwear for the squad before the game.Advertisement“Some shoes went missing,” United midfielder Lisa Naalsund, who is from Bergen, told Norwegian media company TV 2. “We haven’t quite figured out where they are yet. It was just before we left for the stadium, so it was a bit chaotic. It’s not ideal for anyone to have to play with new shoes. We’d rather avoid that happening.”Andre Gullord, the owner of Torshov Sport, a sports shop in Bergen, said that United staff arrived to purchase boots.“They bought about 13 to 15 pairs of football boots and 20 pairs of shinpads,” Gullord told The Athletic. “The boots had firm-ground studs instead of metal studs. The latter are typically used on soft, wet surfaces — like the conditions in Bergen on Thursday night.“Two members of staff arrived around 16:30. They just said that they needed some shoes because they haven’t got some luggage.Advertisement“I think it was very weird because all the football players in Norway take their football boots in their hand luggage. They bought the top models, Nike’s Mercurial vapor and Adidas predators.“They cost between £230 and £250. Football shoes are expensive in Norway. Shinpads cost around £25 to £30.“We were surprised when they came into the shop, particularly one of the biggest clubs in the whole world to buy football boots. We just sell football boots to local players. It was very cool.”“When David Beckham was around 17 to 18 years old, playing for Manchester United, he was in a football school over here with Brian McClair. I was working in the shop and he had lost his boots when he came here as well. I think I was the only person who has sold football shoes to David Beckham. He bought a pair of Adidas Copa Mundial from me, the most famous Adidas boot.”AdvertisementBrann defender Ingrid Stenevik scored the only goal of the game in the 76th minute, meeting Signe Gaupset’s free-kick with a header from close range.A Norwegian record crowd of 16,019 people were in attendance.“When we’ve created chances we’ve just not been clinical enough, but I’ll be very clear on this, it’s half-time,” United head coach Marc Skinner told MUTV. “Brann are now celebrating like they’ve won the tie, so let’s see when they come back to Leigh.”United, who defeated PSV Eindhoven and Hammarby in the second qualifying round to reach this stage, will host Brann in the second leg next Thursday.AdvertisementThe club have never played in the group stage of the Women’s Champions League. They previously reached the second qualifying round in the 2023-24 season in what was their debut European campaign, but were defeated 4-2 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain.Ahead of the second leg, United return to Women’s Super League (WSL) action on Sunday with a visit to newly-promoted London City Lionesses. United defeated Leicester City 4-0 in their opening league match of the season, while London City were beaten 4-1 by last season’s Champions League winners Arsenal.This article originally appeared in The Athletic.Manchester United, Women's Soccer2025 The Athletic Media Company
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