It was a dream come true for football aficionado Ng Hong Ming.
"As a Barcelona fan, nothing would be more precious than watching your favourite team right in front of you. Usually I only see them on television, but they are right in front of me now," said Mr Ng, 24, a mechanical engineering student at Nanyang Technological University.
He and Mr Mervyn Sng, 31, a manager with a mobile services company, were the two winners of a Straits Times Appreciates Readers (Star) contest.
They won an all-expenses-paid trip courtesy of Samsung to catch the highly-anticipated clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid on Oct 26 at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.
Mr Sng, echoed Mr Ng's sentiments. A supporter of Lionel Messi ever since the latter first played for Barcelona, he said that watching the match live was "a once-in-a-lifetime experience".
It was also a soccer treat for the winner of another Star tie-up, The Straits Times' Wherever You Are contest.
Engineering manager Tung Hon Keng, 47, had the good fortune of watching the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Manchester City in London on Oct 27.
Moreover, he and his partner, Mr Peter Chang, 44, who runs his own computer-services firm, were treated to lunch at the Stamford Bridge stadium where they watched the match.
Mr Tung was taken by "the atmosphere". From the fans' "thunderous cheers and boos" to watching the "star players parading on the pitch", he said anyone would have an adrenaline rush even if one were not a football fan.
Apart from winning a pair of Chelsea hospitality tickets, Mr Tung also won $3,000 in cash, return flights to London and a five-day stay at the Milennium Gloucester Hotel.
