Patience the name of the game for AC Milan fans awaiting their heroes’ arrival in Singapore

SINGAPORE – There was a quiet atmosphere in the lobby of Conrad Singapore Marina Bay hotel on July 20 as AC Milan fans, both local and foreign, loitered within the premises, patiently awaiting the arrival of their heroes from Italy.

That wait was stretched even longer as the team experienced some travel delays, which meant they missed the expected 10pm arrival time at the hotel.

However, as the minutes crept by, the energy in the hotel increased exponentially as the group of about 35 fans gathered as one just outside the sliding door entrance, barricaded by wooden fences at chest height.

When the Milan team bus finally pulled up at 11.40pm, the fans surprisingly didn’t make much of a ruckus, patiently waiting for the players to appear one by one before politely asking for autographs on their jerseys and scarves.

Kemal Firdaus, who flew in from Indonesia in the morning, brought a big haversack of jerseys with each player’s name printed on the back.

“I bring one jersey for one player. If I don’t have AC Milan jersey, I buy the national jersey,” said Kemal, who has been supporting the Rossoneri since 1998.

The 33-year-old, who had been waiting at the hotel since 7pm, will be at the National Stadium as coach Massimiliano Allegri leads his team out against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the Singapore Festival of Football on July 23.

“I hope I can see all the players, such as the future players. (Davide) Bartesaghi, Alex Jimenez, Samuele Ricci the new signing,” he added.

Like the other fans, he clamoured for star players such as Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan and Fikayo Tomori.

Notable absentees include Santiago Giminez who signed in January as well as new signing Luka Modric, who were excluded from the squad following their efforts in the Gold Cup and Club World Cup respectively.

But fans whom The Straits Times spoke to were not too disappointed that Modric, the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner, is not here.

Johnson Foo, who has been supporting the Rossoneri since 1990, was at the hotel with his wife and son, all wearing Milan’s new home jersey.

“I’m just super thrilled that they are coming here on tour and play a match. I’ve been supporting them since 1990 and they have never come to Singapore (until now),” said the 45-year-old. “So this is a perfect opportunity for me to meet them.

“I bought tickets for all my family. I bought jerseys for them. We are all geared up for the match on Wednesday.”

Fulvio Manini, a Milan fan who has been living in Singapore since 1998 for work, further highlighted the joys of watching the team play live.

The 62-year-old Italian said: “I used to watch them regularly back then at San Siro. Not so much (now). Three o’clock in the morning is a bit too late.

“It’s always good to see your team live. Better than watching on TV.”

Despite suffering from jet lag and hunger, Milan centre-back Strahinja Pavlovic said he was “excited to be here”.

“We’re really happy. So far, we had two weeks (of) pre-season. We worked really hard. Now it’s time to start playing games,” said the 24-year-old Serb.

After the match against the Gunners, the 19-time Italian champions will continue their pre-season tour in Hong Kong and Australia where they will face off against Liverpool (July 26) and Perth Glory (July 31) respectively.