- Red Devils in European football
- Preparations far from ideal
- Forced to buy boots & shin pads
Marc Skinner’s side were in Norway for the third qualifying round of the 2025-26 Women’s Champions League. They ended up suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Brann in that contest, with pre-match preparations proving to be far from ideal.
During the Red Devils’ trip to the city of Bergen, a bag containing players’ boots went missing. That forced those left without suitable footwear to visit a local sports shop and stock up – with shin pads also failing to make it from Manchester to Scandinavia.
United midfielder Lisa Naalsund, who is from Bergen, told TV2: “Some shoes went missing. 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, who owns Torshov Sport, came to the rescue. He is a Liverpool fan and enjoyed a surprising boost to his daily sales figures due to the issues being endured by arch-rivals. Gullord told The Athletic: “They bought about 13 to 15 pairs of football boots and 20 pairs of shin pads. 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. 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. Shin pads 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.”
He added: “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.”
United have announced that they are “investigating” what happened to the lost luggage. The likes of England internationals Ella Toone and Maya Le Tissier will be hoping for slightly less drama when they take in the second leg of their tie with Brann on September 18.
