“I met the special one, I met the special one” I kept shouting as I ran into our compound. Some die-hard Chelsea fans gathered around me to hear exactly what happened. “Where, where did you meet him?” Chinonso, our neighbour’s son was first to ask me?
I met Jose Mourinho in Ajao Estate in Lagos; he and his crew had stopped over at a popular viewing center in Ajao Estate. They were in Lagos as part of their marketing plans; they were visiting cities where they have large fan base. Part of the plan was to pay surprise visits to fans in viewing centers.
It happened that my preferred viewing center was the crew’s first point of call. The place went agog with wild jubilation the moment the fans sighted Jose Mourinho and his crew. I ran straight to him not minding the fierce looking security men that surrounded him. I was almost close to him when the security guards stopped me in my tracks. I insisted I must get to where Mourinho stood. When Mourinho noticed I was determined not to go back, he beckoned on the security guys to allow me come to him.
I love how he said “how are you?” to me. “Do you love Chelsea, do you love our matches?” “I am one of your die-hard fans in Nigeria” I answered.
He crossed over to some other fans in the hall shaking them one after the other. That moment, everybody in the hall became a Chelsea supporter. The chant; “Jose Mourinho” “Jose Mourinho” rented the air.
The hall became rowdy the moment the crew called for Photographs; luckily for me I was still standing at the podium very close to the TV sets when that call was made. I was able to secure a nice position not too far from Mourinho.
Immediately Mourinho and his crew were done with the photographs, the crew hurried away into their waiting vans.
I was still telling the guys that gathered my experience when my mother came in to tap me. “Sleep on your side; you snore very loudly when you sleep on your back.”
