FOOTBALL fans, young and old, who were at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas yesterday had a gala time watching football legends pitted against each other during the Telbru & B-Mobile EPL Masters Football Brunei Cup 2011.

Yesterday, four teams: Liverpool Masters, Manchester United Masters, EPL All-Stars Masters and Brunei's very own DPMM FC Masters battled it out in a six-a-side futsal tournament for the EPL Masters cup.

Throughout the tournament, roars erupted in the stadium as fans cheered and rooted in support for their favourite players and teams that participated in the inaugural tournament.

Even those who did not have the opportunity to watch these players perform at their peak enjoyed the competition.

One such individual was 11-year-old Mohd Fitri Fauzan, who smiled broadly upon receiving a jersey from Manchester United Masters player Andrew Cole, although he admitted to be a Liverpool FC fan.

Though he was sad to see Liverpool Masters lost the competition, Mohd Fitri said he had the best time watching the players play live right in front of his eyes.

At the event, it was not only fans of the participating clubs that enjoyed the experience, for example, Sayyidina Abu Bakar Secondary School teacher Malcolm Osbourne who is a self-confessed Chelsea FC fan.

He was happy and content to watch his two sons and their friend ran around and approached the players for their autographs.

"It provides a chance for them to get up close with the players, and they enjoyed watching the action," said the teacher.

"It was fantastic. They (the Masters) still looked sharp and the tournament was very competitive especially Cole, who the last time I saw played was at Old Trafford in the 90s," said Osbourne, who arrived in Brunei four years ago.

"The atmosphere was really great too, especially the match between Manchester United Masters and Liverpool Masters since both clubs have a huge number of fans. Though, the match I really enjoyed was between Liverpool Masters and EPL All Stars Masters which had lots of goals in it," he added.

EPL All Stars Masters won the tournament by beating Manchester United Masters 4-2 in the final.

The Brunei Times