Twentytwo13

Johor siblings’ crazy 16,000km round trip to watch Reds

FLY in, watch Liverpool play, fly out. Crazy? Not for two Liverpool fans from Malaysia.

Siblings Lim Ben Winn and Ee Lenn left for Kyiv on Friday to watch their favourite football club Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the Champions League final at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium.

And right after the match, they rushed to the Kyiv International Airport to return to Kuala Lumpur.

“Bajet punya pasal (budget issues),” was Ben Winn’s immediate reaction when asked why he and his elder sister were not spending a night in Kyiv.

“Accommodation is really expensive. We have to save where we can so right after the match, we headed straight to the airport,” said the operator of Kluang Rail Coffee and Rail Canteen.

He described the weather in the Ukraine city as “perfect”.

How long did they spend in the air?

“It was a seven hour flight to Doha, five hours to Vienna and an hour’s flight to Kyiv. That’s just one way.”

So what did Ben Winn pack?

“A backpack with three jerseys and a tooth brush.”

Crazy? Not according to Ben Winn.

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“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A dream come true.”

However, it wasn’t the fairytale ending the Lim siblings had hoped for as Liverpool lost 3-1. Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema started the ball rolling with a goal in the 50th minute only for Liverpool’s Sadio Mane to equalize barely four minutes later.

Substitute Gareth Bale emerged hero for the Spanish club with goals in the 63rd and 82nd minutes to ensure Real Madrid won their third consecutive title.