Man Utd fan Karl Power blagged his way into Champions League team photo in 2001

Have you ever imagined what it must feel like to line up for your club before a huge Champions League fixture?

One Manchester United fan who doesn’t need to imagine the feeling is a guy named Karl Power, who blagged his way into the pre-match team photo before a huge quarter-final second leg clash against Bayern Munich in April 2001.

As Man Utd’s players lined up for the customary pre-match photo, captain Roy Keane noticed the random man with ‘Cantona’ and a number seven on his back stood next to Andy Cole.

How on earth did Power manage to pull off such an audacious stunt in front of 60,000 people at the Olympiastadion, plus millions more watching around the world on television?

“We planned it like a military campaign and brought three United kits with us – red, white and blue,” Power told The Sun in 2001, per Planet Football.

“Then we found out where the team were staying and got one of the directors to tell us what colour they’d be wearing.

“We then went back and rehearsed it all in our hotel room. We got a taxi to the ground, pretended we were with a TV crew, and the gatemen let us in.

“We managed to get down to pitchside and waited for the players to come out of the tunnel.

“Then with 20 minutes ’till kick-off, we saw an opening where there were no stewards and a couple of us walked all the way round the running track and ended up behind the goal.

“We sat with the photographers watching the warm-up. Then, when the teams walked out, I went to the players’ entrance and knew nothing was going to stop me.”

On this day in 2001, prankster Karl Power managed to get into Man United's team photo before their Champions League quarterfinal match. Roy Keane was ready to risk it all