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UYDL dalam Bahasa Inggeris - Nota Penulis oleh &064;[1360883585:2048:Najwa Nazali].



Do you feel the same emotion as you read the Malay version of it?



Author&x2019;s Notes



What&x2019;s so special about this book? Why Ulu Yam? What does it have to do with Liverpool? Surely some of you are wondering how the idea of writing this book came about? Is it great? Are the readers enticed to read from page one until the very end?



If I was asked these questions, my earnest answer would be, &x201c;I don&x2019;t know.&x201d; What I am sure of, however, is that this story comes from the heart. It may not be an epic tale of those who have successfully enraptured the world with various innovations. Neither is it the story of a great intellectual who discovered a formula that grasped the attention of scholars everywhere.



This is my story.



The story of an average village boy from Ulu Yam. The child of a policeman &x2013; a mere &x2018;kampung&x2019; boy with larger-than-life ambitions and a smaller-than-life background. A child who was keen on challenging his own ability. One whose ability to play football was practically nonexistent; whose love for the sport exceeded the capability of his stocky physicality. A boy whose friends ridiculed him for this inability; he would never qualify for a team, even if it was only for a small neighbourhood game.



A village boy who was always laughed at for trying to speak English in his childhood years, when he attended school in Ulu Yam Bharu. People often called him &x201c;mat salih celup (a westerner wannabe),&x201d; and he was often accused of forgetting his roots.



Ever since he was young, he&x2019;d adjourn to his friends&x2019; houses, simply to watch football on a black-and-white screen. This boy was one whose mouth gaped open as he watched a steady sea of people holding &x2018;Liverpool FC&x2019; scarves up high, and whose sense of excitement swelled as he heard the chorus of &x2018;You&x2019;ll Never Walk Alone&x2019; rattling the Anfield Stadium, displaying what could only be described as unity.



He dreamed of setting foot there one day. To step into Liverpool &x2013; a place he regarded as a whole new world altogether &x2013; and to capture pictures and memories alongside the &x2018;Shankly and Paisley Gate.&x2019; To pay his tributes towards the 96 lives lost as a result of the Hillsborough tragedy.



His teenage years were also rendered with various stories to share, because he wasn&x2019;t exactly one of the smartest students. He just barely qualified for a place in university, with grades that scraped by, and though his mind wasn&x2019;t as bright as he would like it to be, his personality made up for that. With this beaming, cheerful personality he would retrace his steps and gradually pick up shards of confidence he&x2019;d left behind. Pick up his resolve to reach for the ambition of going to Liverpool and to Anfield.



His childhood dream was achieved at the age of 35. Excitement and pure euphoria surged through his veins as he set foot on Anfield&x2019;s sacred ground for the first time in his life, singing the YNWA song in the Kop stand along with people whose feelings towards the club were akin to his. The words and melody of the song escaped his lips effortlessly; he&x2019;d heard it enough times that it was already registered in his mind.



That was when the realisation dawned upon him: he wanted to share this feeling with others from his home country. He wanted people who wished to visit Liverpool, to be able to experience the feeling of joy that encompassed him during his first visit.



So he decided. He kept a silent resolve that he&x2019;d do it. He&x2019;d help these people materialise their dreams.



He became acquainted with so many people, more than he&x2019;d ever expected, who shared his childhood dream of setting foot in Anfield. He adopted the mission and vision that the supporters of the supreme Liverpool FC were not only united in the football arena, but as supporters of one of the greatest football teams in the world, they were also able to assist the less fortunate without regard for religion, social status, and race. He adopted the principle that satisfaction in life comes from giving and sharing and contributing towards the community. He fortified a brotherhood without prejudice and always commended team spirit.



They aimed to unite other football supporters to the same mission and vision. This is the essence of this book. These are our stories &x2013; your story along with mine.



A story that&x2019;s often told but never written down, as I&x2019;ve always felt that it isn&x2019;t amazing enough to share. Perhaps this is what we need to realise: that stories from the heart are ones that reside close to the soul &x2013; because this is our story. Because we all need motivation and inspiration so that we don&x2019;t feel lonely.



The story of a determined Malaysian KOPITE, and every chapter is lined with casual motivation. Every chapter is threaded by the course of the trail through which we tread on to share this dream, because our dreams are still the same, aren&x2019;t they? Only we are able to understand this feeling! SuperScouse Malaysia. The feeling and understanding that we&x2019;re never alone. You&x2019;ll Never Walk Alone!



Yours sincerely,

Nazali Noor



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