Justin Johnson remembers not being too starstruck when Ronaldo and the rest of the Manchester United stars walked by.
The Dundee United winger doesn’t seem the type to be overawed even in the company of one of the world’s greatest players.
Instead, Johnson is a down-to-earth 19-year-old, who is determined to work his way to a successful career in the game.
The Dutch-born teenager stole the show as he scored his first goal for the Tannadice club in their 3-3 draw against Partick Thistle on Tuesday.
Just as was the case when at the Old Trafford academy as a boy in 2007-08 or at Sparta Rotterdam in his homeland before that, Johnson isn’t going get carried away now that he is off the mark with the Tangerines.
Instead, for him it is all about working hard and earning the right to be a footballer.
“It’s unbelievable to score my first goal,” said Johnson, who slammed home the injury-time equaliser against the Jags.
“I worked hard, got my chance and scored.
“I just went out, enjoyed myself and did what I would normally do – run at the opposition when I got the ball.
“I have been working hard, going to the gym, doing training after training.
“It has been a case of just working by myself and hoping my chance would come.
“I was born in Holland and my first professional team was Sparta Rotterdam.
“I was there from about five to nine years of age.
“Then I went to Manchester United and you would see the (first-team) players like Ronaldo, although they trained in a different place to us.
“I was probably too young to even think about all that and it passed by quickly. That’s just football.
“I stayed at home for some time and then I went into college football and from there I got a trial here at United, took my chance and signed.”
