11
Thursday, August 2nd, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS
State of soccer in USA
Waking up at 8.a.m on a
weekend isn’t what most would
consider normal. But that is the
life of a soccer fan in the United
States: watching the first half of
a Premier League game on NBC
Sports through groggy eyes before
being woken up by a Mohamed
Salah curler or Kevin De Bruyne
screamer.
The International Champions
Cup pays European clubs to play
preseason games in America with
the ultimate goal of growing the
presence and importance of soccer
in the United States. It wants to
allow these fans to watch their
favorite teams and players strut
their stuff in person—and at
normal hours of the day.
In the last four years, Michigan
Stadium has held three such
preseason friendlies: Manchester
United - Real Madrid, Chelsea -
Real Madrid, and now Liverpool
- Manchester United. Each match
gathered crowds north of 100,000,
more than what is possible at any
European stadium.
These fans came to watch
Cristiano
Ronaldo,
Mohamed
Salah, Paul Pogba and Eden
Hazard, to name a few. They got
mere glimpses of these superstars,
sitting on the bench and warming
up more than actually playing.
They saw youngsters like Sheyi
Ojo take penalties and coaches
like Zinedine Zidane make eleven
changes at half-time. But that’s
pre-season.
“If I were them (the fans) I
wouldn’t come,” said Manchester
United coach Jose Mourinho. “I
wouldn’t spend my money to see
these (weakened) teams.
“For example, I was watching on
television, Chelsea against Inter,
and the people decided beach was
better than this, and they went to
the beach instead of going to the
game. The stadium was empty.”
Mourinho echoes what many
have fans been saying for a while.
Last year, the ICC organized El
Clasico in Miami: FC Barcelona
vs Real Madrid CF. Tickets soared
as high as $4,500. And then,
Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t play, and
Messi, Suarez and Neymar didn’t
even last the full 90 minutes.
Despite being a 3-2 thriller, it
wasn’t a real El Clasico.
The venues don’t help the
cause
either.
Despite
being
held in storied stadiums across
America, more often than not,
those stadiums weren’t designed
for soccer games. Most games are
held at NFL or College Football
battlegrounds where the field is
smaller than a regulation soccer
pitch.
“A difficulty with the pitch is
that, it is an American football
pitch,” said Liverpool manager
Jurgen Klopp. “So it is not that
wide. It’s like you play in a very
narrow way that makes football
really not easy to play.”
The high price of tickets and the
often sold out matches indicate
that there are many fans in the
United States passionate for soccer
and desperate to watch their clubs
play. In fact, over the course of
the weekend, both United and
Liverpool
players
repeatedly
praised the atmosphere at the Big
House.
“I
think
the
passion
that
many Americans have for soccer
deserves more,” Mourinho said.
“It deserves the best teams. What
creates passion is the quality (of
soccer), good players, good teams,
a good Liverpool - Manchester
United. A good Manchester United
- Real Madrid.”
But after a grueling World Cup,
it is understandable why most
teams aren’t able to play their
starting lineups in these games.
After all, they need them to be in
perfect condition for the start of
the new season.
According to Klopp, playing
pre-season friendlies in America is
less for growing the sport of soccer
in the U.S, and more for giving to
the fans that already exist.
“We alone are responsible for
our fans and supporters all over
the world.” Klopp said. “It (the
Liverpool - Manchester United
match) is not a commercial for
football, it’s rather a show up for
our supporters abroad, and that is
what we like to do.”
“Its giving back to the fans
that are here,” echoed breakout
Liverpool
left
back
Andrew
Robertson. “Because there are
supporters every weekend who
get up early because of the time
differences, and they get up and
watch us. And for us to give them a
small thing back, it’s a good thing
to do.”
To their credit, Liverpool held
an open training session at the
Big House the day before the
game. This gave the fans a chance
to come watch them play and
become more familiar with the
players they support. Even some
Manchester United fans in jerseys
were seen at Liverpool training
as their club didn’t offer anything
similar.
After training, some fans went
to the team hotel where they were
greeted by players like Salah and
were treated to a sing along with
Klopp.
“It was amazing to see him in
person,” said recent Michigan
graduate Jamie Bahoura, one of
the supporters at the hotel. “It
shows how much he cares about
us (the fans). He took time out
of his busy schedule, and he was
probably
exhausted
too
after
traveling, but he still made an
effort to come down to see us and
then join in on the singing which
means a lot.”
Despite being more concerned
with seeing existing Liverpool
fans, Klopp did share his thoughts
on the idea of expanding football
in the United States.
ALEC COHEN / DAILY
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho weights in on the state of soccer in US
FAHD ASDAN
Former Daily Sports Writer
Shaqiri stuns in his
Liverpool debut at ‘M’
With eight minutes left in
the game and Liverpool already
up 3-1, Xherdan Shaqiri set
Michigan Stadium alight on
his Liverpool debut. With Ben
Woodburn’s cross behind him,
Shaqiri contorted his body, and
in a show of pure athleticism,
scored a bicycle kick that
left even his fellow players
stunned.
Having just signed for the
club a week ago, no one thought
Shaqiri would make such an
impact from the get-go. Having
been a star at the World Cup for
Switzerland, his was a big name
entering this game. However,
even though his introduction
to the game was
well
received,
the
man
he
replaced
was
Mohamed Salah,
and
people
expected
less
excitement in the
second half.
“It was better
than
I
would
have
expected
to
be
honest,”
said Liverpool manager Jurgen
Klopp. “That’s not normal after
four days in the club, adapting
that well to the style of play.”
His goal was just another
stunner in Shaqiri’s collection
of
wonder
goals.
Another
bicycle kick against Poland in
2016, a chip against Everton in
2015, and the list goes on really.
“I think I’m used to doing
it
(scoring
wonder
goals),”
Shaqiri said. “I love bicycle
kicks, and the ball was perfect,
and why you shouldn’t try?
I tried, and it was a very
beautiful goal.”
Upon
entering
the
field
at halftime, Shaqiri showed
boundless energy—constantly
making runs in behind the
back line, holding up play
and creating space for his
teammates.
One such run saw him get
in
behind
the
Manchester
United
backline
and
latch
onto a longball played into
the box. From there he held
the ball between three United
defenders, freeing up space for
his teammates. He then played
the ball to an on-rushing Daniel
Sturridge who gave Liverpool
the lead with their second goal
of the game.
“We wanted to give him
more
freedom
offensively,”
Klopp said. “(He offers) runs in
behind, and that’s what he did
for the first goal in the second
half.”
A goal and an assist on his
unofficial debut against his
club’s arch-rivals—not bad for
a first week with the new club.
Shaqiri has been somewhat of
a football journeyman, making
a name for himself with FC
Basel in the Champions League
before being signed by Bayern
Munich.
After
three
years
playing a bit part role at the
Allianz
Arena,
he was with Inter
Milan for part of
a season before
being shipped to
Stoke City in the
Premier League.
Once
wanted
by
top
clubs
across
Europe,
occasional
but
inconsistent
brilliance saw his
stock drop. However, following
another strong World Cup with
Switzerland, Liverpool thought
fit to buy him at a slashed price
due to Stoke’s relegation.
Despite
only
being
with
the squad for a handful of
days, it appears Shaqiri is
working hard to settle in and
make the most of his time at
Liverpool, wanting to skip his
holiday post-World Cup and
begin training with the team
immediately,
according
to
Klopp.
“My first game for this big
club, and with a beautiful goal,
it’s more beautiful.” Shaqiri
said. “It’s amazing to play with
this great team, and you can see
this team has amazing players.
I’m excited (for the season).”
Because the game was still
just a friendly, Shaqiri is yet
to make his official debut for
his new club. But if this is any
indication of things to come,
the most fearsome attack in
Europe last season just got
stronger.
FAHD AHSAN
Former Daily Sports Writer
His goal was
just another
stunner in his
collection
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