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

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com

