Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/16/sports/soccer/16SOCC.html Here are the teams: "Manchester United is definite; Chelsea, Glasgow Celtic, Roma, Juventus and A.C. Milan are likely to be included. Two other clubs, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, may come, but the price will be high. Bayern wants more than $500,000 a game, and Real wants several million a game. M.L.S. has also had discussions with Real about bringing the team to the United States for a series of matches." It looks like MLS most likley will get shut out again. At least there is no MFL team.
I'm surprised they're bringing back so many of the same teams. I thought they would shuffle the lineup a bit more. Real Madrid are pretty keen on coming to the United States in the summer so it will come down to whether they think they can make more money as part of the Champions World Tour or by doing their own thing. What are the dates for Euro 2004? Will this lead to fewer matches being played?
Real should do their own thing... Real Madrid vs. MetroStars at Giants stadium. I would pay any amount for tickets to that game.
well that would be a lot of fun. I saw Real play Roma in a charity friendly at Giants stadium a couple years ago and the game sucked. nobody had anything to gain or lose from that game. It ended nil-nil. (On a side note, Real always seems to play badly when Kofi Annan is in the house. They need to ban him from the stands.) If they played against an MLS team, I'm pretty sure the MLS team would put their heart into the game to try and prove something to the world, and Real would be obliged to actually play. If it was against Metros than I would be just a short drive from the stadium, so I'm all for it, although I'm not sure it will come to be. Madrid did play against local sides and local all-star teams on their Asian tour last year so I wouldn't rule it out completely. Again, it's going to come down to what's going to be the biggest paycheck for them. They have to be sure they fill the stadiums. They certainly don't want to be upstaged by Manchester United.
It's quite a lineup, no question. Obviously the teams see a) a lot of $$ in America, b) a good place to train and practice while not being beseiged by crazed fans at every turn and c) a lot of $$. I hate the way this cuts into the MLS season though, but I guess it comes with the territory at this point.
Real Madrid vs. MLS All-Stars, in the biggest venue they could get their hands on. Whatever Madrid charges will be worth it.
Champions World Tour Teams have not been announced. This column has been very unreliable in it's ChampionsWorld speculation in the past, remember England v Argentina at Giants Stadium?
I agree that Real Madrid should participate and the promoters should really try hard to get them to appear....but Bayern? why them? Don't get me wrong i know that historicallly they're one of Europe's great teams and are in contention year after year in the Champions League--but (no offense to any fans) in my opinion the Bundesliga right now is at its lowest point in years. The games this year have been really painfully dull to watch. The Champions tour is supposed to be a showcase for soccer!!! How about another Serie A team like Inter or Lazio? Or maybe Dutch Eredivisie Ajax or PSV? How about Real's eternal rival Barcelona? What about Chelsea's and Man U's rival-- Arsenal? Or if you really wanna get crazy and get out of Europe how about inviting the new Toyota cup champions Boca Juniors? Or maybe their rivals RiverPlate?
If we could do a big-a$$ CWT with games actually counting in MLS standings, that would be pretty cool. But you might not get the top clubs for non-friendlies. If you wanted to "integrate" league matches with world teams, you might have to go to the level of, say, Udinese, Hearts, Fulham, Newell's Old Boys, and Hertha Berlin rather than AC Milan, Rangers, Man U, Boca Juniors, and Bayern Munich.
Sorry to quote myself, but if you look at the wording of the article is says that the only team that is for sure is Man U. Chelsea, Celtic, Roma, Juventus and A.C. Milan are Likely and the other two MAY come. I am sorry if I mislead you by the thread title, but that is why there are links to verify the facts.
I feel this summers Champion's World Tour is gonna be a big bust. Even if most of the big clubs do decide to come there is no guarantee the big star players will come. Remember, this is a big summer for international competition. We have Euro 2004, Copa America, and the Olympics. Usually the players who play in these competitons don't report to thier clubs until much later in the summer. So we are likely to see only the players who didn't particiapte in these tournaments here in the US.
I didnt think of that---but ,dear lord, you are 100% correct. A player is not going to give an exhibition match like Champions World much importance with big tournaments like those that have to be played.......Perhaps they shourld rething the whole thing? If you absolutely must have an exhibition event-- how about an early spring series of exhibition matches between MLS and FMF?
Euro 2004 is June 12 to July 4th. Olympics is August 13 to August 29th. I can't find the dates for Copa America. Manchester United I thought announced that they would be playing two matches in the US. The champion's world tour is likely to be shorter this year. Maybe these guys will just have a really short break.
Because that's the biggest seller, other than maybe Man U v Chivas/Club America. At least it's one of the best North American teams against one of the best European teams.
I wont skip them b/c a) I had a great time last year, and b) I can believe the you can support foreign teams and a MLS team at the same time without it being a disservice to MLS.. Having said that, at some point whether it is this year or the near future, MLS should be given at least a crack at playing big-name teams... If the stands are 1/2 empty and it doesnt make economic sense for the teams and the tour, so be it, and I wont ask for it again. From the sounds of it, Chiniglia and his champions world cohorts seem convinced it is best (for their wallets at least) to keep it an all euro affair. This means MLS has to step up to the plate and ante up if they want a piece of the action. Dont criticize championsworld, look to MLS if this doesnt happen. This is purely (and unfortunately)a business decision, and nothing else.
Real's demanding so much money is absolutely stupid. Of ALL the big teams mentioned so far, with the exception of Chelsea (which is only a recent big team,) IMO Real has the fewest fans. In my experience meeting other soccer fans in the U.S., Man U is far and away number one, then Celtic and Juventus (and the other big Italian teams,) and Bayern. These teams owe their support, at least in part, to the large number of Americans who share their national origins/heritage. Of course, that ranking applies only to fans of European teams. I think support for Chivas, Club America, and Boca Juniors is at least equal to that of Man U. Real should be the cheapest team because they are less guaranteed to sell out a stadium, and they need to make that investment to build their support here. Maybe they could even end up on TV here, you know, so that as many Americans can watch them as the number who currently watch Ajaccio on FSW.
I think a lot of hispanic football fans, who have a South American/Mexican team as their main club of support, are fans of Real as well. If you ask them who they support they will say America or Boca, but they also follow Real. At least thats what I've been told. Part of the reason why they were considering the Real Miami venture at one time. I lived in Miami for years and I rarely saw a Real jersey, but apparantly there is a big fanbase there.
Do any of you other posters like to see non-Euro foreign teams visiting, too? I thought the Re-Copa Sudamericana double-header last summer was a great deal. It was a chance to see three South American champions, as well as of course, Chivas. River Plate did not bring Andres D'Alessandro, but they did bring Martin Demichelis, and then of ocurse you had the Libertadores champs v. the Sudamericana champs. I guess I'm saying I like to see variety, teams I wouldn't normally get to see, regardless of how awesome they are. I would go see the J-League champs vs the K-League champs, or say AFC Champions League winners vs. CAF Champions League winners. Forget Man U and Bayern! We need Al Ain and Esperance Tunis!
I always thought that, too, but really had no basis for it. The only registered Real Madrid supporters club in North America is in Miami. Of course there are also the fans from El Salvador who follow Real or Barca. Okay, so if the shared language link between the U.S. and EPL teams also holds for Latin America and La Liga, the Real Madrid will definitely be marketable.