Alex Ferguson’s men headed for Kuala Lumpur on Thursday on a trip that will see them play a Malaysian XI on Saturday before traveling to Jakarta to take on an Indonesian All-Star team on Monday. They move to South Korea for a match against FC Seoul on July 24 then to Hangzhou in China two days later.
Despite banking 80 million pounds ($131 million) for selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Ferguson has restricted his summer buying spree to Owen, on a free transfer, Wigan’s Antonio Valencia and Bordeaux’s Gabriel Obertan. All three are set to be showcased in a region where Premier League football has a huge following, with an estimated 50,000 fans alone due to watch the team train in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
For the club, it is as much a business trip as preseason preparations, with significant television revenues earned from Premier League games shown in Asia.
“Our fans in Asia generate money for the club, there are no two ways about it,” said United chief executive David Gill, adding that their fanatical Asian support was like nowhere else.
“The reception United get in Asia is unlike anywhere else on earth. You can’t leave your hotel room without security because of the sheer number of fans waiting in all parts of the hotel.”
For this reason, he said it was worth the long trip. It’s very important that we give our fans the ability to see the team live every so often,” he said.
“The English game is very well followed across Asia, and we have phenomenal support out there, so I think it’s only fair and right that we can give something back to these fans.”
After its summer break and in Asia’s hot and humid conditions, United is likely to take it easy, although Ferguson insists it will put on a show.
“The players are really looking forward to our Asia tour. For some, the Club World Cup in Japan [last December] was the first time they had experienced the passion generated by the club in Asia and they enjoyed it immensely,” he said.
It will be United’s first time in Malaysia since 2001 and its maiden foray to Indonesia, where the 77,000 tickets for the game at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium have already sold out.
Rio Ferdinand said the conditions and varied opposition would provide ideal preparation for the long campaign ahead. “One of the main reasons we’ve been successful in the last few years is because we’ve had a good base from preseason,” the England defender said. “It takes a bit of time to get acclimatized to the humid conditions in Asia, but it’s a good exercise to play against different teams that pose different threats.”
Despite banking 80 million pounds ($131 million) for selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Ferguson has restricted his summer buying spree to Owen, on a free transfer, Wigan’s Antonio Valencia and Bordeaux’s Gabriel Obertan. All three are set to be showcased in a region where Premier League football has a huge following, with an estimated 50,000 fans alone due to watch the team train in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
For the club, it is as much a business trip as preseason preparations, with significant television revenues earned from Premier League games shown in Asia.
“Our fans in Asia generate money for the club, there are no two ways about it,” said United chief executive David Gill, adding that their fanatical Asian support was like nowhere else.
“The reception United get in Asia is unlike anywhere else on earth. You can’t leave your hotel room without security because of the sheer number of fans waiting in all parts of the hotel.”
For this reason, he said it was worth the long trip. It’s very important that we give our fans the ability to see the team live every so often,” he said.
“The English game is very well followed across Asia, and we have phenomenal support out there, so I think it’s only fair and right that we can give something back to these fans.”
After its summer break and in Asia’s hot and humid conditions, United is likely to take it easy, although Ferguson insists it will put on a show.
“The players are really looking forward to our Asia tour. For some, the Club World Cup in Japan [last December] was the first time they had experienced the passion generated by the club in Asia and they enjoyed it immensely,” he said.
It will be United’s first time in Malaysia since 2001 and its maiden foray to Indonesia, where the 77,000 tickets for the game at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium have already sold out.
Rio Ferdinand said the conditions and varied opposition would provide ideal preparation for the long campaign ahead. “One of the main reasons we’ve been successful in the last few years is because we’ve had a good base from preseason,” the England defender said. “It takes a bit of time to get acclimatized to the humid conditions in Asia, but it’s a good exercise to play against different teams that pose different threats.”
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