Last weekend, rival soccer teams Manchester United and Liverpool were both enthusiastically welcomed to Thailand as they started their pre-season tours.
Based in the Old Trafford area of Manchester, England, United arrived in Thailand a day before Liverpool. Videos of the team have since gone viral, including one of Bruno Fernandes happily greeting fans and signing autographs as their new manager Erik ten Hag led the way. However, due to family issues, United’s star player Cristiano Ronaldo was not with the team on Saturday.
Northwest England’s Liverpool was greeted similarly on Sunday, some fans had awaited the teams arrival for over 6 hours. With several hundred fans already at the airport by the time the team arrived, there were reportedly over a thousand by the time the team left. This visit marks their first tour to the Far East since 2019, which may have been a cause for their especially warm welcome.
The press conference held soon after was equally chaotic as security guards struggled to hold the crowd back. Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool’s general manager, even remarks that “I have never been to a press conference like this.” Voicing his hopes to spend more time in the city, Klopp goes on to thank the crowd for the warm welcome and jokingly asks “Was it like this yesterday when Manchester United came?”
With the game ending in United’s favor, 4 to 0, both teams are set to play again tomorrow. Liverpool is scheduled to play against South London’s Crystal Palace tomorrow morning in Singapore. Meanwhile, United heads to Australia to go against the Melbourne Victory.
Sources:
– https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62112499
– https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62138803
– https://www.si.com/soccer/manchesterunited/news/watch-manchester-united-get-warm-welcome-in-bangkok
– https://www.espn.com/soccer/manchester-united-engman_utd/story/4696494/cristiano-ronaldo-to-miss-man-united-preseason-tour-of-thailand
Based in the Old Trafford area of Manchester, England, United arrived in Thailand a day before Liverpool. Videos of the team have since gone viral, including one of Bruno Fernandes happily greeting fans and signing autographs as their new manager Erik ten Hag led the way. However, due to family issues, United’s star player Cristiano Ronaldo was not with the team on Saturday.
Northwest England’s Liverpool was greeted similarly on Sunday, some fans had awaited the teams arrival for over 6 hours. With several hundred fans already at the airport by the time the team arrived, there were reportedly over a thousand by the time the team left. This visit marks their first tour to the Far East since 2019, which may have been a cause for their especially warm welcome.
The press conference held soon after was equally chaotic as security guards struggled to hold the crowd back. Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool’s general manager, even remarks that “I have never been to a press conference like this.” Voicing his hopes to spend more time in the city, Klopp goes on to thank the crowd for the warm welcome and jokingly asks “Was it like this yesterday when Manchester United came?”
With the game ending in United’s favor, 4 to 0, both teams are set to play again tomorrow. Liverpool is scheduled to play against South London’s Crystal Palace tomorrow morning in Singapore. Meanwhile, United heads to Australia to go against the Melbourne Victory.
Sources:
– https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62112499
– https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62138803
– https://www.si.com/soccer/manchesterunited/news/watch-manchester-united-get-warm-welcome-in-bangkok
– https://www.espn.com/soccer/manchester-united-engman_utd/story/4696494/cristiano-ronaldo-to-miss-man-united-preseason-tour-of-thailand
