Posted on 08/02/2014 7:59:43 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Manchester United thrilled a record crowd with a brilliant opening goal — and even Cristiano Ronaldo's unexpected entrance proved futile for Real Madrid.
Ashley Young scored twice in the first half, and United beat Madrid 3-1 on Saturday in front of 109,318 fans at Michigan Stadium. It was the largest crowd to see a soccer game in the United States, breaking the mark of 101,799 set at the Rose Bowl for the 1984 Olympic final.
Ronaldo has been recovering from the left leg injury that limited him in the World Cup, but the world player of the year came on surprisingly as a 74th-minute substitute, although he didn't have much impact.
"His condition is improving," manager Carlo Ancelotti said. "I think that he needs another week to train with the teammates, and then I think he will be ready for the first game of the season."
United remained unbeaten this year in the International Champions Cup, advancing to the final of the preseason tournament under new manager Louis van Gaal. Javier Hernandez added a goal in the second half for the English power.
Gareth Bale scored for Real Madrid, but the European champions finished winless in three matches in the event.
Although United will play Liverpool in Monday night's final in Miami, this was probably the tournament's marquee match, with two of the game's most storied clubs playing at one of the largest and most iconic venues in the U.S.
"That was incredible," United's Michael Keane said. "Obviously, it is the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of, and it is for a friendly in the States. I've always heard they don't care for our football, but there were 109,000 people out there. That's pretty crazy anywhere in the world."
(Excerpt) Read more at bnd.com ...
Ann Arbor was rockin’ tonight.
Huge crowd, thanks for posting this, I think the Bernabeau at that holds over 100 K as well.
I watched the other night, Chivas Guadalajara vs. Bayern Munich, actually a reasonably good match.
Wondered what was going on over there tonight but didn’t put it together.
MU may have a manager who can cope with the egos and manage at the same time. I hope so!
Recreational, sporting and music are really growing as economic drivers in Southern Michigan these days.
Things like this soccer match, The Tigers are bringing full house crowds to Comerica park, the Faster horses festival at MIS drew better than 60,000 a week or so back. They’re also restarting the state fair at MIS. We even have a new History Channel reality show about the guys at Darkhorse brewery in Marshall (Darkhorse Nation)
People are tired of steroids and the all-black league sports.
That being said, tickets to this game weren't cheap (in the $100 range) and my, ahem, advance scouts told me that no one was scalping any (that was my plan to get in). So I went back to the pub and drank. Beer at the stadium was $10, by the way.
Oh, soccer, no wonder the thread title was weird.
Hey. Soccer is the most popular “sport” on earth. And McDonalds sells a Kabazillion burgers. Fact.
Good on Ann Arbor, also UM and the long supportive fans of Futbol in the area. It started with the Europeans back, I think, in the ‘50s. Recent immigrants brought the game from the old country. Super.
Funny how things change in a month. FReepers were assuring me that soccer will never become popular in the United States.
It was still a bizarre thread title.
What’s so bizarre about it? Just curious.
National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer
It's a fascinating read, if you are a sports/econ nerd.
“Recreational, sporting and music are really growing as economic drivers in Southern Michigan these days.”
It is always good to see commerce developing/money changing hands, but the “bread and circuses” economy is a house of cards. As real jobs become scarce, the number of participants/customers at these events dwindle. Good for a transitional stage, but won’t sustain an economy.
I was happy to see so many fans at the game.
It depends. If its a permanent facility that continues to operate with big crowds it can become a major portion of the immediate local economy. Michigan international speedway makes Brooklyn into Michigan’s 3rd largest city for two weekends per year from a town of 1200. If not for the track, Brooklyn would be a farm community with 2 or 3 hundred people. They all come to spend and it requires minimal infrastructure.
Living a few miles south of the Meadowlands here in NJ, I can understand the potential. The problem is that the local economy collapsed, so tickets go unsold (the NY Giants went through a 30-year waiting list for their season tickets when they built the new stadium a couple of years ago, and I don’t know if they’ve sold them all yet).
It is a tough sell in a bad economy; even though the teams had turned their backs on regular fans and families (thinking corporate boxes were the future), the newly-designed facilities probably will never pay for themselves now.
"We moved our base camp last night and we’re now positioned literally
within feet of the river. Have been sitting here watching the border
patrol patrolling in their riverboats all night and all morning..."~Jim Robinson
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