Inter Milan and Real Madrid are latest big clubs rumored to be heading to the United States for summer friendlies.
Chelsea, Liverpool, AS Roma and Celtic will play one another in a U.S.-based tournament this summer, according to a report at Boston.com that cited numerous sources involved in the negotiations. There weren't many details beyond the likelihood of Liverpool playing Roma at Boston's Fenway Park and Celtic playing Liverpool at an undisclosed location. The tournament would also apparently feature games to played in Chicago at either Comiskey Park or Wrigley Field and another game at New York's Yankee Stadium.
The Liverpool-Roma match is of particular interest as both teams are owned by Boston-based investors. Liverpool is owned by Red Sox owner John Henry and Roma is owned by a group of investors that included Red Sox investor Thomas DiBenedetto and Celtics owner James Pallotta.
While Chelsea and Celtic have been to the United States in the past couple years, it has been much longer since either Liverpool or Roma were here. Liverpool has not toured the United States since 2004 when, coincidentally enough, they played Roma.
It's unclear if this would be a proper tournament or one more similar to -- or even part of -- the World Football Challenge. In the WFC, teams played against a combination of MLS, European and Mexican teams and accrued points.
Inter Milan, Real Madrid Could Play At Yankee Stadium This Summer
A soccer match has not been played in anywhere called Yankee Stadium since the halcyon days of the New York Cosmos. That may change this summer. Officials are actively trying to organize an international friendly between club giants Real Madrid and Inter Milan to be played during the summer at Yankee Stadium, according to a report in Big Apple Soccer.
If the match does happen, it would mark the first time major soccer has been played in the Bronx since Aug. 10, 1976. On that day, the Cosmos walloped the Miami Toros 8-2.
Inter Milan and Real Madrid would surely be able to draw an enormous crowd, as they are among the most storied clubs in Europe. Madrid has won the European championship nine times, while Inter has done it three times, most recently in 2010.
Madrid currently sits atop the table in La Liga, seven points clear of second-place Barcelona. Their team includes the likes of Iker Casillas (Spain), midfielders Kaka (Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Germany) and Xabi Alonso (Spain), and forward Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal).
Inter is having a bit of a down year, sitting fifth in Serie A. They are still among the most talented teams, though, with players like defender Javier Zanetti (Argentina), midfielder Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) and forward Diego Forlan (Uruguay).
Feb 07 11:53a by Jeremiah Oshan - 0 comments