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The International Champions Cup is here, the summer's highest-profile preseason tournament of major teams from around the world. With matches in Europe, the United States, and Australia, we'll see a wide variety of high-end talent, but things will kick off in China, with Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund facing off in Shanghai.
It's just a taste of what's to come in the tournament, but it's going to be exquisitely fun to watch anyway. Both of these teams have undergone major changes this summer, but they're both excellent sides in the here and now who should put on a show for the fans in China. This will be a great re-introduction to club football after two long months without it, and it will be a welcome sight to see.
What to watch for: Manchester United
This will be our first close look at Manchester United under Jose Mourinho, and it will be interesting to see both how they adapt to his vision -- and how he's adapted his vision to them. Manchester's squad isn't exactly a seamless fit for Mourinho's methods, and while they've certainly made some notable acquisitions -- including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and ex-Dortmund star Henrikh Mkhitaryan -- there's a long way to go until this United side look like the kind of team Mourinho likes to field. This match, though, will be a good way to see how far they've come, as well as how far they have to go.
What to watch for: Borussia Dortmund
It's been an active summer for Dortmund, selling three major players in Mkhitaryan, Ilkay Gundogan, and Mats Hummels, then replacing them with a long list of players, including Ousmane Dembele, Sebastian Rode, Raphael Guerreiro, and Marc Bartra -- plus the return of Mario Gotze. While Gotze won't be playing yet as he only just signed, this match will give Dortmund fans a good chance to see how their new signings are working out, and how Thomas Tuchel is changing his team's approach with several core players gone and a much different set of players in their place.
Match Date/Time: Friday, 8 a.m. ET, 8 p.m. local
Venue: Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China
TV: ESPN Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Sport1 (Germany), Tianjin Sports, Guangdon Sports, LeTV, G-Sports (China)
Online: ESPN3, WatchESPN (U.S.), MUTV (U.K.), BVB Total (Germany)
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