asia tour football

Argentina cap Asian tour with 2-0 win over Indonesia

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• That was the Audi Summer Tour 2023 | FC Bayern

Bayern Munich on tour in Asia: dates, matches, details

Bayern Munich were in Asia from July 24 to August 3. Thomas Tuchel's side took in Tokyo and Singapore as they played friendlies against Manchester City, Kawasaki Frontale and FC Liverpool.

Which Bayern stars are you choosing for your fantasy team?

July 24: Asian tour begins with the Audi Football Summit in Tokyo.

July 26: 1-2 vs. Champions League winners Manchester City at Tokyo National Stadium

July 29: 1-0 vs. Kawasaki Frontale at the National Stadium in Tokyo

July 30: Onward journey to Singapore

August 2:  4-3 vs. Liverpool FC in the Singapore Trophy at Singapore National Stadium

August 3: Departure

Watch: Bayern in Singapore

Victory in the seven-goal thriller against Liverpool

Bayern's final match in Asia before returning to Germany to take on Monaco in Unterhaching was a fine 4-3 win over Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool at Singapore's National Stadium.

The Premier League side had raced into a 2-0 lead through Cody Gakpo (2') and Virgil van Dijk (28'), but the Bundesliga champions responded before the first half was out, with Serge Gnabry pulling one back (33') before setting up Leroy Sane for the equaliser (42').

Luis Diaz (66') and Josip Stanisic (80') then exchanged goals, before academy graduate Frans Krätzig settled the game with a stunning first-time effort in injury-time (90'+1).

How Bayern lined up: Sommer (Ulreich 46') - Pavard (Mazraoui 61'), Upamecano (Stanisic 61'), Kim (De Ligt 46'), Davies (Krätzig 61') - Kimmich (Pavlovic 69'), Laimer (Goretzka 61') - Sane (Coman 46'), Musiala (Gravenberch 61'), Gnabry (Ibrahimovic 61') - Tel (Sarr 69') Unused subs: Hülsmann, Tikvic Out: Choupo-Moting (knee), Guerreiro (calf), Müller (hip), Neuer (broken leg) Watch : Highlights of Bayern's win over Liverpool

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Press conference with tuchel and de ligt ahead of liverpool game.

Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel was enjoying his surroundings ahead of the Bavarian's meeting with Liverpool in Singapore.

"It's my third time here, the view's impressive," he said. "We had dinner with the staff. It's a nice, clean and very well-organised city. They're very friendly people who always want to help. We accept the weather conditions, they're not an excuse. It's a peaceful, clean city."

Central defender Matthijs de Ligt was also happy about the new training location, especially because of the slightly higher temperatures: "We trained here for the first time yesterday," he said. "It was extremely hot in Japan, the sun shone all day. It was a bit cooler yesterday. We're trying to train as best we can and get the best out of it." 

The trip to Asia can be the first step on a long journey towards the Champions League title, explained Tuchel: "We're at a club where it's all about winning titles. It doesn't matter what your goal is, you have to start the journey and then take it step by step. You also need luck, then everything's possible. There's no point in talking too much about the dream. We have to keep growing together, develop a team spirit."

Watch: Bayern's arrival in Asia

Bayern welcomed to Singapore

Bayern arrived at their second destination on this year's Audi Summer Tour after a five-day stay in Tokyo.

The departure from Japan was delayed due to inclement weather, which is why the Bavarians landed almost two hours late. An enthusiastic welcome nonetheless awaited the team at the hotel, with swathes of fans there to greet the players. Joshua Kimmich and Co. signed autographs and took selfies.

Watch: Kawasaki/Bayern fan crossover

Kim and De Ligt - Bayern's new dream duo?

All eyes were on new signing Kim Min-jae in the 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale. The former Napoli man spoke about his debut after the game and was quite self-critical: "I always tried to make the game easy, but I also made a few mistakes. The team is new, the tactics are different - I need to find my way around now."

De Ligt, the player many expect will be Kim's regular central defensive partner, is helping him settle in: "I've only been with the team for a short time and am trying to adapt as quickly as possible and get to know my teammates," Kim continued. "Matthijs de Ligt is helping me a lot with that. We talk to each other a lot and get along well."

Now that Kim has played his first game, the focus is on the start of the season and the work to be done until then: "I felt at the beginning that it wasn't easy because it's a new environment and I'm not in top form yet. I want to keep working hard to get in my best shape."

Victory over Kawasaki Frontale

Bayern rebounded from their narrow feat to continental treble winners Manchester City with a 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

Kim Min-jae made his debut for the record German champions in front of 45,289 fans, lining up alongside Benjamin Pavard in central defence in the first half, and enjoying a 100 per cent success rate in his duels. In an exciting first half, Mathys Tel also had a number of chances but it was goalless at the break.

Thomas Tuchel made nine changes at the break, with only Tel and goalkeeper Yann Sommer staying on the field. Josip Stanisic scored what proved to be the winning goal (57'), converting after a smart one-two with Ryan Gravenberch.

How Bayern lined up: Sommer - Mazraoui (Stanisic 46'), Pavard (De Ligt 46'), Kim (Upamecano 46'), Davies (Krätzig 46') - Kimmich (Goretzka 46'), Laimer (Gravenberch 46') - Sane (Sarr 46'), Musiala (Pavlovic 46'), Gnabry (Coman 46') - Tel (Ibrahimovic 61') Unused subs:  Hülsmann, Tikvic Out:  Buchmann (fitness), Choupo-Moting (knee), Raphael Guerreiro (knee), Müller (knee), Neuer (knee), Tillman (fitness)

Watch: Highlights of Bayern's victory over Kawasaki Frontale

Tuchel praises Kim

Before the friendly against Kawasaki Frontale on 29 July, Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel praised his new central defender Kim Min-jae: "Min-jae brings a lot of quality to our squad. He can play on both sides in central defence. That gives us stability and versatility. He will play tomorrow. We hope that Matthijs de Ligt will come back too, then we have two new options." 

Meanwhile, Mathys Tel has caught a small infection and is questionable for the next game. "We have to see if it's enough. He's doing well, accelerating in training, being part of the group and fighting for his place," said Tuchel.

Serge Gnabry expressed his delight at being able to explore Japan, meanwhile: "I've wanted to come to Japan for a few years to learn about the culture. I've had a very cool time here. I've been able to train at Kawasaki, a big thanks to the club that it worked, it helped me a lot. I really liked Tokyo, I will definitely come back."

Test match defeat against Man City

Bayern lost their first friendly on the Asian tour 2-1 against Manchester City. James McAtee (22') and Mathys Tel (82') exchanged goals before Aymeric Laporte scored the winner (86') for the recent English and European champions in front of 65,049 fans in Tokyo's National Stadium.

How Bayern lined up: Sommer (Ulreich 46') - Mazraoui (Sarr 46'), Pavard (Stanisic 46'), Upamecano (Tikvic 46'), Davies (Krätzig 46') - Kimmich (c) (Goretzka 46'), Laimer (Gravenberch 46') - Coman (Wanner 46'), Musiala (Vidovic 46'), Sane (Mane 46') - Gnabry (Tel 46') Unused subs:  Hülsmann, Pavlovic, Ibrahimovic Out:  Guerreiro (calf), Müller (hip)

Watch: Highlights of Bayern's narrow defeat to Man City

Reception by the governor of Tokyo

A great honour for Bayern: As part of this year's Audi Summer Tour, the record German champions received an invitation from the governor of Tokyo Prefecture. Bayern president Herbert Hainer and vice president Professor Dr. Dieter Mayer presented Yuriko Koike with a jersey and she wished the club a successful stay in Japan. "Football is very popular here, especially among young people," she said, praising Bayern's commitment to promoting talent. On learning that Bayern had won the Bundesliga 11 times in a row she said "Bayern must be invincible."

Bayern's squad for their Asian tour

Goalkeepers: Sven Ulreich, Yann Sommer, Tom Ritzy Hülsmann

Defenders: Dayot Upamecano, Min-Jae Kim, Matthijs de Ligt, Benjamin Pavard, Alphonso Davies, Bouna Sarr, Noussair Mazraoui, Frans Krätzig, Josip Stanisic, Antonio Tikvic

Midfielders/Forwards: Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, Paul Wanner, Konrad Laimer, Gabriel Vidovic, Ryan Gravenberch, Mathys Tel, Jamal Musiala, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Arijon Ibrahimović

Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Raphael Guerreiro, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (knee problems), Malik Tillman and Tarek Buchmann (both in advanced training) did not travel.

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#ClubAnnouncement #Men'sFirstTeam #AsiaPacificTour2023 #PreSeason #Leicester

Bangkok confirmed as Asia-Pacific Tour 2023 destination

Tottenham Hotspur is delighted to announce that its Men’s First Team will visit Bangkok during this summer’s Asia-Pacific Tour 2023.

Following on from the previously announced London Derby with West Ham United at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Tuesday 18 July, the squad will make its first ever trip to Thailand for a meeting with Leicester City at the Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, on Sunday 23 July (kick-off 17:00 local time).

The Tour will then conclude with a visit to Singapore for the second time in four years for a clash with Italian giants AS Roma at the National Stadium on Wednesday 26 July (kick-off 19:30 local time). The Club’s visits to both Bangkok and Singapore are supported by Global Principal Partner, AIA.

• Men’s First Team to take on Leicester City in Club’s first ever visit to Thailand on Sunday 23 July • Match completes our Tour 2023 schedule, following the previously announced matches with West Ham in Perth on Tuesday 18 July and AS Roma in Singapore on Wednesday 26 July • Our trip to Bangkok will give the Club an opportunity to engage with it’s well established and passionate fanbase in Thailand, where we currently have five Official Supporters Clubs • Tickets for the Leicester City match in Bangkok will be available to Club members in a pre-sale before general sale opens on Thursday 25 May

Our first ever trip to Bangkok will give the Club the opportunity to engage with it’s well established and passionate fanbase in Thailand where we currently have five Official Supporters Clubs - Bangkok Spurs, Burapha Spurs, Nonthaburi Spurs, Thonburi Spurs and Pattaya Spurs.

Tickets for the Leicester City match will be made available to Season Ticket Holders, Premium Members, One Hotspur Members and Official Supporters’ Club members in an exclusive pre-sale. Further details on how to purchase tickets will be communicated directly via email.

Tickets will then be available in a general sale via Ticketmelon from Thursday 25 May, 10am (Bangkok time).

To find your nearest Official Supporters’ Club, visit: https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/fans/supporters-clubs/welcome/

Tickets remain available in the general sale for our previously announced match against West Ham at the Optus Stadium, Perth, Tuesday 18 July (kick-off 18:00 local time) , and for our match against AS Roma at the Singapore National Stadium, Wednesday 26 July (kick-off 19:30 local time).

As is Club tradition, players and staff will be engaging in a range of activities to engage with our fanbase, support good causes, deliver grassroots football programmes, and celebrate local culture across all cities we visit.

This includes Open Training events held at the host stadiums the day before each game. We can confirm that the open training session in Bangkok will take place on Saturday 22 July, Rajamangala Stadium, 18:00 local time. Tickets will be available from Thursday 25 May, 10am (Bangkok time) with further details to be communicated directly via email.

A limited number of tickets are still available for our previously announced Open Training session in Singapore on Tuesday 25 July, National Stadium, 18:00 local time, visit - https://premier.ticketek.com.sg/shows/show.aspx?sh=THVSAROT

All Asia-Pacific Tour 2023 matches will be shown live on SPURSPLAY* - the Club’s official video streaming platform. Available for an annual subscription of £45 (£35 for Season Ticket Holders and One Hotspur Members), SPURSPLAY also brings you full 90-minute match replays, live Academy football and exclusive features and documentaries. Sign up at https://play.tottenhamhotspur.com/home .

*Matches available to all SPURSPLAY subscribers outside of the territories in which they are played...

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Follow our news, recent searches, argentina cap asian tour with 2-0 win over indonesia, advertisement.

JAKARTA: A long-range thunderbolt from Leandro Paredes and a second-half headed goal from Cristian Romero earned Argentina a 2-0 victory on Monday (Jun 19) in a friendly against Indonesia, making it two wins from two for the world champions on their short tour of Asia.

The South Americans dominated an at-times scrappy match against a spirited Indonesia team who were energised by a rapturous crowd of 56,000 which cheered every pass, throw and foray into the Argentine half.

The visitors had the best of the early action, with Nahuel Molina and Nicolas Gonzalez both denied and Facundo Buonanotte squandering a chance after skipping around the advancing keeper.

They finally made their breakthrough in the 38th minute when Paredes found space and blasted into the top corner from 30 metres.

Argentina doubled their lead 10 minutes after the break when an unmarked Romero converted with ease from a Giovani Lo Celso corner.

There was no hiding the disappointment in Indonesia over Lionel Messi's absence, despite his part in Argentina's 2-0 win over Australia in Beijing on Thursday, when he netted in 79 seconds, his fastest international goal.

Dressed overwhelmingly in red and waving national flags, the fans in the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium still chanted "Messi" as the team walked on to the pitch.

Indonesia defended in numbers to try to stem the onslaught and created a few chances in the second half, testing keeper Emi Martinez with a succession of long throws into a crowded box.

But they stumbled on the attack and struggled to contain Alejandro Garnacho, one of six second-half substitutions, who almost made it three in stoppage time.

"I'm quite satisfied with my team's performance, including Garnacho," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. "I hope the young players can further develop."

The match was the only bright spot in a torrid eight months for football in Indonesia, during which 135 fans were killed in one of the world's worst stadium stampedes.

The Muslim-majority country was stripped of its right to stage the under-20 World Cup in March over domestic resistance to Israel's participation, and replaced as hosts by Argentina.

Indonesia's South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong said the match was a confidence boost ahead of next year's Asian Cup, while the country's president, Joko Widodo, said he had feared the team would be trounced.

He described their second-half performance as "extraordinary".

"Argentina are ranked first and we're 149th, but we only conceded two goals," he said. "This is a big experience for us."

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Manchester City pencil in Asia visit for 2023/24 pre-season tour | OneFootball

· 3 February 2023

Manchester City pencil in Asia visit for 2023/24 pre-season tour

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City players look set to make a trip to Asia this summer as part of their 2023/24 preparations, a new report has detailed.

Last summer saw the Etihad club take on two matches over in the United States, defeating Club America 2-1 in Houston, before moving over to Green Bay for a clash against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich – a match they won 0-1.

OneFootball Videos

The trip across the Atlantic was Manchester City’s first overseas tour since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the season prior to last having a pre-season period hosted at the club’s training facility in east Manchester.

Ahead of the coming summer, and the potential for another pre-season tour, a new report has revealed that City bosses have pencilled in a visit to Asia with plans still yet to be finalised.

That is according to Jack Gaughan of the Mail , who reports that City have pencilled in visits to both Japan and Thailand for a summer tour in mid-July – with a fixture against sister club Yokohama F. Marinos likely to be replicated after they first met in 2019.

While it is clarified that Manchester City are yet to finalise plans for the upcoming summer, the Mail reports that the current Premier League champions are expected to spend longer in Japan, with the Thailand leg of the trip being an additional stop.

There had been suggestions earlier this week that Manchester City would make a stop-off in India this summer for what is likely to be a one-off match – a country in which the club has a significant and ever-growing supporter base.

Manchester City’s last visit to Asia came ahead of the 2019/20 season, when Pep Guardiola and his players took on four matches in total spread across visits to China, Hong Kong, and Japan.

The China leg of the trip saw City compete in the Premier League Asia Trophy, falling to defeat in the final via penalties against Wolves – that coming after a comprehensive 4-1 win over West Ham United.

City then made a trip to Hong Kong where they defeated Kitchee SC 1-6, before beating the City Football Group-owned Yokohama F. Marinos 1-3 in Japan.

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World Cup champion Argentina to play Australia in China, visit Indonesia on Asian tour

SYDNEY (AP) — World Cup champion Argentina will play Australia at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing and take on Indonesia during a two-game exhibition tour to Asia next month.

Argentina will play the Socceroos on June 15 in the Chinese capital. It’ll be the first meeting between the teams since Lionel Messi and his Argentina lineup beat Australia 2-1 in the Round of 16 en route to winning the World Cup title last December in Qatar.

Argentina's football federation said the national squad would play Indonesia in Jakarta on June 19.

“Football is truly the global game and for Australia to be invited to play this match in China, and against the world No. 1, we hope this will open further opportunities for our two nations to work together both on and off the football field,” Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said in a statement Monday.

Argentina's game in Indonesia is scheduled for a week after the under-20 World Cup final in La Plata.

Argentina took Indonesia’s spot in the U20 tournament as host and participant. Protests in Muslim-majority Indonesia against hosting a team from Israel forced FIFA into the late switch of venues.

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Argentina confirm squad for Asian tour with Lautaro sidelined by Scaloni

Lionel scaloni has announced a list of 23 players who will travel to china and indonesia for the june friendly games..

Next up for 2022 World Cup winners Argentina are two games in Southeast Asia next June as Lionel Scaloni announced the list of 23 players who will face Australia and Indonesia. There are three notable absentees from the list with Armani, Lautaro Martinez and Dybala all absent from the squad .

#SelecciónMayor Futbolistas convocados por @lioscaloni para la gira asiática de junio. ¡¡¡Siempre, siempre, vamos Selección!!! 😁💙🤍💙 pic.twitter.com/0MlZAdZv0H — 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) May 27, 2023

Lionel Scaloni has given call-ups to Walter Benítez (PSV), Facundo Medina (Lens), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Gio Simeone (Naples), Nico González (Fiorentina) and Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) as the main new faces to travel to Asia . The Manchester United player was injured for the last friendly games for the ‘Albiceleste’ and is expected to make his full international debut.

Asian tour fixtures

June 15: Argentina vs Australia (Beijing): ko time to be confirmed June 19: Indonesia vs. Argentina (Jakarta): ko time to be confirmed

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World Cup winners Argentina confirm fixtures for summer Asian tour

Lionel scaloni’s side will take on indonesia and australia, article bookmarked.

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Argentina will be back in action in June for the first time since their World Cup triumph

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World Cup winners Argentina will visit Indonesia next month for a friendly against its national team, its top football official said on Wednesday, in a boost for a country that has suffered a succession of recent soccer setbacks.

The visit will be part of an Asian tour by the South American side that also includes a 15 June stop in Beijing for a friendly against Australia.

The announcement comes at a time when Argentina is hosting the Under-20 World Cup as a replacement for Muslim-majority Indonesia, which in March was stripped of the tournament over domestic resistance to the participation of Israel.

The friendly will take place eight months after Indonesia suffered one of the world’s deadliest stadium stampedes , with 135 people killed in a scramble to flee as police fired tear gas into the stands in Malang in East Java.

Though soccer is huge in the country of 270 million people, Indonesia has struggled to make its mark in the international game since a single World Cup appearance back in 1938 as the Dutch East Indies.

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Their fans are, however, currently on a high from last week winning the gold medal at the South East Asian Games for the first time since 1991.

“This is great momentum for Indonesian soccer to maintain its resurgence,” Erick Thohir, chief of the Indonesian football association (PSSI) told a press conference on the Argentina match.

Erick, a former owner of Serie A side Inter Milan, did not specify the date for the match, which Argentina’s football association said on Twitter would be on 19 June.

Asked if captain Lionel Messi would be coming to Indonesia, he said: “I believe Argentina will bring their best team.”

The visit had nothing to do with Argentina hosting the youth tournament instead of Indonesia, but was based on “mutual cooperation” between them, he said, adding Inter’s former Argentine defender Javier Zanetti had played a role.

Argentina and Indonesia last met in the World Youth Championship in Japan in 1979, a match in which the great Diego Maradona played. Indonesia lost 5-0.

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Major European Football Clubs That Will Be Playing Friendlies In Asia Soon

With the 2021/22 football season done and dusted, footballing clubs around the world will be jetting about for pre-season tours..

Some of the biggest European clubs are set to arrive in countries such as Thailand and Singapore for pre-season Asian football tours before their respective 2022-23 seasons commence.

Football stars enjoy a commanding fan following in Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, the UAE and India. Icons like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have the status of demi-gods among the legions of fans across the continent.

Though most of the world’s best football clubs are in Europe and South America, there is no dearth of talent in Asian countries or clubs, as nearly all these nations play football and have their own leagues. Due to the game’s popularity, a special tournament known as the Premier League Asia Trophy is held every two years between any three or four EPL clubs in an Asian country.

On the national front, Japan and South Korea are significant because they are considered the two best Asian football teams, and both have successfully qualified for the FIFA World Cup multiple times. In fact, in 2002, South Korea became the first country outside of Europe and the Americas to reach the FIFA World Cup semi-final.

Asia is, therefore, a prominent market for everything connected to football. It means that the continent has brand endorsements and outreach worth billions, as it is home to over half of the world’s population.

This is one of the major reasons why several prominent European football clubs, such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), are embarking on a pre-season Asian football tour of countries where football has a solid presence, however, may not be as electrifying as in Europe or South America.

So, what is a pre-season tour?

An international pre-season tour is always held before the start of the actual season.

One of the ideas behind pre-season tours is helping team members come together after their holidays or national duties, usually occurring at the end of a league season. New transfers or new managers can acclimatise with the team’s overall environment and make adjustments to prepare for the gruel ahead.

More importantly, it is the pecuniary advantages that influence the pre-season schedules of some of the world’s best football clubs. A pre-season tour is an opportunity to expand the fan base of a club and build business interests in the form of sales of merchandise, big-ticket sponsorships and television rights.

As for the game, a pre-season match is different from a regular-season encounter in the way that the former is less intense. It is like a friendly match between clubs, who might otherwise give their best to win, in a league match or a championship tournament.

Here are the pre-season Asian football tours to watch out for

( Main and Featured image: Paris Saint-Germain/@PSG_English/Twitter )

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• Liverpool vs Manchester United
• Tottenham Hotspur vs Team K League
• Crystal Palace vs Liverpool
• Tottenham Hotspur vs Sevilla
• PSG vs Kawasaki Frontale
• PSG vs Urawa Red Diamonds
• PSG vs Gamba Osaka
• Tottenham Hotspur vs AS Roma

Date: 12 July

Venue: Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand

The heavyweight match of the South East Asian pre-season tour is between two of the most famous EPL teams of all time.

Manchester United’s 2021-22 season was a terrible nightmare. However, owing to Cristiano Ronaldo ’s brilliant goal-scoring ability, the team managed to finish sixth on the EPL table.

However, the Red Devils now have a new manager, Erik ten Hag, who is in charge of the team. On 25 May 2022, the Premier League club announced that he will have his first pre-season game in Thailand.

On the other hand, Liverpool, under manager Jürgen Klopp, has had an excellent run in the tournaments of the 2021-22 season. They won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and finished as runners-up in the Champions League 2021-22, which was won by Real Madrid. However, they lost the league championship by just one point to winners Manchester City.

Manchester United met Liverpool on two occasions in the last season and received drumming in both, losing 5-0 in the first and 4-0 in the second. They would like to get off the mark in this match itself, following which they can leave for Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia, for their pre-season match against Crystal Palace.

Image: Premier League/@premierleague/Twitter

Date: 13 July

Venue: Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea

South Korean football fans are excitedly looking forward to this pre-season Asian football tour of the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and for one good reason — Son Heung-min .

The Korean men’s national side captain, who plays for Spurs, hammered 23 goals in the 2021-22 EPL season to co-win the Golden Boot award with Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah. Son is the first Asian footballer to win the award in any of the top five European football leagues.

Spurs will play against a K League All-Star XI. The match is part of the Coupang Play Series, involving two games set three days apart.

Image: Tottenham Hotspur/@SpursOfficial/Twitter

Date: 15 July

Venue: National Stadium, Singapore

The pre-season 2022-23 Asian football tour of Liverpool is bringing them to Singapore in South East Asia for a match against fellow EPL side Crystal Palace.

FIFA World Cup 1998 winner Patrick Vieira took the reins of managing London-based Crystal Palace ahead of the 2021-22 season. He did quite well and placed the club at the respectable 12th place, two ranks above its position from the 2020-21 season. But, like Manchester United, Crystal Palace, too, could not defeat Liverpool.

So, it is likely that Jürgen Klopp will have the last laugh in the pre-season 2022-23 for Liverpool.

Image: Crystal Palace F.C./@CPFC/Twitter

Date: 16 July

Venue: Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea

The second of the Coupang Play Series matches will be held between Spurs and La Liga side Sevilla. Both the English and the Spanish clubs finished fourth in their respective leagues in the 2021-22 season.

This could be one of the biggest highlights of the Asian pre-season tours of top European clubs. Spurs have been fantastic under manager Antonio Conte. Sevilla, too, has seen a dramatic transformation in its performance since Julen Lopetegui took charge in 2019.

Spurs and Sevilla met the last time in 2007 during the UEFA Cup — a tournament that was eventually won by the Spanish side. The first of their matches ended in a draw and Sevilla won the second.

Image: Sevilla FC/@SevillaFC_ENG/Twitter

Date: 20 July

Venue: Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan

Ligue 1 2021-22 champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is restricting its pre-season Asia tour to Japan. The team will meet J1 League team Kawasaki Frontale in the first of three matches, scheduled in the country for the European club.

And so, Japanese fans will get to see Lionel Messi in action alongside young French super-striker Kylian Mbappé and Brazilian ace Neymar Jr.

Messi didn’t have a great league season, ending with just six goals but has been riding on a wave of success on the national front for Argentina. Neymar netted 13 goals and has been in sublime form. While Mbappé scored 28 goals to win the Golden Boot in the French top tier for the fourth consecutive time.

Kawasaki Frontale is one of the better-placed teams in the J1 League. It came third on the table in 2021-22, becoming eligible for the AFC Champions League qualifiers.

Image: Paris Saint-Germain/@PSG_English/Twitter

Date: 23 July

Venue: Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan

PSG will head to Saitama in Saitama Prefecture to play against the home team Urawa Red Diamonds.

The match will be an interesting pre-season warm-up in PSG’s schedule, given that Urawa Red Diamonds is a much lower-ranked team in the J1 League.

Messi, Mbappé and Neymar — should the management decide to field them in this encounter — can be expected to take their overall goal tally higher.

Date: 25 July

Venue: Panasonic Stadium Suita, Osaka, Japan

Gamba Osaka barely managed to escape relegation in J1 League in the 2021-22 season. This means that the odds are heavily in favour of the visiting European club in this one-sided affair.

Football fans in Osaka, however, can see both their favourite players from the home squad as well as international superstars such as Spanish defender Sergio Ramos and Argentine midfielder Ángel Di María, who headline the French club.

Date: 30 July

Venue: Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel

After the completion of the South Korea leg, Spurs will continue their pre-season Asian football tour in Israel, where they are to meet the Italian team AS Roma .

The Serie A team, which finished sixth in the 2021-22 season, is managed by the charismatic José Mourinho. In May 2022, Roma won the UEFA Europa Conference League to grab its first major European title in over 60 years. With the victory, Mourinho became the first manager to win a European trophy with four different clubs.

Spurs, therefore, may face a major challenge in this pre-season encounter.

Image: UEFA Europa Conference League/@europacnfleague/Twitter

Manas Sen Gupta

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8 pre-season Asian football tours every footy fan should bookmark now

Some of the biggest European clubs are set to arrive in countries such as Thailand and Singapore for pre-season Asian football tours before their respective 2022-23 seasons commence.

Football stars enjoy a commanding fan following in Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, the UAE and India. Icons like Lionel Messi and  Cristiano Ronaldo have the status of demi-gods among the legions of fans across the continent.

Though most of the world’s best football clubs are in Europe and South America, there is no dearth of talent in Asian countries or clubs, as nearly all these nations play football and have their own leagues. Due to the game’s popularity, a special tournament known as the Premier League Asia Trophy is held every two years between any three or four EPL clubs in an Asian country.

On the national front, Japan and South Korea are significant because they are considered the two best Asian football teams, and both have successfully qualified for the FIFA World Cup multiple times. In fact, in 2002, South Korea became the first country outside of Europe and the Americas to reach the FIFA World Cup semi-final.

Asia is, therefore, a prominent market for everything connected to football. It means that the continent has brand endorsements and outreach worth billions, as it is home to over half of the world’s population.

This is one of the major reasons why several prominent clubs, such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), are embarking on a pre-season Asian football tour of countries where football has a solid presence, however, may not be as electrifying as in Europe or South America.

What is a pre-season tour?

An international pre-season tour is always held before the start of the actual season.

One of the ideas behind pre-season tours is helping team members come together after their holidays or national duties, usually occurring at the end of a league season. New transfers or new managers can acclimatise with the team’s overall environment and make adjustments to prepare for the gruel ahead.

More importantly, it is the pecuniary advantages that influence the pre-season schedules of some of the world’s best football clubs. A pre-season tour is an opportunity to expand the fan base of a club and build business interests in the form of sales of merchandise, big-ticket sponsorships and television rights.

As for the game, a pre-season match is different from a regular-season encounter in the way that the former is less intense. It is like a friendly match between clubs, who might otherwise give their best to win, in a league match or a championship tournament.

Here are the pre-season Asian football tours to watch out for in 2022

( Main and Featured image: Paris Saint-Germain/@PSG_English/Twitter )

Jump To / Table of Contents

• Liverpool vs Manchester United
• Tottenham Hotspur vs Team K League
• Crystal Palace vs Liverpool
• Tottenham Hotspur vs Sevilla
• PSG vs Kawasaki Frontale
• PSG vs Urawa Red Diamonds
• PSG vs Gamba Osaka
• Tottenham Hotspur vs AS Roma

Date: 12 July

Venue: Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand

The heavyweight match of the South East Asian pre-season tour is between two of the most famous EPL teams of all time.

Manchester United’s 2021-22 season was a terrible nightmare. However, owing to Cristiano Ronaldo ’s brilliant goal-scoring ability, the team managed to finish sixth on the EPL table.

However, the Red Devils now have a new manager, Erik ten Hag, who is in charge of the team. On 25 May 2022, the Premier League club announced that he will have his first pre-season game in Thailand.

On the other hand, Liverpool, under manager Jürgen Klopp, has had an excellent run in the tournaments of the 2021-22 season. They won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and finished as runners-up in the Champions League 2021-22, which was won by Real Madrid. However, they lost the league championship by just one point to winners Manchester City.

Manchester United met Liverpool on two occasions in the last season and received drumming in both, losing 5-0 in the first and 4-0 in the second. They would like to get off the mark in this match itself, following which they can leave for Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia, for their pre-season match against Crystal Palace.

Image: Premier League/@premierleague/Twitter

Date: 13 July

Venue: Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea

South Korean football fans are excitedly looking forward to this pre-season Asian football tour of the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and for one good reason — Son Heung-min .

The Korean men’s national side captain, who plays for Spurs, hammered 23 goals in the 2021-22 EPL season to co-win the Golden Boot award with Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah. Son is the first Asian footballer to win the award in any of the top five European football leagues.

Spurs will play against a K League All-Star XI. The match is part of the Coupang Play Series, involving two games set three days apart.

Image: Tottenham Hotspur/@SpursOfficial/Twitter

Date: 15 July

Venue: National Stadium, Singapore

The pre-season 2022-23 Asian football tour of Liverpool is bringing them to Singapore in South East Asia for a match against fellow EPL side Crystal Palace.

FIFA World Cup 1998 winner Patrick Vieira took the reins of managing London-based Crystal Palace ahead of the 2021-22 season. He did quite well and placed the club at the respectable 12th place, two ranks above its position from the 2020-21 season. But, like Manchester United, Crystal Palace, too, could not defeat Liverpool.

So, it is likely that Jürgen Klopp will have the last laugh in the pre-season 2022-23 for Liverpool.

Image: Crystal Palace F.C./@CPFC/Twitter

Date: 16 July

Venue: Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea

The second of the Coupang Play Series matches will be held between Spurs and La Liga side Sevilla. Both the English and the Spanish clubs finished fourth in their respective leagues in the 2021-22 season.

This could be one of the biggest highlights of the Asian pre-season tours of top European clubs. Spurs have been fantastic under manager Antonio Conte. Sevilla, too, has seen a dramatic transformation in its performance since Julen Lopetegui took charge in 2019.

Spurs and Sevilla met the last time in 2007 during the UEFA Cup — a tournament that was eventually won by the Spanish side. The first of their matches ended in a draw and Sevilla won the second.

Image: Sevilla FC/@SevillaFC_ENG/Twitter

Date: 20 July

Venue: Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan

Ligue 1 2021-22 champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is restricting its pre-season Asia tour to Japan. The team will meet J1 League team Kawasaki Frontale in the first of three matches, scheduled in the country for the European club.

And so, Japanese fans will get to see Lionel Messi in action alongside young French super-striker Kylian Mbappé and Brazilian ace Neymar Jr.

Messi didn’t have a great league season, ending with just six goals but has been riding on a wave of success on the national front for Argentina. Neymar netted 13 goals and has been in sublime form. While Mbappé scored 28 goals to win the Golden Boot in the French top tier for the fourth consecutive time.

Kawasaki Frontale is one of the better-placed teams in the J1 League. It came third on the table in 2021-22, becoming eligible for the AFC Champions League qualifiers.

Image: Paris Saint-Germain/@PSG_English/Twitter

Date: 23 July

Venue: Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan

PSG will head to Saitama in Saitama Prefecture to play against the home team Urawa Red Diamonds.

The match will be an interesting pre-season warm-up in PSG’s schedule, given that Urawa Red Diamonds is a much lower-ranked team in the J1 League.

Messi, Mbappé and Neymar — should the management decide to field them in this encounter — can be expected to take their overall goal tally higher.

Date: 25 July

Venue: Panasonic Stadium Suita, Osaka, Japan

Gamba Osaka barely managed to escape relegation in J1 League in the 2021-22 season. This means that the odds are heavily in favour of the visiting European club in this one-sided affair.

Football fans in Osaka, however, can see both their favourite players from the home squad as well as international superstars such as Spanish defender Sergio Ramos and Argentine midfielder Ángel Di María, who headline the French club.

Date: 30 July

Venue: Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel

After the completion of the South Korea leg, Spurs will continue their pre-season Asian football tour in Israel, where they are to meet the Italian team AS Roma .

The Serie A team, which finished sixth in the 2021-22 season, is managed by the charismatic José Mourinho. In May 2022, Roma won the UEFA Europa Conference League to grab its first major European title in over 60 years. With the victory, Mourinho became the first manager to win a European trophy with four different clubs.

Spurs, therefore, may face a major challenge in this pre-season encounter.

Image: UEFA Europa Conference League/@europacnfleague/Twitter

Manas Sen Gupta

Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.

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Asian Tour rising above splintered golf's 'turmoil', says CEO Cho

Golf is in "a bit of turmoil", Asian Tour boss Cho Minn Thant admitted on Saturday, but the circuit's decision to partner with upstart LIV had "worked out well" for players.

Since Saudi-backed LIV began to lure top players away from the PGA Tour in 2022 with bucket loads of cash, there has been a schism in the once cosy, traditional world of golf.

The recent defection of US Masters champion Jon Rahm shook the game to its core.

On Friday it was reported that Tiger Woods and five other players on the US PGA Tour Policy Board were being pushed to meet Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan next week.

"Politically speaking, we're still in, I guess the best word to describe it is, a bit of turmoil," the Asian Tour's Commissioner and CEO Cho told AFP.

"There's no denying that there's still the divide between the PGA Tour and LIV."

Cho was speaking on the sidelines of the International Series Macau, one of 10 enhanced $2 million Asian Tour events benefiting from a $300 million infusion of LIV cash over 10 years.

The winner of the series – last year it was American Andy Ogletree – gains an automatic place on LIV.

"We firmly believe that our decision to partner with LIV has worked out well for us," said Cho.

- Dark days of Covid -

Unlike LIV, the Asian Tour receives world-ranking points, meaning 19 LIV players are in Macau trying to earn points towards places at this year's Olympics and the majors.

"You're seeing the International Series grow," said Cho.

"Here in Macau, it's the first ever fully sponsored International Series event, and we have a great partner in Wynn supporting this tournament."

Cho is in charge of leading the strategic direction of the Asian Tour, which only three years ago was extremely uncertain.

There were no tournaments in Asia because of travel restrictions during the dark days of the Covid pandemic, staff had to be laid off and some players were taking menial jobs just to make ends meet.

Behind the scenes, Cho was meeting with PIF and LIV CEO Greg Norman, discussions that would help change the golfing landscape.

As a result, some observers say power in golf has shifted to the east, with the Asian Tour now rivalling the DP World (European) Tour in stature.

"That's not our goal," said Cho.

"We're not out here trying to reach the benchmark of the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. We're just trying to grow our product in our region.

"We have some strategic goals. We're probably not quite there yet in terms of money and number of events."

- Free movement between tours -

Some criticise the regular Asian Tour as now being just a feeder for the International Series and LIV.

"I like to say that we can provide the players with something that LIV can't – world ranking points, traditional four-round golf and qualification to the majors," Cho said.

"I don't see us as only a feeder to LIV, there's more to it than that."

One goal is to get back into the huge Chinese golf market.

"We won't be having a tournament in China this season," admitted Cho.

"We are in contact with the China Golf Association (CGA) but they have formed a strategic alliance with the DP World Tour."

Another thorny issue is that players on the DP World Tour need to secure releases to play in events on the Asian Tour, which imposes no such restrictions on its golfers

Cho would like to see free movement of players between tours.

"I think it'd be nice for them to be able to choose where they want to play each week, without any consideration of disciplinary action or fines," said Cho.

What is clear is that fans would clearly like the world of golf to come back together. Cho believes the way forward is for everyone to get round the table.

"I hope," he said, "we get to a point where we can actually have real conversations."