L.A. Galaxy To Play Barcelona and Club America In 2015 ICC
By Brian Tabije
The International Champions Cup (ICC) has grown into a world wide soccer tournament which has Australia and China along with stadiums across the U.S. as the hosts. There are also matches in Mexico City, London and Italy. Domestically, this is the chance for fans to watch their favorite teams from around the world.
So how exciting can this be for the fans in the U.S? I would say on a scale from 1-10 a possible 8. And I believe the 8 is the highest it’ll go for the simple fact of the sport not being very popular domestically. Let’s not forget though, last year Manchester United faced Real Madrid and sold out the “Big House” in Ann Arbor Michigan. It set a U.S. soccer attendance record as 109,318 fans poured into the stadium and watched the talented squads display their world class skill.
The 2015 ICC North America schedule became official Tuesday morning and the Los Angeles Galaxy will face Mexican Liga MX’s most successful team Club America and Spanish perennial powerhouse FC Barcelona of La Liga.
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Club America is the winningest program in Liga MX with 12 titles, earning their most recent just last season. America is also in the championship leg of the CONCACAF Champions League, tied with Montreal Impact (MLS) on aggregate 1-1, with the second and final leg tomorrow in Montreal.
FC Barcelona are in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they are preparing for a battle with Bayern Munich of Germany, as well as maintaining their first place position in La Liga. Barca possess 22 La Liga titles along with four UEFA titles. They have a laundry list of talent, a popularity that trends well in the United States and a player that goes by one name, Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi and his team will be here in the summer, when Steven Gerrard arrives in Los Angeles. Did I get your attention?
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Gerrard will hopefully be inserted into the Galaxy line-up as soon as his arrival in July. According to lagalaxy.com he will be available July 17th at home versus San Jose. That leaves four days of rest before taking on Barcelona. Gerrard will surely have an impact on domestic curiosity when the two teams match up in Pasadena.
I believe the Rose Bowl match will sell out, a chance to see the worlds greatest talent for one match, as the best in La Liga faces the best in the MLS. The Galaxy will take their five titles and compete with the worlds best footballers.
The tournament officially kicks off with the defending champion of the MLS, L.A. Galaxy and Liga MX defending champion Club America from StubHub Center July 11th at 8:30pm PT.
The International Champions Cup will also include defending tournament champion Manchester United (ENG), AS Roma (ITA), San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, Chelsea FC (ENG), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) and Fiorentina (ITA). In Australia : FC Porto (PRT), Real Madrid (ESP) and Manchester City (ENG). In China : Real Madrid (ESP), AC Milan (ITA) and Inter Milan (ITA).
Here is the full #ICC2015 schedule! See you all this summer! pic.twitter.com/dpgqnxXLl8
— Relevent Sports (@releventsports) April 28, 2015