Manchester United kickoff their 2011 US summer tour on the 13th of July versus the New England Revolution at Foxboro Stadium. It seems tough to imagine that the regular season is just 2 months away. The remaining games on the Red Devils US Tour are versus the Seattle Sounders on Thursday 21st of July, Chicago Fire on Saturday 23rd of July, MLS All-Stars on Thursday 28th of July, and a rematch of the 2011 Champions League Final versus FC Barcelona on Saturday 30th of July.
The 2010 US tour turned out to be a success for United and many of the Red Devils young stars. Their 5-2 clinical display versus the MLS All-Stars revealed the gap between the talent in the US and the talent of United’s young starlets. The likes of Federico Macheda, Daniel Welbeck, and Tom Cleverley will be fighting for first team spots for next season, which means there is a lot on the line for them and many other United youngsters. For this reason, the US Tour should provide for healthy competition between United’s attackers who will be looking to display their technical prowess for the fans and manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
With a busy summer transfer-wise expected at Old Trafford, the US summer tour is also the perfect opportunity for new signings to generate chemistry while getting to know their new teammates. The tour allows players to get into game shape before the start of the Premier League season in August. United will be looking for their record 20th league title next season and will be looking to start the 2011-12 season much better than they did last season.
“We’re away for quite a while so it’s important we make strides in terms of our fitness levels while we’re there. The season only begins a few weeks after we return from America so we want to be approaching full fitness by the end of it [the tour]. A good pre-season is essential if you want to do well. Playing games really helps, too – there’s a difference between fitness and match fitness, so it’s important we play quality opposition on pre-season. We expect that again this year.” — Chris Smalling
