US fans show appetite for European stars

LANDOVER: Having paid nearly US$500 (RM2,141) for a ticket to watch his team in a pre-season friendly against Barcelona, Manchester United fan Vikrom Ahuja could hardly contain his excitement.

“It’s a lifetime opportunity because you’re not going to see this kind of opposition in the US,” said Ahuja as he savoured the prospect of seeing Jose Mourinho’s side take on the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at a stadium in the suburbs of Washington.

“I don’t support a local team because the way they play, it doesn’t excite me, it doesn’t get me out of my seat.”

Domestic football has long struggled to draw big crowds in the United States, even though ticket prices often are significantly cheaper than for sports such as baseball or American football.

But huge attendance figures at a series of friendly matches involving the biggest teams in European football have underlined a decided American interest in the game — as long as the quality is top-notch.

Tickets for late yesterday’s match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the 65,000-seat Hard Rock stadium have been selling for nearly US$1,000 on the black market.

A match between Real and Manchester City drew a crowd of more than 90,000 in Los Angeles earlier in the week, while upwards of 82,000 fans watched Barcelona take on Italian giants Juventus just outside New York last weekend.

For years, Europe’s top clubs tended to head to Asia in the close season in a bid to grow their fan base, but the United States appears to be increasingly the number one choice.

Other teams to have toured the States this year include Paris Saint-Germain, Roma and Tottenham — some them competing in the grandly titled International Champions Cup.

Back in the 1970s, US fans did have the chance to watch the game’s biggest names on a regular basis when the likes of Pele and George Best played in the now defunct North American Soccer League.

The MLS has managed to attract some big names in the autumn of their career such as France’s Thierry Henry and England’s Frank Lampard but struggles to compete with the likes of China and even India when it comes to wages. AFP