Chief executive David Gill looks ahead to
United’s upcoming tour of Asia…
How important is the tour for the club, both on
and off the pitch?
It’s a key part of getting the players ready for the new season, so
we have spent a lot of time with Alex and Mike Phelan on making
sure that the team get what they need in terms of facilities,
travel and rest.
Our fans in Asia generate money for the club – there are no
two ways about it. But it’s a coordinated approach. Most of the
players have been at the club a number of years, they’re seasoned
professionals and understand the importance of the tours to the
club. We can’t get away from the fact that it is a long way, but
the crowds over there give absolutely fanatical support for
Manchester United.
What are your memories of the 2007 Asia
Tour, when you visited Japan,
Korea and China – did you regard it as a
success?
It was interesting because we had a whole mixture really. Japan is
not like some of the other Asian markets; it’s more restrained, but
we have great support there as we saw again during the FIFA Club
World Cup last December. In South Korea the tickets for our game
with FC Seoul sold out very quickly and though Ji-sung Park
couldn’t play because of his injury, the adulation for him was
unbelievable. When the big screen at the match focused on him, the
crowd went absolutely wild.
Macau was quite surreal – we stayed in a brand new 2,000-plus
suite hotel and there were only 60 or 70 of us. That went well, and
there was a chance for a bit of 'R&R' for the players. China
was interesting; we went to a new venue there which was a great
stadium. So overall it was an unqualified success.
The reception United get in Asia is unlike anywhere else on
earth...
You can't leave your hotel room without
security because of the sheer number of fans waiting in all parts
of the hotel. You arrive at the airport at some unearthly hour and
the volume of fans there, all dressed up with their signs saying ‘I
love you Rooney or O’Shea’ or whoever, is amazing, as is the amount
of time they’ve spent preparing and waiting to take that chance to
see the players.
When we arrived at one airport on the last tour and were
escorted through the terminal, all the airport staff were going
wild, as well as the fans, waiting for photos! From start to finish
it’s a very intense, fan-focused tour.
The manager will be taking a strong squad to Asia later
this month, allowing the fans to see some of the club’s biggest
stars in the flesh…
It’s very important that we give
our fans the ability to see the team live every so often. The
English game is very well followed across Asia, and we have
phenomenal support out there, so I think it’s only fair and right
that we can give something back to these fans.