Soccer stars shine on Melbourne

Melbourne is reaping the rewards of hosting some of the biggest names in world soccer.

The International Champions Cup (ICC), a series of three round-robin friendly matches, has focused the soccer world’s attention on Melbourne, with the local economy set to benefit.

ICC organisers forecast that more than 200,000 people will attend the three games to be played between AS Roma, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

In a further exciting development for the sport, ICC officials predict Friday’s game between Real Madrid and Manchester City could surpass the largest crowd at a soccer match in Australia.

That record was set when 95,446 people watched Liverpool play Melbourne Victory at the MCG two years ago.

 

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The competition kicked off with a bang on Saturday night when 80,746 people piled into the MCG to see Roma and Madrid do battle.

With the tournament marketed as a collection of some of the world’s finest players, fans were left disappointed when the lacklustre game resulted in a scoreless draw.

Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez said in his address to the media that, despite the festivities and hype around the games in Melbourne, his side has a relaxed, conservative mindset.

“Pre-season for us is to try new formations, to try players in different positions, and for players to take on new ideas we are trying to develop,” Benitez said.

In contrast to negative comments about the state of the MCG pitch, Benitez paid credit to the fans who attended Madrid’s training session on Friday and the game on Saturday.

“The fans were amazing today. I was reading a bit about this stadium and about the sporting culture here in this city,” he said.

“Overall, the facilities [in Melbourne] have been fantastic. We have been really pleased.”

More than half of the tickets for the series were sold to interstate or overseas visitors.