ICC China schedule unveiled
Print Edition
BAYERN Munich will take on Arsenal in Shanghai on July 19 in the second match of the 2017 International Champions Cup China, organizers announced yesterday.
The tournament, which was first held in China in 2015, is expanding its scale and will visit four cities around the country in July.
The first match will be between AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, on July 18. After the Shanghai match, Bayern will head to Shenzhen, also in Guangdong, to play the third match against Milan on July 22. The last match will be a Milan derby, with AC Milan taking on Inter Milan in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on July 24.
The five clubs taking part in this year’s ICC China sent former players as their ambassadors to Shanghai to launch this year’s tournament.
“We saw what happened in the Champions League,” former Bayern midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic remarked when asked about his views on the Bayern-Arsenal match. “Nah I was joking. Right now Bayern has some of the best players in the world. It will be a great stage for the two teams to show what they have.”
“It won’t be an easy game,” former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva added. “It’s always exciting and difficult to play against Bayern, no matter in Europe or in China. But I know Arsenal has a lot of loyal fans here in China.”
Other retired players who showed up at yesterday’s launch ceremony were former Inter goalkeeper Walter Zenga, Franco Baresi who spent his entire 20-year career with Milan, and former Dortmund midfielder Lars Ricken who also played his entire career for the Bundesliga side.
“I am surprised and happy to see so many Italian coaches working in China,” said Baresi, who is currently a youth team coach in Italy. “Italian coaches are experienced and good at strategy making, which will help in the development of China’s football.”
China’s national team coach is Italian World Cup winner Marcelo Lippi while former Azzurri captain Fabio Cannavaro is the manager of Chinese Super League newcomer Tianjin Quanjian. Cannavaro also coached defending CSL champion Guangzhou Evergrande.
Zenga said he has a deeper connection with China, having first visited the country way back in 1978. “I came with Inter for a friendly in Beijing when I was only 18 years old!” said the 56-year-old. “And maybe my next job would be in China given the connection between Inter and Suning.”
China’s Suning Holdings Group owns more than 68 percent of Inter shares. Nanjing, where the ICC’s Milan derby is scheduled, is also where Suning’s headquarters are located.
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