Liverpool FC Forum

by **laza** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:44 am

Interesting article, what a shame if Real Madrid didnt do themselves any favours in such a large market

Real don't impress in China
Reuters

Real Madrid earned millions in its four-day tour of China, but its lacklustre performance and the absence of David Beckham may have cost the team some of its many Chinese fans, the China Daily reported.

The Spanish giants netted as much as $4 million in appearance fees in China, including 5 million yuan ($A800,000) for a five-minute free kick competition in the eastern city of Tianjin, the newspaper said.

England captain Beckham did not play in Real's rain-soaked 3-2 win over Chinese side Beijing Guo'an on Saturday because of a hamstring injury sustained during a tour match in the United States last week.

"Many female spectators came to watch their idol (Beckham) rather than the match itself and were forced to leave the stadium in frustration," the newspaper said.

Zhang Ran, an 18-year-old fan, said, "The organisers should have told us that Beckham would miss the match. It's like we have been cheated."

Despite the enormous hype behind Real's visit, the 70,000-capacity Beijing Workers' Stadium was only just over half full for the match.

Other Real stars like Ronaldo, Michael Owen and Zinedine Zidane came off the field in the second half.

In a post-match internet survey, 62 per cent of Chinese fans said they would not support Real if the team returned to China and over one quarter said they were bored by the water-logged game.

Real Madrid have flown to Japan to play on Monday and Wednesday and will wrap up the money-spinning tour with a friendly in Bangkok on Friday.

by **112-1077774096** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:47 am

i went to a game in china once, i shouted 'bring on number 10' and someone broughtme spare ribs

by **laza** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 12:28 pm

peewee wrote:i went to a game in china once, i shouted 'bring on number 10' and someone broughtme spare ribs

by **adamnbarrett** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:29 pm

peewee wrote:i went to a game in china once, i shouted 'bring on number 10' and someone broughtme spare ribs

good one that

by **LFC #1** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:57 pm

the fair-weather fans who only went their to see Beckham, they deserve to get cheated.

by **laza** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 1:53 pm

LFC #1 wrote: the fair-weather fans who only went their to see Beckham, they deserve to get cheated.

Unfortunately though they are example of a modern fan which is based more on Hollywood celebrity type power rather then appreciation of good football.
They also have alot of money and sadly in these day and age its talks heaps

by **MCYan** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 2:54 pm

Real Madrid players were complaining that their Asia/USA tour was too tiring. Very nice.

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