Manchester United Manager Louis van Gaal and star striker Wayne Rooney met the media today in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They gave a press conference in advance of the big match versus Real Madrid at Michigan Stadium, nicknamed “The Big House” in the International Champions Cup tomorrow. The Big House, in the suburbs of Detroit,, is known for having the highest capacity of any stadium in the United States and among the most in the world.
Today, I asked LVG about buying new defenders, in a subtle roundabout way. (listen around the 7:20 mark) His response to my question was….well I tried. And yes, I was hoping for some insight there regarding Mats Hummels and Thomas Vermaelen. Not expecting it, but hoping.
There was also talk about the possibility of meeting Liverpool or Manchester City in the final. Here’s how that could happen. There was also some talk about the pitch itself, which will be really hot tomorrow. Louis Van Gaal is not a fan of the pitch. He said
“the pitch is not so good, that’s a pity because we have fantastic teams that we have to play on bad pitches. The ball is not rolling, it is not bumping and it will be difficult. ”
The #MUFC #mufctour bus arrives in Ann Arbor pic.twitter.com/Y7Vg65LMKi
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) August 2, 2014
Look at how many thousands of fans showed up just to watch #MUFC training at the Big House #mufctour pic.twitter.com/QwaGlGfEs5
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) August 2, 2014
Also discussed was the health of Chris Smalling, he has minor problems and will be held out. Louis van Gaal gets sarcastic with a reporter when asked about Shinji Kagwa. (listen around the 4:08 mark). It’s very entertaining.
By the way, tickets to this game sold out in just two hours!
And the attendance (estimated 109,000) will break the U.S. domestic record!
Here’s the updated television broadcast info.
-AUDIO: Louis van Gaal, Wayne Rooney press conference today
-VIDEO: huge swarms greet United as they get off the bus
-VIDEO: MUFC training today in Michigan Stadium
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. He’s also a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, CBS, the History Channel and more. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)