ALL-TIME Anfield great Ian Rush couldn’t be more excited about joining Brendan Rodgers and the team on their upcoming pre-season tour of North America. Rush, along with fellow goalscoring legend Robbie Fowler, will join the current squad as part of the tour party which departs next week, and the Welshman has spoken of his ambition to create a whole new generation of Reds across the pond.
In an interview printed on lfctour.com, he explained the club’s vision:
“We have to make youngsters go away and say, ‘I like Liverpool Football Club’. We can do that first by the players entertaining them on the pitch but also off the pitch, talking about the history of the club.
“If you’re out in the Far East and you give people a Liverpool badge, it’s amazing how kids will support Liverpool because they are not used to that. America is different.
“What we’ve got to do in America is show them we are the Boston Red Sox of England, we are going to be successful. Apart from the history we’ve had, we are going to be successful again and we have to believe that, which we do believe.
“With a manager who can help that on the pitch, it makes it even easier.”
Liverpool’s tour of North America will see the Reds play three matches, including a show-piece encounter with AS Roma at Fenway Park Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, famously also owned by Liverpool’s current owners Fenway Sports Group. That match, on July 25th, kicks-off at 6.30pm (EST), 11.30pm in Britain, and will be televised nationally in the States via the ESPN network.
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As well as the football, Rush was keen to stress that LFC will be getting involved and helping with a number of community based initiatives, adding:
“At the end of the day the players have to perform on the pitch. You look especially at Malaysia, players were asked to do things off the pitch, and it’s very difficult to concentrate on the pitch as well.
“So that’s when the likes of myself and Robbie are there to help the players so hopefully they can concentrate on their pre-season games.
“We’ll be out there at functions and promoting Liverpool Football Club.
“When you look at Liverpool Football Club, people will Google myself – maybe not Robbie as much because they might still remember him – but when they Google you and realise how good of a job you did for Liverpool, it’s great for them to see that and it’s new for them as well.
“Our job on the commercial side is to try to help promote Liverpool Football Club.”
You can catch Neil on Twitter @Neil1980 or on his blog http://itsallinthegameblog.wordpress.com/
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Is Robbie pale because he has the flu or is Rushie using extreme amounts of fake tan? 🙂
Prole79:
Maybe it’s just poor photography and lighting.