Foreign Soccer Teams Are Eyeing U.S. Market

L.A. Times Archives

July 27, 2003 12 AM PT

Charles Parker is a bus driver. It’s an honest and honorable way to make a living, but it’s a job not everyone would want.

Except, perhaps, on Saturday.

Half the population of Manchester, England, gladly would have taken Parker’s place behind the wheel of his Golden West Tours bus Saturday afternoon, and might even have paid for the privilege.

That’s because Parker’s assignment was to drive Manchester United from its hotel in Century City to the Coliseum and back. His response to ferrying the world’s wealthiest and most famous soccer team?

“They’re just passengers,” Parker, who is from Los Angeles, said with a shrug. “We carry celebrities all the time.”

But, but ... this is Manchester United, he was reminded, not D.C. United.

“It’s just like driving anybody else,” Parker replied. “Of course, I’m kind of elated to have the English here because I’ve had an opportunity to be over in England and I know how soccer is viewed over there. It’s quite exciting.”

Introducing some of that excitement to American fans is what the Champions World Series is all about -- that and making fistfuls of cash and scaring the daylights out of Major League Soccer.

In a two-week span, fans in seven U.S. cities will have had the opportunity to see not only Manchester United but also Club America of Mexico, Celtic of Scotland, Boca Juniors of Argentina, Juventus and AC Milan of Italy, and Barcelona of Spain.

This is the first summer invasion of this nature since MLS was founded eight years ago. Next summer promises to bring another, and the summer after that, and so on.

In other words, just when MLS is beginning to find its feet, the world’s most powerful teams are finding that the U.S. is a wealthy and largely untapped soccer market, one that is ripe for exploitation.

Just how ripe can be seen from the crowds at the first two Series matches. In Seattle, 66,722 saw Manchester United thump Celtic, 4-0, on Tuesday. In Cleveland, an announced 20,842 saw Celtic edge Boca Juniors, 1-0, on Friday night.

United’s final two matches already are sold out, including a clash with Juventus at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Thursday. Manchester United Coach Sir Alex Ferguson revealed Saturday that newly signed American goalkeeper Tim Howard will make his debut for the club in that game.

Today, a sizable turnout is expected when Manchester United plays Club America at the Coliseum at 4 p.m. At the same time in Foxboro, Mass., Juventus plays Barcelona in a game that could see Ronaldinho making his first appearance for the Spanish team since his $33.8-million move from Paris Saint-Germain eight days ago.

Not surprisingly, Ronaldinho’s name came up at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, when Ferguson was asked how the Brazilian World Cup winner had escaped his clutches.

“In a way it was a disappointment, but it [failing to sign a desired player] has happened in the past and it will happen again,” Ferguson said. “He wanted to play for Barcelona more than he wanted to play for Manchester United, so that ended the story.

“It doesn’t mean that Manchester will fold up and die. We’ll carry on as we’ve normally done.”

Life goes on for the English champions, David Beckham or no David Beckham, Ronaldinho or no Ronaldinho, but the Brazilian’s decision does add an edge to Manchester’s match against Barcelona in Philadelphia on Aug. 3 in the final game of the seven-game Champions World Series.

Ferguson, incidentally, did not get to the Coliseum aboard Parker’s bus. Instead, the 61-year-old Scot arrived in one of four black chauffeur-driven limousines that sighed down the stadium tunnel and dropped him and his fellow ManU coaches just steps from the locker rooms.

Those who wish to conquer America have to do so in style.

“I’m not sure ‘conquer’ is the right word,” Ferguson told Associated Press while the team was in Seattle. “I think we’d like to explore the country, and make people more aware about Manchester United.”

American fans -- expatriate and native born -- might already be more aware than Ferguson thinks.

More than 3,000 turned up at the Coliseum to cheer and sing and collect autographs when Manchester United trained on Saturday afternoon. About half were wearing Red Devil red. Outside, vendors were doing a smart trade in Manchester souvenirs: shirts $75, T-shirts $30, caps $20.

The dollar signs are what it is all about, of course. That’s why all these European teams are in the U.S. right now. That’s why Real Madrid and Liverpool are in Asia and Tottenham Hotspur is in South Africa.

Jorge Valdano, Real Madrid’s sporting director, got it exactly right last week when he said, “The aim of the club is to be universal.”

Manchester United earned more than $200 million in merchandising alone last year. If it can crack the U.S. market, that figure could jump higher still.

“Going to the United States is something we believe is important in the long term,” club spokesman Paddy Harverson told England’s Guardian newspaper before the team left on its tour.

“We believe there are a lot of people in the States who are followers of football but who may not have a club allegiance. So we are also hoping to win over new fans and get them to be part of Manchester United.

“It’s about sowing seeds. The real profit could be several years down the road.”

It’s not only about marketing, though. The team has to remain as successful as it has been in the Ferguson era. Today’s game is merely an exhibition, a friendly in soccer terms, but Club America, under new Dutch Coach Leo Beenhakker, is more than simply making up the numbers.

“We don’t know a lot about the Mexican side, we know some of their players,” Ferguson said. “My experience of playing against a Mexican team three years ago [in the FIFA World Club Championship] in Rio de Janeiro tells me there’s a good level of football in Mexico. So I think it will be quite competitive.”

Coming to America and playing top-level teams is a new way for Manchester United to prepare for the season ahead.

“Normally, we take on an easier level of games, by going to the Far East or to Norway or Denmark,” he said. “What we had in the Celtic match was a great atmosphere, a massive crowd and a competitive game.”

Just like the real thing. The sort of excitement Parker experienced in England.

“Fans make the emotional, the spiritual part of the game,” Ferguson said. “The rivalry between fans is very important in European football.”

Suddenly, MLS now finds itself with a rival, even if it is for only a couple of weeks during its season.

How the league responds will go a long way toward determining its future.

Meanwhile, Parker might have been blase about rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs aboard his bus, but he was impressed by the players’ friendliness.

“The athletes were great,” he said. “They said, ‘Cheers’ and ‘How you doing?’ which was very good. It made me feel pretty good that they’re not stuck up. That makes for a real pleasant working atmosphere.”

Add one more fan to Manchester United’s growing legion.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Team profile

A brief look at Manchester United soccer club:

Nickname: Red Devils

Home Stadium: Old Trafford, capacity 67,500

Titles: Premier League (8), former first division (7), FA Cup (10), League Cup (1), European Cup (2), Cup Winners Cup (1)

Star Players: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane (captain), Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Juan Sebastian Veron

Key moments in team history:

* Team established in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR

* Joins the English League in 1892

* Takes name Manchester United in 1902