“Baaaayern! Baaaayern!” Even before the Bayern stars took to the sacred turf at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on Tuesday evening local time, some 2,000 fans boisterously cheered for their team. And once Philipp Lahm, Arturo Vidal & Co had set to work the volume moved up several notches. The fans called out the players by name and hailed every smile and wave from pitch level in response.
Wherever Bayern have pitched camp on the Audi Summer Tour USA 2016 they have been greeted by a huge wave of enthusiasm and passion. In Chicago. In Charlotte. In New York. In front of the team hotel and in Times Square. A crowd of some 45,000 attended the friendly match against AC Milan, 54,000 were there for the meeting with Inter – and when the German record champions take on Real Madrid at 19.30 local time (01:30 Thursday CEST) on Wednesday evening, the MetLife Stadium will be packed to its 82,000 capacity!
“For me, this is the evidence that these two clubs – along with FC Barcelona – enjoy huge international recognition,” commented Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, impressed with the commitment and devotion showed by the football community in the USA. “Lots of fans, excellent organisation, good stadiums. The team have put in a good shift,” Carlo Ancelotti declared some 24 hours prior to the third and final friendly on the tour. “I’m very pleased with the trip. Now we want to end the tour with a good game.”
