Thai fans can expect stars of the future for Liverpool's July visit
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English Premier League giants Liverpool are relishing another injection of "unparalleled" passion from Thai fans as they gear up to return to the country for an exhibition match in July.
The Merseyside club’s last Thailand visit four years ago saw the Reds given a rapturous reception by local fans. This time round sponsors Standard Chartered Bank are aiming to ensure they gain a similar impression when they return for a friendly against Thailand on July 28 at Rajamangala National Stadium.
“As the club’s official partner, we are very excited to welcome Liverpool to Thailand between July 26 and 28. This will be the first time the club has visited Thailand since Standard Chartered became their official sponsor in 2010.
“In 2009 they got a fantastic reception from their 14 million fans here. Thailand boasts one of the club’s biggest fan bases anywhere.
“Thai fans’ passion and loyalty to the club are unrivalled in most places around the world. That’s why we’re so excited that both the fans but also our customers will get the chance to meet their football heroes,” said Lyn Kok, CEO of Standard Chartered (Thailand), at a packed press conference for the Reds trip yesterday.
July will mark the first Thai visit for many members of the club, including manager Brendan Rodgers, who is eager to experience the passion for Liverpool here.
“I’m really looking forward to take the team to play yet again in Thailand. We’re looking forward to seeing all our supporters in Bangkok.
“I’ve talked with people here about their previous experience of the Asia tour. None realised the level of support we had in those countries, so I’m really interested to see that for the first time. It’s a pleasure to bring the club to this part of the world,” said the former Swansea boss during a video interview shown yesterday.
While aiming to devote as much time as possible to their fans during their brief stay, Liverpool are also hoping to give fans a sneak peek at the next generation of Reds players, while introducing the youngsters to Thai supporters.
“We have some new young players in the squad,” said Matthew Baxter, Liverpool chief media officer. “We have some great talents. We want to bring people within the squad who have never been to Thailand before, so they can experience the passion here. It is like nothing else in the world.
“We’ve introduced some new players to the fans here before and we’re really looking to doing that again. And, getting to engage with the fans as much as we can while we’re here is very important, to leave a sustainable legacy behind. So the young players and the fan engagement is really key for us.”
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard missed the trip last time due to a court case, but Reds legend Ian Rush, the club’s ambassador, promised that all of the big-name players would be included in this year’s travelling party.
“There’s such a great fan base in Thailand. We also realise that not many [Thai] people can get to Liverpool. So, what we have to do is bring the team to them. From my point of view, if the players are available, they all will be on the tour, because everyone wants to see the likes of [Luis] Saurez, Gerrard and other top players,” said the former Welsh striker.
With the club caught in another storm over Luis Saurez’s latest misdemeanour on the pitch after the Uruguay forward bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in Sunday’s match at Anfield, Rush gave his backing to the player.
“I think the first thing is he apologised right after the game. Now, he has been charged by the FA. We take it from there. The club will deal with this internally. It’s what Liverpool is all about. They deal with things internally. For me, the good thing is the apology,” said Rush.
Tickets for the July 28 match start at Bt500 and go on sale on May 4 at Thaiticketmajor.com.
