Suarez to star in Bangkok

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers promised a high-level performance against the Thai national team at Rajamangala National Stadium tomorrow, and said want-away striker Luis Suarez would play in the friendly.

The five-time European Cup winners arrived in the capital on Thursday night for the final stop of their pre-season tour of Asia, having bagged two straight wins, in Australia and Indonesia. 

Concern had been growing among Thai Liverpool fans that Suarez would not travel to Thailand, after strong rumours of a bidding war for the Uruguayan striker between Arsenal and Real Madrid. But the fears subsided when the Liverpool hitman stepped on to Thai soil smiling on Thursday, as hundreds of fans welcomed the team at the airport.

Rodgers guaranteed that Suarez would play tomorrow, despite his lack of fitness after a long break to recover from his Confederation Cup exertions.

“He still hasn’t got enough of fitness. He’s three weeks’ behind other players. But one thing about Luis is he loves to play the game, he loves training and working. I’m sure at some stage of the game, he will play a part,” said the Reds manager.

The chances of seeing Suarez in Bangkok action grew further yesterday when club managing director Ian Are denied rumours the player was set to be offloaded to the Gunners.

“The situation with Luis Suarez remains the same. It has never been our intention to sell Luis as has been widely reported in the media. We have received two separate offers from Arsenal for the player. And we rejected both offers. So our situation remains the same. Luis remains a Liverpool player and he’s here with us in Thailand and he’s part of our club,” Are insisted.

Fans are likely to see a strong Liverpool line-up this weekend, in what will be their first appearance here since a 1-1 draw against a Thai team in 2009.

“We will send all the players to the game, as we have done so far [on this trip]. It is very important for all the players to get the chance to play. We probably won’t make [as many] substitutions as we did in previous games, so maybe some players will get to play 90 minutes. It is very important for us to play against a very good team. Thailand won their last game 5-1 against China with a fantastic performance,” said Rodgers, who added he was pleased with his side’s preparation for the upcoming season.

“As regards the players, they have been brilliant since the first day we came back to train. I asked them to reclaim the mentality and the focus we had in the second part of last season. Focusing and looking at every detail of individual players’ preparations has allowed us to have near enough a fully fit squad every day that we have trained.”

Rodgers also joined team captain Steven Gerrard in paying respect to Their Majesties the King and Queen with a visit to Siriraj Hospital yesterday, while former player Robbie Fowler took part in an activity for children at the Bangkok School for the Blind. 

Today, after a meet & greet session at the same school, the team will join up for a public training session at Rajamangala Stadium at 5pm. Tomorrow’s friendly against Thailand will kick off at 5.40pm, with live coverage on Channel 3.

“I want to say a massive thank-you on behalf of the club. Thailand is a wonderful country and even when we are back in England we will never forget [Thais’] support and loyalty for the football club. Every game for Liverpool football club is really important, whether it’s a friendly, a league or a Cup game. 

“We will play at a good level. We look forward to getting minutes on the field for as many players as possible,” Rodgers said.