The International Champions Cup

2009: Chelsea
2011: Real Madrid
2012: no winner(!)
2013: Real Madrid
2014: Liverpool

I've wondered here from time to time about where the elite clubs go next, on basis that there's too much money involved for them to be happy long-term making nice with Swansea or Huelva. I never really noticed this thing before, but it seems like it could turn into a sort-of club world cup thing if the big clubs really wanted it to, with a better turnout and calendar than the fifa thing, and for serious bank.

Obviously it's just friendlies at the moment, but has it got legs?

Liverpool haven't actually won this yet. The final is tonight.

2012 had no winner coz it seems they forgot to have any kind of actual tournament format: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_World_Football_Challenge

Also, you seem to be talking about the "World Football Challenge" in 2009/11. Which, indeed, had no winner or any discernible structure in 2012.

I hate myself for being interested in this pre-season bollocks. I normally try not to pay attention until October, especially after a Euro/WC.

xp

shd have an all purpose thread for pretend competitions tbh

You've got me looking up Texaco Cup results now (Everton 0-1 Hearts, 18/9/73 - should've just stopped there.)

Yeah, guilty of conflating the two to give this some barely-deserved heritage. Though it does indicate some kind of viable idea there, when there's more big boys turning up year-on-year.

Mostly I'm impressed by the pics from Ann Arbor though - it looked almost like the white horse final the way everything was packed in.

Oh, and I think we can agree that Liverpool are the moral victors, regardless of what happens tonight.

http://wpmedia.sports.nationalpost.com/2014/08/morecrowd.jpg

stadium can hold more people than the population of the town it's in, btw
i had season tickets right near the top right corner of the scoreboard. it was actually kind of dull for how big it was and how obsessed with footbally the school/town is.

I expect you've seen the version of this Getty Images pic that was printed in Marca? All the red shirts magically turned to white.

that's Utd fans for you, one season under Moyes was all it took

awesome 1-3 moral victory for liverpool last night

I'm sorry but the engravers have set it in silver already