Qin Xiong's holiday was over. During his trip to Australia, he taught his son, Qin Ye, two swimming styles. One was freestyle and the other was backstroke. As for the breaststroke, Qin Ye knew how to swim from the day he learned how to swim.
He first sent his family back to Liverpool, and then returned to China. His first stop would be Beijing, the capital of China.
The Liverpool team's arrival in China's capital was a scene of a sellout crowd. Fans gathered outside the airport to welcome the arrival of Liverpool.
Looking around, the city was full of Red Army uniforms!
The Chinese fans wore Liverpool jerseys to warmly welcome the visit of the European champions.
Qin Xiong could finally have a part of his superstar status.
After all, Qin Xiong was the captain of the China national team. He appeared in front of the local fans more often, and the domestic football news could not be separated from Qin Xiong every week.
Liverpool's other star players, such as Gerard, Alonso, new signing Thiago Silva, and so on, were obviously different. Their appearance in China made the fans crazy.
The Red Army Liverpool team was preparing for the summer friendly at the Bird's Nest. During the open training session, the atmosphere of the team was very relaxed. Qin Xiong and the new signings Thiago Silva and Cabaye talked and laughed. They also compared their skills with each other, which made the reporters on the sidelines very excited.
This time, Liverpool was not the only team to come to Asia. Aston Villa, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur were also there.
It was called a warm-up tournament for the Premier League Asia Cup.
The four teams were divided into groups and drew lots to play in the knockout stage.
Liverpool's preparation for the new season was relatively easy. They came to China to gain popularity, participate in some sponsor activities, play two warm-up games, and then leave.
The first warm-up game was between Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Comain did not send out the main players in the starting lineup. He let some young players and substitutes play in the first half.
As a result, Liverpool was led by Aston Villa 2: 0 in the first half of the warm-up game.
Comain brought on Qin Xiong, Gerard, and Suárez during halftime.
After these three players entered the field, they cooperated with Cabaye, Baines, Kuyt and the other players who were originally on the field. They gradually turned the tables around and scored three goals in a row within 30 minutes of the second half of the game.
This was actually just a warm-up game. Even the opponent, Aston Villa, did not go all out. Liverpool eventually won the game with a score of 4: 3.
Although it was a pre-season friendly, the British media was also paying attention to Liverpool's preparation.
Cabaye had yet to fully integrate into Liverpool, while Tiago Silva's performance was considered average. After all, it was just a friendly match, so the expectations could not be too high.
Three days later, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur played the final of the Premier League Asia Cup at the National Bird's Nest Stadium.
In this game, Liverpool first sent their main players to play and ravaged Tottenham Hotspur as if they were cutting melons and vegetables. In the second half, they sent in the substitutes to observe the performance.
In the end, Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur with a score of 4: 2.
After earning eyeballs and huge financial returns from their trip to China, Liverpool immediately went to the United States.
Starting in 2009, in order to expand the North American market, a friendly tournament named the International Champions League would be held in the United States in the summer.
Due to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the International Champions League was not held last year.
In the summer of 2011, the well-known powerhouses of Europe came to the United States to play a warm-up game together for the pre-season preparation.
The participating teams included Manchester United and Liverpool in the Premier League, Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga, Juventus in Serie A, and Benfica in the Portuguese Superliga.
There were also teams in the United States such as the Los Angeles Galaxy, Vancouver Whitecaps, and other teams in the United States that formed the United States Eastern Coalition and the United States Western Coalition. There were also traditional powerhouses in North America and Mexico, America and Guadalajara.
There was a clear hierarchy between the participating teams. It could be said that there was a difference between the strong and the weak.
Although there were many participating teams, they adopted a grouping system. Some teams would not meet each other. At the same time, each team had to play three games.
Liverpool's three games were against the Eastern United, Juventus, and Real Madrid in the United States.
Comain was very satisfied with such a tournament. On the one hand, it could help the team increase their income. On the other hand, it also made the warm-up more meaningful.
The promotional poster for the new season of the Premier League in the United States had been released. In New York's Times Square, a huge poster of Qin Xiong wearing a Liverpool shirt landed in New York and became an important star for the Premier League to expand the United States market.
Under such stimulation, Qin Xiong's Liverpool naturally received more attention from the American fans. Of course, although the Americans enjoyed the game in a very leisurely and relaxed manner, Liverpool still showed great sincerity in participating.
In the first game against the New England Revolution in the Eastern United States, Liverpool went on a killing spree.
Qin Xiong scored a hat-trick, Suárez scored twice, and the new signing, Cabaye, also scored a long shot after coming on as a substitute.
Liverpool defeated the American team with a score of 6: 0, allowing the American audience to see what the top level of European football was like!
The second game was a warm-up game against Juventus. Liverpool's goal in the game was to break in the team.
The pace of the game became slower. Although Juventus had improved their strength year by year after returning to Serie A, there was still a clear gap between them and the top teams in Europe.
In the slow confrontation with Liverpool, Liverpool gained the advantage in the game with more patience, calmness, and a richer offensive approach.
At the end of the game, Raúl and Thiago Silva's goals helped Liverpool defeat Juventus by 2: 0.
The last game was against Real Madrid, which could be called the finale.
The Real Madrid led by Mourinho was completely different from the Real Madrid that Qin Xiong played for. It was beyond recognition.
Real Madrid, which used to carry the offensive flag and pursue offensive football, had been subverted.
It was replaced by Mourinho's philosophy of defense and utility.
It was a match between Real Madrid and Liverpool, and it was a showdown between the two teams.
Real Madrid's defensive counterattack was strong, and Liverpool's ability to break through dense defenses was at its peak. The two teams showed their strengths in the game of restriction and counter-restriction. Perhaps it was not as one-sided as the previous two games, but it brought the fans another kind of confrontation to watch.
In the game, Ronaldo relied on the counterattack to burst Johnson on the left flank and scored two goals.
On the Liverpool side, Qin Xiong was not to be outdone. In addition to making Casillas lose face with a set piece ball, he and Gerard's combination of hitting the wall and breaking through Ramos in front of the penalty area and then pushing to break through the goal.
Qin Xiong, who also scored twice, used a long shot at the last moment of the game to create defensive chaos in front of Real Madrid's goal. In the midst of the chaos, Suárez shot the ball into the goal.
Liverpool defeated Real Madrid by a score of 3: 2 and ended the International Champions League with three consecutive victories. They surpassed Manchester United on goal difference to win the title of the tournament!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
