Big-time soccer made its way to Minnesota on Saturday in a match between international powerhouses Manchester City and Olympiakos, and the event could be described as a positive result all around.
Many stops on the Guinness International Champions Cup have drawn better crowds — a match at the Big House in Michigan sold out more than 100,000 tickets in a day — but the announced attendance at TCF Bank Stadium of 34,047 was hailed as a "great start with the relationships in the soccer community" by Lester Bagley, a Vikings vice president.
The Vikings, who helped promote the match, and another local group headed by Minnesota United FC owner Bill McGuire — his Loons, who play in the second-tier North American Soccer League, had a league match at the Bank as the second game of the doubleheader — are both vying for a potential Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Minnesota.
Though Saturday's international match was ostensibly a friendly — a tuneup for both English Premier League club Manchester City and Olympiakos from Greece's top pro league as they prepare for their seasons to begin shortly — the world-class nature of the players was evident.
Concerns about the natural grass surface — installed over the artificial surface normally used at the stadium by an outside firm, not the University of Minnesota — threatened the quality of play and the health of players but ultimately the event was a success.
After Olympiakos outlasted Manchester City on penalty kicks, Olympiakos midfielder Pajtim Kasami spoke about the match and the Guinness Cup with the Star Tribune's Michael Rand and other reporters:
Q Are you looking forward to the new season?
A It's been a very long trip in America. Everyone is very tired and everyone looks forward to going back to Europe and preparing for our first game.
