The friendly tournament will not stop in Quebec in 2012
Only two games are labelled WFC so far, including the July 21 ‘Battle of Reds’ at the Rogers Centre, but we can already say that Montreal will not be on the itinerary this summer.
In order to put all its eggs in the same basket in their inaugural MLS season, Montreal Impact’s management preferred to skip its turn where as three European clubs were knocking at the Olympic Stadium doors to play in Montreal in their off-season.
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Montreal’s reputation is made as a soccer hub within European circles and SoccerPlus has learned that Portuguese clubs Benfica, FC Porto wanted to drop by to face each other or the Impact. Also, based on a very positive visit in 2010, AC Milan also was in line to cross the Atlantic to face the Impact at the Big O. Montreal’s decision was both a question of priority, but also a monetary issue since the coming of European visitors comes with a hefty price tag.
On Thursday evening, the Impact responded to this report saying the door was still open for an international match to be played, but that it was too premature at this point to identify any foreign opposition.
The World Football Challenge was created in 2009 with the two Milanese sides, Chelsea and Club America of Mexico played six games in a round-robin tournament in Atlanta, Baltimore, Foxboro, Dallas and the California cities of Palo Alto and Pasadena. The London side won its three matches to prevail.
The organizers chose not to go ahead with a second edition in 2010 with the presentation of the South African FIFA World Cup.
In 2011, another format was adopted with a move to 13 clubs, including five MLS sides (Vancouver, New England, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles), but also the two Manchester giants, Juventus, Sporting, Barcelona, Real Madrid as well as Club America and Guadalajara from Mexico. The foreign teams each played three games while the results from the five MLS clubs were brought under MLS East (PHI, NE & CHI) and MLS West (LA & VAN). Real Madrid and Manchester United each won their three games, but the Spaniards topped the English side on goal difference (7-6).
With the announced participation of Toronto FC and Seattle, let’s assume the 2012 edition will be similar to last year’s event.
2012 WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGE
July 18 – Chelsea vs Sounders (CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA)
July 21 – Liverpool vs Toronto FC (Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON)
OTHER UNASSIGNED INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES
May 23 – Valence vs Timbers (Jeld-Wen Field, Portland, OR)
May 31 – Valence vs Dynamo (BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, TX)
July 21 – Aston Villa vs Fire (Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL)
July 24 – Tottenham vs Galaxy (Home Depot Center, Carson, CA)
July 24 – Aston Villa vs Timbers (Jeld-Wen Field, Portland, OR)
July 25 – Liverpool vs AS Roma (Fenway Park, Boston, MA)
July 31 – Tottenham vs RedBulls (RedBull Arena, Harrison, NJ)