Revealed: Liverpool summer tour to take in Far East and Europe
Liverpool will only play two matches in Asia this summer as part of a shortened pre-season tour.
The Reds will visit Shanghai and Hong Kong in July to take part in the Premier League’s Asia Trophy.
However, unlike 2013 and 2015, a trip to Australia won’t be part of their schedule.
Jurgen Klopp has been heavily involved in the drawing up of plans ahead of the 2017-18 season and didn’t want his players burdened with too much travelling prior to the new campaign.
As a result Liverpool’s stay in the Far East will last just five or six days.
The Reds will also fly to Europe for a week-long training camp. Various options are being explored but Germany is the most likely destination.
The fact that Liverpool’s 2017 tour will be so short is a sign of the influence Klopp has across the board, especially considering that another trip Down Under or a third stop off in Asia would have been highly lucrative.
Last year the Reds spent 12 days in America where they played three matches in Pasadena, Santa Clara and St Louis.
In 2015 Liverpool played four games in Bangkok, Brisbane, Adelaide and Kuala Lumpur during a fortnight-long tour.
When the Reds fly off in July it will be the club’s first trip to Hong Kong since 2007 when Rafa Benitez’s side faced Portsmouth and South China.
Their last visit to China was in 2011 when Kenny Dalglish’s men beat Guandgdong Sunray Cave 4-3 in Guangzhou.
The Asia Trophy is set to involve three Premier League clubs as well as Hong Kong’s domestic champions and Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG with Klopp’s side topping the bill.
The schedule has yet to be confirmed but matches are expected to take place on July 20 and July 22.
Klopp confirmed to the ECHO back in December that Liverpool would tour the Far East this summer.
“The target of a camp is always that you go there in one shape and you come back in a better shape. You go there as a good team and you come back as a better team,” Klopp said.
“There are also a lot of Liverpool fans in the USA so it made sense that we went there. Like it makes sense that in 2017 we go to Asia. I have no problem with this.”
Liverpool legends Jason McAteer, Luis Garcia, Patrik Berger, Sami Hyypia and Vladimir Smicer are flying to Hong Kong next month to meet supporters as part of a four-day LFC World event.
Source: Liverpool Echo
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