Real Madrid USA Tour (2014 Summer)

For the sixth consecutive summer, Real Madrid will spend part of their pre-season in the United States. The reigning European champions will come face to face with a huge amount of fans in a country where football is growing at an rapid rate, as was shown during the 2014 World Cup. 

Carlo Ancelotti's side will travel to the USA on 21 July to participate in the second edition of the International Champions Cup, of which they are the reigning champions. Between 27 July and 2 August, they will face Inter, Roma and Manchester United. If they get through to the final, they will play a fourth game on Tuesday 5 August at 02:00h in Spain (Monday 4, 20:00 local time) at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami. 

Eight European sides of great tradition

Following the success of its inaugural edition, the International Champions Cup will once again bring eight European heavyweights, spread over two groups, together. Real Madrid, along with Inter, Roma and Manchester United, make up Group A, whilst Group B sees Liverpool, Manchester City, Olympiacos and AC Milan face off. The winners of each group will play the final.

The Whites will make their bow on Sunday 27 July at 0:10 Spanish time (Saturday 26, 15:10 local time) against Inter Milan in Berkeley. Three days later, on Wednesday 30 (03:40h in Spain, 20:40 local time), the Whites take on Roma in Dallas. The final group game will be played on Saturday 2 August (22:06 in Spain, 16:06 local time) in Ann Arbor against Manchester United.

Real Madrid attracted numerous fans on their former visits to America, but this tour, that will take them to California, Texas and Michigan could well top them all. Their three games are to be played at high capacity stadiums with lots of history. 
 
 

The game against Inter will be played on the campus at the University of California, Berkeley, an institute of over 30,000 students based in the Bay of Oakland, San Francisco. The Memorial Stadium, where the university's American football side plays, was constructed in 1923 and can hold 62,467 spectators. 

The second game will be played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, one of the 1994 World Cup venues and was the home ground of MLS side FC Dallas until 2005. The stadium, which was built in 1930, was recently renovated and hosts 92,100 spectators. They will face Roma, who were runners up in Italy last season and a potential rival for the upcoming Champions League campaign. 

The tie against a United side containing Spaniards De Gea, Mata and Ander Herrera will be played on the American football pitch at the University of Michigan (more than 40,000 students go to study there each year) in Ann Arbor, in the west of Detroit. Built in 1927, the Michigan Stadium is the country's largest ground, with a capacity of 109,901. The tickets that went on general sale for this game sold out in a day. The record attendance for a football match in America (101,799) was the final of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics between France and Brazil, but this game could smash that record.