Contrary to what many fans believe, this is not the same outfit that the Reds competed against two summers ago when Coutinho scored that delicious solo effort. That day, LFC competed against the Thai National Team, whereas the True Thai Premier League All Stars are a selection of Thai Premier League players from various clubs, such as Bangkok Glass and Osotspa. The True Thai Premier League All Stars have competed in annual exhibition matches since 2008; some top European clubs, such as Manchester City and Athletico Madrid, have been the opponents over the years. The aim for this match was to get rid of any cobwebs the players may have picked up over the summer break and improve the players’ fitness, while also giving some of the new boys a run out after the dpearture of Raheem Sterling. Divock Origi scored his first goal for the club, alongside goals from Larza Markovic, Mamadou Sakho and Adam Lallana.
The Reds now head to Australia where they will compete against Brisbane Roar, a decent outfit who finished 6th in the Australian top-flight – A-League – in the 2014/15 campaign. The last time Liverpool visited Australia was in the same set of fixtures as the game against the Thai National Team mentioned above. On that last outing down-under, the Reds competed against Melbourne Victory, and the reception from the Australian fans was exceptional: a stunning rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone was performed, and an apt banner in the crowd read – ‘Anfield Down Under’. This was a fitting description, let’s hope the atmosphere is as good when we face Brisbane Roar. ‘The Roar’ will certainly provide a tough test for Brendan Rodger’s men, with some impressive achievements in their recent history, including being the first, and only, team to win back-to-back A-League Championships, and holding the record for the longest unbeaten run of any Australian top-flight team, with an unbeaten streak lasting 36 matches.
The fixture against Brisbane Roar is not the only match the Reds will compete in during their stay in Australia, with a game scheduled against Adelaide United, which will be another difficult contest, with Southern Australia’s only side finishing third in the A-League in the previous season. United ended the inaugural 2006-06 A-League as Premiers, and went on to finish third in the finals. They were also runners-up in the 2006-07 and 2008-09 campaigns. Other honours include the 2014 FFA Cup, and an excellent run in the 2008 Asian AFC Champions League, with United eventually finishing runners-up.
Once Liverpool depart Australia they then head for Malaysia, with a match set-up versus a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur. This team is similar to that of the The True Thai Premier League All Stars, in so far as it is a group of Malaysian League players who are selected for exhibition matches, not the same as the Malaysian National Team, who represent the country in FIFA International ‘A’ matches. Liverpool have actually competed against a Malaysian Select-team previously, with the Reds winning the game 6-3. Two summers ago the Reds played an Indonesian XI, also winning the game, 2-0 on that particular occasion. Let’s hope we can keep up the good displays and victories against select-teams this summer.
The match against the Malaysian select-squad is the last of the Asian-Oceanic visit, before Liverpool head back to Europe for an exciting fixture against HJK Helsinki, Finland’s most decorated club, with 27 League Titles, 12 Finnish Cups and 5 Finnish League Cups; the Finnish Liverpool, one may say. HJK Helsinki are also the only Finnish club to have competed in the Champions League Group Stages and also recored a 13-0 aggregate win against Welsh champions Bangor City in the early qualifying rounds of the 2011-12 competition. Liverpool have history with HJK Helsinki, with the Reds competing against the Finnish side in the second round of the 1982-83 European Cup; Liverpool won the 2-legged fixture comfortably, 5-1 being the final aggregate score-line. August’s fixture against the current Finnish champions is keeping in trend with our annual visits to Scandinavia, with the Reds competing against Brøndby FC of Denmark last summer (Daniel Agger’s current team) and Vålerenga of Norway the previous pre-season. This game will provide a decent test for Liverpool, given HJK Helsinki are consistent performers domestically and have qualified for European competitions on various occasions.
After competing against the Finnish champions, Brendan Rodger’s men are set for a final pre-season match versus Swindon Town; the game being scheduled for the day after the HJK Helsinki match, maybe this will be re-arranged? Regardless, the league 1 outfit will provide stern opposition for the Reds, and will hopefully re-acclimitise the squad with the pace and intensity of the English game after competing in various countries throughout Asia, Oceania and Europe. Swindon Town finished 4th in the 2014/15 League One campaign, hence the game could have a competitive edge, especially if Liverpool decide to field young players, as is likely.
This pre-season is an important one for Liverpool, with at-least six new signings – and others likely – harmonising the squad and building up team chemistry is crucial. The fixtures, broadly speaking, are similar to those of two summers ago, due to the fact we are visiting some of the same countries we did then. That pre-season galvanised the squad and allowed the Reds to pursue the league title, ultimately finishing 2nd. Hopefully this pre-season can be an equally effective platform for us to project ourselves from and attempt to emulate the success of that season; perhaps with a bit of luck we could go a step further, as a Liverpool fan, hope is essential at the beginning of the season.
Check out Forzared's blog here
