Sir Alex Ferguson believes that football is starting to get popular in the United States with the Manchester United manager expecting a competitive edge on their upcoming matches as they leave Monday for their Chicago training base.
The US was able to hold England to a World Cup draw and Ferguson is convinced that the Major League Soccer standard is better than ever.
Ferguson stated that American soccer is starting to make an impact and that he had commented before the World Cup that the US team were going to play like the athletes that top football players in England are.
He continued to say that this is also the way that American football players are, athletic and fit with a good feel for the pitch. Ferguson explained that he can see the improvement throughout the MLS and has spoken to many people over the last few months about this fact and seen an upsurge in the excitement around it.
Darren Fletcher, Edwin van der Sar, and Dimitar Berbatov will be travelling to the United States along with many youngsters which include Fulham’s former defender Chris Smalling.
Ferguson added that winning is the challenge in front of the team but at the same time the idea is to get everyone a chance to play so that when they come back they are prepared for the season.
United will play against Philadelphia Union on July 21st at the Lincoln Financial Field followed by a match in four days at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Wizards. They will finish out their United States tour in Houston playing the MLS All-Stars on July 28th.