Ticket sales for the Philadelphia Union’s World Football Challenge match against Real Madrid at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday have eclipsed 50,000.
Seats are still available for the 9:00 p.m. contest at philadelphiaunion.com, PhiladelphiaEagles.com, Ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 800-745-3000.
"We are at 50,000 tickets sold and significantly more than the other two markets Real Madrid has played in on this US tour,” said Union CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz. “It’s no surprise because we have the best soccer fans in the country, evident by our success at PPL Park for Union games.
“A big credit goes to the Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie and Joe Banner for their tremendous efforts in bringing this game to Lincoln Financial Field,” Sakiewicz added. “It’s great for the all the fans and for the Tri-State area."
After beating English Premier League club Everton, 1-0, on Wednesday, Real Madrid will represent the fifth international match in the Union’s brief history. The Major League Soccer Eastern Conference leaders are 3-1-0, beating Everton, Celtic FC and Chivas Guadalajara, while losing to Manchester United 1-0 at Lincoln Financial Field last year.
Voted by FIFA as the best European club of the 20th century, Real Madrid earned 4-1 and 3-0 victories in their first two matches of the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge, against the LA Galaxy and Chivas Guadalajara, respectively. Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has scored four goals in his club’s first two games of the tournament, including all three against Chivas.
Founded in 1902, Real Madrid C.F. have won a record nine UEFA Champions Leagues and 31 La Liga titles, 18 Spanish Copa del Rey Cups, eight Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Cups, one UEFA Supercup and three Intercontinental Cups. Real Madrid defeated their archrival F.C. Barcelona 1-0 in overtime to win their 18th Copa del Rey on April 20.
Managed by 2010 FIFA World Coach of the Year José Mourinho, Madrid boasts some of the world’s top stars, including reigning FIFA World Cup champions Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos, as well as internationals Ronaldo, Kaká, Mesut Özil, Karim Benzema and Emmanuel Adebayor.
Ronaldo recently became just the second player in Spanish football history to score 50 goals in a season when he accomplished the feat against Villarreal on May 14, 2011. With 38 of his 51 goals coming in league play, he only needs one more to break the all-time La Liga record, which he currently shares with Hugo Sánchez and Telmo Zarra.
No comments:
Post a Comment