Los Angeles, July 27: About 2,500 Manchester United football fans turned out in Los Angeles to see the team prepare for a friendly match against Club America. About 2,500 Manchester United football fans turned out in Los Angeles Saturday (July 26) to see the team prepare for a friendly match against Club America. Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, Ricardo, Diego Forlan and other all-stars drew hearty cheers from the crowd that included a wide spectrum of fans from Europe, the United States, and Latin America. The team is fresh from a stop in Seattle where they defeated Celtic 4-0. At a press conference before the practice, manager Alex Ferguson looked ahead to the match against some of Latin America's best players. "We don't know a lot about the Mexican side," Ferguson admitted. "We know some of their players. From my experience of playing against the Mexican team three years ago in the world championships in Rio de Janeiro, (it) tells you it's a good level of people in Mexico. So I think it will be quite competitive."


Ferguson also addressed the hot topic of his team's failure to sign Brazilian star Ronaldinho.


"Well, in a way, it was a disappointment, but it's happened in the past. That doesn't mean that Manchester will fold up and die. We'll carry on as we've normally done," he said.


Manchester United will face the Mexican team Club America as part of the Champions World series soccer tour on Sunday (July 27).


Bureau Report