Today Manchester United announced the full traveling roster for the upcoming North American preseason tour. Included in the list are a host of legendary players like Ryan Giggs, English standouts Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, as well as Darren Fletcher, Dimitar Berbatov, and Edwin Van der Sar. The squad even includes a few up and coming names.
The traveling squad will be:
Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak, Ben Amos
Defenders: John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Rafael, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Fabio, Tom Cleverley, Ritchie De Laet, Corry Evans
Midfielders: Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher, Darron Gibson, Nani, Gabriel Obertan
Forwards: Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez, Mame Biram Diouf.
This is by no means Manchester United's starting full-strength squad, but it does include a number of players who are, or have been, regular contributors during their last few title-winning seasons.
There are some notable omissions, though, which are the result of injuries and World Cup recovery time. These include: Wayne Rooney (World Cup), Antonio Valencia (injury), Rio Ferdinand (injury), Nemanja Vidic (World Cup), Gary Neville (injury), Park Ji-Sung (World Cup), Owen Hargreaves (injury), Anderson (injury), Michael Carrick (World Cup), Patrice Evra (World Cup), and Michael Owen (injury).
There are conflicting reports on whether Gary Neville will participate in the tour or will stay home to recover from injuries.
The 2009 English Premier League champion Manchester United will face the MLS All-Stars in the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at Reliant Stadium, in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday, July 28 (live on ESPN2 and TeleFutura at 8:30 p.m. ET). The game marks the last stop of the tour, which also includes matches against Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union (July 21 in Philadelphia) and Kansas City Wizards (July 25 in Kansas City), along with Scottish power Celtic FC (July 16 in Toronto).
Led by Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United is one of the most recognized clubs in the world, lifting a total of 18 English Premier League titles, four Carling cups, three European Cups and a record 11 FA Cups. In 1999, United were the first team to win the Treble (English Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League) in one season. Founded in 1878, the Red Devils have competed in the top division of English soccer since 1938, with the exception of the 1974-1975 season.
MANCHESTER UNITED 2010 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULE
July 16: Manchester United vs. Celtic FC
July 21: Manchester United vs. Philadelphia Union
July 25: Manchester United vs. Kansas City Wizards
July 28: 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game vs. Manchester United
July 30: Manchester United vs. Chivas Guadalajara