Neville Approves of Asia Tour

By David Hobbs
July 21 2005

Gary Neville has stated the physically-demanding conditions of Asia make the continent a perfect place to warm up for the forthcoming football season.

The Red Devils kick off their tour with a game against the Hong Kong national side before facing Beijing Hyundai in China on July 26th. Games against Urawa Reds and Kashima Antlers in Japan concludes the tour, a schedule that is approved by the England international. United have already recorded victories against Clyde and Peterborough. 

"With the conditions, usually you can't breathe and Asia is the toughest tour for us football-wise and travelling-wise," he explained. "But I think it sets you up nicely for the season because if you can play in that heat, when you come back home and play in what we would regard as good conditions to play football, you obviously feel a lot better. It's just a matter of getting through it.

Both Neville and United have taken part in a tour of Asia in recent years and claims the support in the continent is fantastic. "The support is unbelievable. You can have thousands of people just literally camping outside the hotel," the 30-year-old continued. 

"We had training sessions on the last tour where there were 55-60,000 people just watching us train.

David Hobbs - Webmaster
[david@manutdweb.com]