Manchester United continued their close season preparations with a visit to Nike’s World Headquarters in Portland, Oregon. The Red Devils boarded a short flight from their current base in Seattle, Washington State to travel to Beaverton, Washington County. The 2011 US Tour is already becoming a success, with just one match of five played to date. United’s next game against Seattle Sounders, on Wednesday, will attract nearly 70,000 spectators.
After many sponsorship events within Seattle, the squad headed for arguably the best sports campus on the planet – Nike World HQ – stretched out upon 192 acres. Sir Alex Ferguson, staff and players spend most of Monday using the facilities, which included artificial AstroTurf pitches, gyms, swimming pools and indoor fields. New signing David De Gea took part in his first training session with goalkeeping coach Eric Steele, who spoke to him en Espanol.
Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck also attended, having arrived in America over the weekend. United play The Sounders at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, before flying to Chicago, Illinois on Thursday morning (US time) ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. United’s airline partner is Turkish Airlines, while DHL are providing ground transport and logistical support. It’s a team sport !