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LOS ANGELES. — The World Cup party may be over, but the summer of soccer is just heating up in the United States as fans prepare for a European invasion by the sport’s glamour clubs looking to expand their brand. From New York to Los Angeles, some of the game’s brightest stars and most valuable teams will spend the next three weeks packing America’s biggest stadiums with the highlight coming on August 2 when a record crowd of 110 000 — the largest ever to watch a soccer game in the United States — is expected to fill Michigan Stadium to see Real Madrid take on Manchester United.

European clubs big and small will cross the Atlantic looking for a piece of the American pie with giants like Real Madrid, recently rated the world’s most valuable sporting franchise by Forbes at US$3.44 billion, Manchester United and Bayern Munich joined by more modest outfits such as Crystal Palace and Fulham.

Teams that once looked upon the US as a soccer wasteland now arrive in waves, keen to broker sponsorship deals and partnerships allowing them to tap into new revenue streams that will provide the financial might to make blockbuster moves like Real’s signing on Tuesday of Colombia’s World Cup’s Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez in a deal worth US$107.9 million.

“Some clubs like Manchester United figured this out a long time go,” Charlie Stillitano, CEO of Relevent Sports, the company that put together the International Champions Cup that will feature eight of Europe’s biggest clubs said.

“These teams were very aggressive (about North America) when it was hard to get them to come here, you had to pay them a lot of money and convince them to come here.

“A lot of it was because there wasn’t really any commercial element. A lot of these teams felt that travel and pre-season were not conducive to a good season on the field.

“Now it’s about how they can activate their sponsors, how they can sell merchandise, the commercial side goes hand-in-hand with the team, the football.”

There will be a game for every soccer taste on this summer’s menu in the United States, ranging from Italian rivals AC and Inter Milan to Greek champions Olympiakos. English Premier League fans will not be disappointed either with United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur leading the British invasion.

According to the US Soccer Federation, the US is now the largest market in the world for international matches and this summer’s lineup is sure to have the turnstiles swirling with soccer A-listers such as Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo, AC Milan’s Mario Balotelli and United’s Wayne Rooney taking centre stage.

The American appetite for top international soccer seems almost insatiable with fans and sponsors lining up to get in on the action.
Guinness will be the title sponsor for the International Champions Cup, an eight-team tournament that will kick off in Toronto today when Olympiakos take on AC Milan and end on August 4 with the winners of the two groups meeting in Miami.

Car maker Audi has signed on as sponsor for Bayern Munich’s visit which is being promoted as the Audi Football Summit and will see the Bundesliga champions challenge the Major League Soccer All-Stars on August 6 in Portland, Oregon — Reuters.