February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
O’Neill, who has taken the Bhoys to three Scottish Premiership titles among other honors in his four years at Parkhead, remained in Glasgow with his ailing wife but hopes to join up with his players after next Monday’s 8 p.m. clash with Liverpool at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
The Celtic-Chelsea showdown, kick-off 1 p.m., is one of 11 matches lined up in this year’s expanded ChampionsWorld Series involving nine of Europe’s biggest clubs and featuring several Irish stars.
Highlights include the Roy Keane-captained Manchester United in tussles against Bayern Munich in Chicago, Celtic in Philadelphia next Wednesday, and against Italian giants AC Milan at Giants Stadium on July 31.
There’s also an intriguing encounter between European champions FC Porto and Steve Finnan’s Liverpool at the SkyDome in Toronto on July 30, and a replay of the 1983 European Cup final between the “Reds” and AS Roma at the Meadowlands on Aug. 3.
Celtic, with Gaelic connections dating back to the club’s formation in 1888 by a Marist from Sligo, were expected in the United States yesterday with two Irish players of note on their books following the departure of midfield prospect Liam Miller to Manchester United.
These are former Northern Ireland midfielder Neil Lennon and teenage striker Aiden McGeady, who was recently capped by the Republic after making his first team debut for Celtic late last season.
The 18-year-old McGeady resisted several call-ups from Scotland, where he was born, before turning out for Ireland in last month’s 1-0 win over Jamaica in London. He qualified to play for Ireland through his grandparents and played for Brian Kerr at youth level.
With Henrik Larsson off to the warmer climes of Spain, McGeady has a chance to prove himself a viable replacement for the prolific scoring Swede.
DUFF CHALLENGE
Chelsea’s opener against Celtic could mark the first battle in Damien Duff’s bid to keep his starting position at Stamford Bridge under new manager Jose Mourinho, who has been chopping and changing the side he inherited from Claudio Ranieri.
Duff’s position on Chelsea’s left wing is under challenge from Dutch speed merchant Arjen Robben, who was Holland’s best player at Euro ’04. Morinho has said the position is the 25 year-old Duff’s to lose.
O’SHEA DOUBT
John O’Shea remains a question mark for Manchester, who are scheduled to arrive at their Philadelphia training base today.
The defender underwent knee surgery earlier this summer and did not report for United’s pre-season workout last week.
“I haven’t started back full training yet,” O’Shea told reporters last week. “I am still recovering from the small operation I had. With a bit of luck, I will make the American tour but I’m not sure just yet.”
With the imminent return of Rio Ferdinand from a lengthy ban and the signing of Argentine stopper Gabriel Heinze expected to heighten the fight for places in defense, the Waterford native is understandably eager to show Sir Alex Ferguson that he’s still up to snuff after a less than stellar 2003-2004 season.
O’Shea, who’s 23, was in the United squad that won all their four games in last year’s inaugural ChampionsWorld Series — defeating Celtic, 4-0; Club America of Mexico, 3-1; Juventus, 4-1, and Barcelona, 3-1.
KEANE & MILLER
Even if O’Shea doesn’t make the trip, Irish fans in the United State will still be able to feast their eyes on the skills of Roy Keane and the player some are touting as his heir-apparent at Old Trafford, Liam Miller.
Both Miller and another United newcomer, former Leeds United hothead Alan Smith are expected to get a lot of playing on the U.S. tour, and Keane is eager to see how the two youngsters shape up.
“Liam is a box-to-box player who knows where the goal is, while Alan is hungry to get success after what happened at Leeds last season,” the Corkman said last weekend.
TOUR SCHEDULE
This year’s Champions tour is an expansion of the crowd-pulling 2003 series, which featured seven teams and eight matches, with some teams playing just once and others like United playing four times.
Other participants this time around include Turkish side Galatasaray and former European champions AC Milan.
Said ChampionsWorld chief executive officer Charlie Stillitano: “We are excited to bring the ChampionsWorld Series here for a second year and to add new participants.”
The following is the complete schedule of matches (all times EST):
Celtic vs. Chelsea (Saturday, 1 p.m. — Seahawks Stadium, Seattle); Man. United vs. Bayern Munich (Sunday, 2 p.m. — Soldier Field, Chicago); Celtic vs. Liverpool (July 26, 8 p.m. — Rentschler Field, East Hartford).
Man. United vs. Celtic (July 28, 8 p.m. — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia); Chelsea vs. AS Roma (July 29, 8 p.m. — Heinz Field, Pittsburgh); FC Porto vs. Liverpool (July 30, 8 p.m. — SkyDome, Toronto); Man. United vs. AC Milan (July 31, 1 p.m. – Giants Stadium, New Jersey).
Celtic vs. AS Roma (July 31, 8 p.m. — SkyDome, Toronto); FC Porto vs. Galatasaray (Aug. 1, 2:45 p.m. — Giants Stadium); AC Milan vs. Chelsea (Aug. 2, 8 p.m. — Lincoln Financial Field; AS Roma vs. Liverpool (Aug. 3, 8 p.m. — Giants Stadium).
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