Thursday, May 31, 2007

LiverpooL Confirmed Playing Tournament In Holland

Liverpool Football Club officially confirmed that they will be entering the 2007 Port of Rotterdam Tournament in Holland this summer.

The Reds will play two games in August as part of their pre-season preparations on a weekend that sees teams from four of the biggest port cities in the world compete in Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe.

On Friday August 3, Liverpool will take on Shanghai Shenhua, one of the best teams from the emerging Chinese Super League. Two days later, on August 5, they play host club Feyenoord.

FC Porto will play Feyenoord after Liverpool's match on the Friday and will take on Shanghai Shenhua before Rafa's side close the tournament on the Sunday evening.

All four matches will be held at Feyenoord's De Kuip stadium to celebrate the Port of Rotterdam's 75th anniversary. "A 75 year anniversary calls for a big party together with the public in Rotterdam," claims Pieter Struijs, Director of Shipping at the Port of Rotterdam Authority. "Two days of truly international top level football seem a perfect celebration to me.

"Rotterdammers are fanatical when it comes to their football and we are happy to treat them to two clubs who have very recently won the Champions League and one of the best teams from Asia and, of course, Feyenoord. It is going to be a great event, not in the least because of the return of Dirk Kuyt to De Kuip-stadium."

The Liverpool striker, a one-time hero in Holland, can't wait to return to his homeland. "I look forward to playing in front of the Feyenoord fans again," he said. "Everyone knows about the special relationship we have. It's great to play in De Kuip again. We'll make it a couple of matches to remember."