Rajmangala Stadium in Bangkok will be the unconventional venue for the rejuvenating Manchester United, of Dutch coach Eric Tan the Brother, its debut match.
50,000 spectators will fill the National Stadium of Thailand today (16:00) to watch the prestigious meeting between the two great rivals of English football, United and Liverpool.
True, this is just a friendly match between two teams that are in the early stages of preparations for the new season, but the curiosity is immense.
Also in Thailand, where fans of both teams are in real euphoria, but the madness also exists in England.
It will be interesting to see Liverpool, who open the season without Sadio Mane, sold to Bayern Munich, but with the new acquisition, Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunes, who was acquired for 100 million euros from Benfica.
But while Liverpool will continue the path outlined by Jürgen Klopp in recent years, at United it is a real revolution.
The team finished last season in sixth place in the table with 58 points, its worst balance in 32 years.
Meaning: She will be absent from the Champions League this season and will only play in the Europa League.
Tan Brother with United players in training, Photo: IPI
German coach Ralph Rangnick, who replaced Ola Gunnar Solskjaer in November, was a resounding failure, and as early as April the management announced the appointment of Eric Tenn the brother, the coach who brought Ajax back to the top of European football.
Management understood: United must align with the top teams in the league - Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, who have opened a huge gap on it, mainly thanks to modern coaches.
Brother Tan was chosen due to the fact that he belongs to the global elite, along with Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.
It was clear to everyone that in the Tan Brotherhood the standards would rise miraculously.
The Dutch coach stressed from day one that United, like Ajax, will play “proactive football” of active ball movement and high pressure when the opposing team wins the ball.
This means that all field players will participate in the pressure and there will be no discounts for anyone.
Tan Brother is surrounded by his players, Photo: Reuters
But it's not just the style of play, but also the rules of conduct.
The Dutch coach has set five rules for his players: any player who is late for training or a meeting of the team will lose his place in the squad, no matter what its importance or status;
A total ban on drinking alcohol during the week of games;
Prohibition on the employment of private chefs - the players will eat in the group setting, and in their private home will eat according to the instructions of the club chef;
The weight and fat percentages of each player will be checked once a month;
Personal complaints of the players will be delivered personally to the coach and not through their agents.
"Huge change in training"
United started training about two weeks ago, and meanwhile the players are happy.
Swedish brakeman Victor Lindloff said: "From the first training session he explained to us what he wanted us to do. He noticed every little detail, and that's the big change. In a very short period of time he changed a lot. We had a lot of conversations and there is a huge change in training."
People who attended the Carrington compound say Satan the Brother actively participates in training.
He does not watch from the sidelines, often stops practicing when he does not like something, and explains how things should be.
The United team has already been given the nickname "conductor of the orchestra" by the coach.
Brother Tan did not come from Ajax alone.
He brought with him his assistant Mitchell van der Haah and 60-year-old Steve McLaren, who was in the distant past Alex Ferguson's assistant at United (between 1999 and 2001), and in the 2008/9 season coached Twente Enschede - when the younger brother Satan was the assistant His.
Now the roles change.
The one who did not come to Thailand is Cristiano Ronaldo, who asked to leave despite having another season left on his contract.
Brother Tan said yesterday: "Ronaldo is not with us just for personal reasons. We are building this season on Ronaldo, and that's it. I look forward to starting work with him. Cristiano is not for sale, he is in our plans, and we want to succeed together."
Indeed, Brother Tan could not say whether the Portuguese star would join the team later in the pre-season tour.
Estimates in England are that this is a strategy of the club, which understands that Ronaldo will not continue in the team, but is trying to maximize his sale deal.
This is the reason for the uniform line shown to the outside, according to which he remains in the team, but the truth is that the 37-year-old Portuguese does not fit in with Tan's plans.
The acquisition campaign is just beginning and meanwhile only Dutch left-back Tyrell from Asia has arrived from Feyenoord.
But until the league's opening game on August 7 against Brighton, the squad will look completely different.
Christian Eriksen is set to sign soon, followed by two Ajax players - Brazilian striker Anthony and Argentine stopper Lisandro Martinez.
The Dutch team is demanding 120 million euros for the two.
Brother Tan has not yet given up on Frankie de Jong, but this deal is more complicated.
Another player in the sights is Andrew Pardes, PSG's Argentine midfielder, who is set to replace Paul Pogba, who has moved to Juventus.
One thing is for sure: United will look much better this season than last year.
Because worse than what was last season just can not be.
And Red Devils fans are hoping to see the new direction today.
Nadav Yaakovi, also on Twitter - nimidana @
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