Anfield friendly date for Atletico Madrid
Jun 12 2008
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
LIVERPOOL are hoping to host Atletico Madrid in a pre-season curtain raiser at Anfield.
The
Reds have pencilled in Friday, August 8 – the weekend before the
Premier League kick-off – for the clash with Fernando Torres’ old club.
And
with Atletico having qualified for the Champions League for the first
time the clash will give Liverpool an ideal preparation for their own
Champions League qualifier just a few days later.
The friendly
has still not been confirmed, but Reds chief executive Rick Parry
revealed today that the clubs have been in discussions and were hoping
to reach an agreement soon.
It is five years since Liverpool
have played an Anfield friendly, when ironically Rafa Benitez was in
the opposing dug-out as Valencia manager, plotting a 2-0 win.
More
than 43,000 watched that clash, and another Anfield sell-out would be
virtually guaranteed with several new faces likely to be included in
the Reds line-up.