Perfect Start

ManUtd.com's Mark Froggatt recounts the first week of Manchester United's pre-season tour, telling the tales behind the club's successful start to the 2015/16 season...

The first leg of Tour 2015, presented by Aon, is over and Louis van Gaal is delighted with how things are going. “I believe it cannot be better,” he explained to MUTV, with a look of satisfaction and relief following months of planning meetings at the club.

From the surprisingly warm Seattle weather to the excellent facilities, both at the hotel and the training ground, everything is going well for the Reds and preparations for the 2015/16 season are well under way. It all began on 13 July with a positively hectic day that saw Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin complete their transfers to United, just in time to receive their club suits and board the flight to America.

Appropriately, due to jet lag, there were sleepless nights in Seattle during the opening days as body clocks adjusted to the eight-hour time difference. This prompted many to increase their daily intakes of coffee – also appropriate given this city is the birthplace of Starbucks.

Football, or soccer, is becoming increasingly popular in the States and Manchester United is a name that resonates with every sports fan. But despite this increase in popularity, the players have enjoyed a certain level of anonymity when given rare time to wander the Seattle streets. Amusingly, while passing through immigration at the airport, Louis van Gaal was even asked what he did at the club. “I am the manager”, he stated with a smile and a slight look of bemusement.

On four separate occasions, while wearing the club’s tour uniform, I was also asked by locals if I played for the team and one gentleman even asked if I was Ander Herrera! Although it was strangely tempting to say ‘yes’ and live out a lifelong dream of being a professional footballer, for a moment at least, honesty prevailed with a simple point to my burgeoning belly and the question ‘what do you think?’.

Thankfully, all tiredness quickly wore off and was replaced by adrenaline, fuelled by the experience of being on tour. For van Gaal and the players, everything was tailored to their needs. The team hotel, in Bellevue, was situated just 15 minutes away from the impressive VMAC training ground, home to the NFL side Seattle Seahawks and a genuinely state-of-the-art facility. The location was a significant step up from last summer when it wasn't unusual to spend almost an hour travelling to training. "We had a lot of meetings to reach this level but in the end we have succeeded,” the manager told MUTV.

With several days of hard training in the bag, more positives were tallied at the magnificent CenturyLink Field as the Reds secured a deserved 1-0 win over Club America, thanks to an eye-catching header from Schneiderlin. The Frenchman, signed from Southampton, made his unofficial debut alongside fellow new boys Matteo Darmian, Memphis Depay and Schweinsteiger.

The arrival of Bastian has been a particular highlight for fans and the German World Cup winner already appears a popular member of the squad, while his relaxed demeanour and openness has also earned him praise within the ManUtd.com media team. For somebody who has achieved so much in the game, and is a bona fide superstar, he is remarkably down to earth and it was a pleasure to interview a player of such regard earlier this week. It was also slightly surreal to discuss the rigours of house-buying off camera before explaining what to expect in the Premier League.

So now the tour moves on, leaving behind the tranquillity of Seattle and arriving in San Jose, ready for two more International Champions Cup matches against San Jose Earthquakes and Champions League holders Barcelona, in a fixture that will undoubtedly be watched by supporters around the globe.

If the second leg of Tour 2015 runs as smoothly as the first, United will be primed for battle when the Barclays Premier League season opens at home to Tottenham Hotspur on 8 August.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be considered as representative of Manchester United Football Club.

Credit: Manutd.com