David Moyes will take over at Manchester United this summer, and his first task will be to lead the team on one of the most gruelling preseason tours in the history of professional football.
Life without Sir Alex Ferguson might well seem earth-shattering for many, but the summer tour is positively earth-travelling. The squad will travel almost the same distance as the circumference of the globe this July. The very thought of so much air travel would be enough to give Dennis Bergkamp nightmares.
The squad will prepare for the 2013-14 campaign by embarking on a near 24,000-mile round trip in over just three weeks. United will play games in Bangkok, Sydney, Yokohama, Osaka and Hong Kong, with an estimated flying time a staggering 50 hours. One can only hope the chosen airlines have a decent selection of movies on offer.
The tour kicks-off with a friendly match against a Singha All-Star XI at the Rajamangala National stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on July 13, a mere 5,960 miles from Manchester. For Moyes, the global reach of Manchester United is bound to hit home.
Next the club will fly 4,680 miles to Australia for a six-day training camp in Sydney, culminating in a game against the A-League All Stars at the ANZ Stadium on July 20. Hopefully Emile Heskey is involved in some capacity for the opposition.
A 5,200-mile journey to Yokohama follows before a match against Yokohama F-Marinos at the Nissan Stadium on July 23, and before a 540-mile trip to Osaka for their second fixture in Japan, against Cerezo Osaka, Shinji Kagawa's former club, at the Osaka Nagai Stadium three days later. The Japanese midfielder is sure to receive a rapturous reception ahead of what could prove a significant season for the player, should Wayne Rooney leave United
The tour will conclude once United makes the 1,550-mile journey to Hong Kong to play Kitchee at Hong Kong Stadium on July 29, before flying 6,000 miles home to Manchester. Each of the five friendly fixtures are reported to be worth close to £1 million to the club.
Although the effect of the Glazers has seen United curb their spending to some extent in recent years, these summer tours have allowed the club to promote the brand across the globe while allowing a portion of the enormous worldwide fanbase to see their heroes in the flesh.
This tour is the longest in terms of distance travelled in the history of Manchester United, beating last year's 22,000-mile round trip that took in South Africa, China, Norway and Sweden.
The departure of Ferguson might feel like the end of the world for some fans, but for Moyes and his squad, this summer is the start of a world of possibility.
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