Liverpool Football Club (LFC) in China for the first time!

Liverpool Football Club arrived in Guangzhou, China on 10 July, part of their pre-season tour of Asia.  Kenny Dalglish and his squad were greeted by scenes of hysteria as Chinese fans gathered in their hundreds to welcome the Reds to China for the first time.

Liverpool will kick-off their preparations for the 2011-12 season with a game against Guangdong Sunray Cave on Wednesday 13 July.  The Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou will host the match.   LFC Managing Director Ian Ayre said:

"We are very grateful and honoured that the government, local authorities and the football association of China have allowed Liverpool FC to come to China to play in Guangzhou.  Our football club and the city of Liverpool have great links with China. The city of Liverpool has the oldest Chinese community in Europe. As a global football club, it is important to us that we give our fans in China the chance to see the team in action.”

Lim Cheng Teck, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of Standard Chartered China  (LFC’s sponsor), said: "Liverpool FC has up to 60 million fans in China alone and we are delighted to be the sponsor for the Club's maiden visit to China. This is a great opportunity for our employees, clients, and community to interact with the players. We wish Liverpool FC a warm welcome to Guangzhou and look forward to a successful pre-season tour."

The Liverpool players have certainly embraced Chinese culture.  New signing Charlie Adam and other players met fans at a Guangzhou shopping mall and even learnt to write Chinese characters! A video of the reds arriving in Guangzhou (courtesy of http://thekop.liverpoolfc.tv/):

To see some more photographs of LFC in China.

The LFC Kop blog of the tour can be read here.  

Ex-Liverpool player Phil Thompson is also running a diary of his experiences in China - it can be read here