Real Madrid vs La Galaxy August 1, 2013

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Real Madrid is one of the world’s biggest and most popular teams in all of sports. The Spanish soccer giant is led by Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s best soccer players and most recognizable athletes.

Real Madrid is competing in metro Phoenix for the first time, on Thursday, Aug. 1. They’ll face the Los Angeles Galaxy, the two-time defending Major League Soccer champions, in the first round of the International Champions Cup tournament.

1. Real Madrid is the second-most-valuable sports team in the world (ahead of any American sports team), valued at $1.88 billion in 2013, according to Forbes magazine. The International Champions Cup tournament, which is hosted in seven cities, boasts eight of the most famous soccer clubs in the world from England, Italy, Spain and the U.S., but Real Madrid is the most popular of all. You’d be hard pressed to find a corner of the planet that didn’t have soccer fans who support Real Madrid. Needless to say, Real Madrid playing a match at University of Phoenix Stadium is a major coup for the Valley sports community and may never happen again.

Goalkeepers: Antonio Adan, Iker Casillas, Diego Lopez

Defenders: Alvaro Arbeloa, Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Marcelo, Fabio Coentrao, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Nacho

Midfielders: Angel Di Maria, Casemiro, Isco, Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, Kaka, Luka Modric, Mesut Ozil, Asier Illarramendi

Forwards: Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jese Rodriguez

LA Galaxy (4-4-2): Rowe; Franklin, Meyer, Leonardo, Dunivant; Jimenez, Sarvas, Juninho, Clark; Zardes, Villarreal.


ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Carlo Cudicini, Brian Rowe, Brian Perk

Defenders: Todd Dunivant, Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin, Bryan Gaul, A.J. DeLaGarza, Tommy Meyer, Leonardo, Kofi Opare, Greg Cochrane

Midfielders: Pablo Mastroeni, Marcelo Sarvas, Landon Donovan, Colin Clark, Robbie Rogers, Hector Jimenez, Juninho, Rafael Garcia, Michael Stephens, Kenney Walker, Oscar Sorto

Forwards: Robbie Keane, Charlie Rugg, Gyasi Zardes, Chandler Hoffman, Jack McBean, Jose Villarreal

Chelsea vs Inter Milan August 2, 2013

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Chelsea opens up play in the Guinness International Champions Cup on Thursday in Indianapolis when it plays Serie A’s Inter Milan at Lucas Oil Stadium in the capital city of Hoosier State.

The Blues will play three games in the tournament—a revamped version of World Football Championship—which also includes fellow English Premier League side Everton, AC Milan (Serie A), Real Madrid and Valencia (La Liga), and the Los Angeles Galaxy (Major League Soccer).

The Galaxy and Landon Donovan host Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo in Los Angeles later in the evening in the competition (FSC, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT).

The retractable roof will be open and both sides will field strong squads which will soon be starting in their respective leagues.

After playing a record 69 games last year, Chelsea and manager José Mourinho return to America yet again after playing three games in Asia—all Blues wins—proving there is really no off-season in soccer.

Who: Chelsea FC vs. FC Inter Milan
What: International friendly (Guinness International Champions Cup)
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
When: Thursday, August 1, 2013
Weather: The Weather Channel forecast
Time: 1:00 GMT (Friday)/8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT

Chelsea flew a 25-man squad to America on Tuesday which included goalkeepers Petr Čech, Mark Schwarzer, Henrique Hilário and Jamal Blackman; and defenders César Azpilicueta, Branislav Ivanović, Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Ryan Bertrand and David Luiz.

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The squad also has midfielders John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Oscar, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Marco van Ginkel, Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Victor Moses, André Schürrle and Kevin De Bruyne; and strikers Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku, who scored in all three Blues games in Asia.

Blues defender Tomáš Kalas had to pull out of the tour due to a fractured left fibula sustained in training on Monday. Kalas, who is now sporting a boot, is expected to be sidelined for about a month.

Inter Milan and coach Walter Mazzarri have its own formidable 25-man roster with which to work, including forwards Diego Milito and Rodrigo Palacio (12 goals in Serie A), defender and captain Javier Zanetti and goalkeeper Samir Handanovič.

Ac Milan vs Sao Paulo August 1, 2013

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"The 2013 Audi Cup will be the third edition of the Audi Cup, a two-day association football tournament that feature four teams, and will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The competition will feature hosts and 2009 winners Bayern Munich, the 2012 Copa Sudamericana champions São Paulo, the 2011–12 Premier League champions Manchester City and perennial Serie A contenders Milan. The English and Brazilian clubs will be making their first appearances in the competition, while Bayern, as hosts, and Milan have been present in every Audi Cup so far.

The latest incarnation of the annual preseason tournament, the Audi Cup, continues in Germany today. South American side Sao Paolo face AC Milan in the consolation game of the competition. Sao Paolo v AC Milan will be played at the Allianz Arena, home of the tournament's defending champions, Bayern Munich. Though the Audi Cup is a preseason tournament, the presence of teams like AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Brazilian powerhouse Sao Paolo will continue to make it fun for any fan. If you can't catch Sao Paolo v AC Milan on television, feel free to follow along on the live stream below. Both Sao Paolo and AC Milan will be looking to establish themselves in the early going of the 2013-2014 season with success.

  The competition will take the format of the latter stages of a regular knock-out competition. The winners of each of the two matches on the first day compete against each other for the Audi Cup, whilst the two losing sides play in a third-place match. The trophy will contest over two days, each day seeing two matches played back-to-back. The official matchups were announced on 19 June 2013."