Liverpool's whistle-stop European tour starts close to home
Jul 4 2008 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
After leaving Switzerland, Liverpool head up to Germany to face Hertha Berlin.
Hertha finished 10th in the Bundesliga last season and the game will take place at Berlin’s Olympiastadion – infamous for the 1936 games when Adolf Hitler snubbed the achievements of black US athlete Jesse Owens.
Liverpool then return to Benitez’s homeland to face Villarreal, who are known in Spain as ‘The Yellow Submarine’.
A runners-up finish in La Liga last season sees the team Benitez signed Pepe Reina from back in the Champions League next term.
Along with fellow newly-crowned members of Spain’s European Championship-winning squad, Fernando Torres, Alvaro Arbeloa and possibly Xabi Alonso if he’s still at the club, the goalkeeper can expect a warm reception from the home crowd.
Led by former Everton manager Walter Smith, Rangers need little introduction to Merseyside fans.
Going into the final month of last season Smith’s side were still dreaming of completing a ‘quadruple’ of trophy wins but had to make do with a brace of domestic cups after being edged out by great rivals Celtic in the race for the title and losing 2-0 to Russians Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup final despite bringing more than 100,000 fans with them to Manchester.
Liverpool’s final away game of the summer sees them travelling up to the Norwegian capital Oslo to tackle Valerenga.
Valerenga who currently lie 10th in the 14- team Tippeligaen after 11 matches have fielded several notable Premier League players over the years including Henning Berg, Lars Bohinen, John Carew, Tore Andre Flo and Steffen Iversen while their current squad includes 39-year-old former Manchester United defender Ronny Johnsen.
Finally, Liverpool have pencilled in their first home friendly for five years against Italians Lazio.
The Roman club, who became regulars on English football fans’ television screens in the early 1990s when they signed Paul Gascoigne, finished a disappointing 12th in Serie A last season.
Their current squad includes French midfielder Ousmane Dabo, who Joey Barton pleaded guilty to assaulting in a training ground incident in May 2007 when the pair were together at Manchester City.
Liverpool’s pre-season friendly fixtures
:
Saturday, July 12: Tranmere Rovers (Prenton Park) 3pm.
Wednesday, July 16: FC Lucerne (Bruehl-Stadium, Grenchen) 6.35pm.
Saturday, July 19: Wisla Krakow (St Leonard Stadium, Friborg) 3pm.
Tuesday, July 22: Hertha Berlin (Olympiastadion) 6.45pm.
Wednesday, July 30: Villarreal (Estadio El Madrigal) 7.45pm.
Saturday, August 2: Rangers (Ibrox) 3pm.
Tuesday, August 5: Valerenga (Ullevaal Stadion) 7pm.
Friday, August 8: Lazio (Anfield) TBC.
