The LA Galaxy will host the Second Edition of the Pan-Pacific Championship on February 18 and 21 at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy finished third in the inaugural PPC in Hawaii in February 2008, losing to the eventual champion Gamba Osaka in the opening round and then defeating Sydney FC in the Third Place Game.
This year's tournament will see the Galaxy open against the J.League’s Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Champion Oita Trinita at 8 p.m. on February 18 before facing either Suwon Samsung Bluewings of Korea or Shandong Luneng Taishan FC of China in either the Final or the Third Place Game.
Here is the full press release and be sure to check out the video at the bottom of the post...
ASIA'S TOP SOCCER CLUBS TO COMPETE IN LOS ANGELES THIS FEBRUARY AS LA GALAXY HOST THE SECOND EDITION OF THE PAN-PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIP
Club champions from Japan, Korea and China join the Galaxy for two international doubleheaders at The Home Depot Center in February
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES (Friday, January 9, 2009) – Four premier professional soccer clubs, including three of Asia’s current champions, will participate in the second edition of the Pan-Pacific Championship (PPC), the international soccer tournament launched last year by Soccer United Marketing (SUM). The tournament will be played at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Wednesday, February 18 and Saturday, February 21, 2009, in a two-date semifinal and final doubleheader format.
For 2009, the tournament will move to the U.S. mainland, with Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy hosting the marquee event just outside of Los Angeles. In addition to the host team, the tournament will feature the best clubs from Japan, Korea, and China - J.League’s Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Champion Oita Trinita, K-League champion and winner of the Samsung Hauzen Cup 2008 Suwon Samsung Bluewings, and Chinese Super League winner Shandong Luneng Taishan FC.
The tournament will kick off on Wednesday, February 18, at 5:30 p.m. local time with Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea) taking on Shandong Luneng (China) in the opener, followed by the LA Galaxy (USA) hosting Oita Trinita (Japan). The two winners will battle for the Pan-Pacific Championship 2009 on Saturday, February 21, preceded by the third-place match, starting at 5:30 p.m. local time.
The inaugural 2008 championship, which was embraced by soccer fans worldwide, was won by 2007 Japanese Nabisco Cup champions Gamba Osaka after defeating 2007 MLS champion Houston Dynamo in the final at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The 2007 SuperLiga finalist LA Galaxy defeated Australia’s Sydney FC of the Hyundai A-League to capture third place.
Tickets for the Pan-Pacific Championship 2009 will be available starting Monday, January 12 at 10 am PT by calling the LA Galaxy at 877-3GALAXY. Fans are encouraged to visit the tournament’s official website, http://www.ppchampionship.net/ for further information.
Pan-Pacific Championship 2009 – Schedule (All times local)
Wednesday, February 18
5:30 p.m. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea) vs. Shandong Luneng Taishan FC (China)
8:00 p.m. LA Galaxy (USA) vs. Oita Trinita (Japan)
Saturday, February 21
5:30 p.m. Third place match
8:00 p.m. Championship match
Information on the different teams can be found below.
LA Galaxy - Major League Soccer (USA)
The two-time MLS Cup winners, LA Galaxy, will look to improve upon their third place finish from the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship in 2008. Under the direction of former U.S. National Team Coach Bruce Arena, who led the U.S. to a Quarterfinal berth at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan/Korea, the Galaxy will look to start 2009 on the right foot by hosting and winning the second installment of the PPC.
Oita Trinita - J.League (Japan)
Branded the miracle team of the J.League, Oita Trinita managed to win the Cup title with one of the lowest budgets in the first division thanks to the “Chamusca magic” tactics (named after Head Coach Péricles Raimundo Oliveira Chamusca), and its emphasis on youth development. Two Oita players represented Japan at the Beijing Olympics, and their standout 19-year-old, Mu Kanazaki, has already been called up to the senior squad.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings - K-League (Korea)
Suwon Samsung Bluewings will look to its coaching, led by Korean legend Cha Bum-Kun, the first Korean to play in the Bundesliga. A number of Bluewing players count on World Cup experience, including Lee Chun-Soo, the Korean side’s star player, who represented his country at the 2006 edition.
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC - Chinese Super League
Nicknamed the “Real Madrid of China”, Shandong Luneng has dominated their opponents thanks to talents like Li Jinyu, who scored his 110th goal this year and will look to put his mark on this year’s Pan-Pacific Championship by adding even more to his account.
http://www.ppchampionship.net/
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES (Friday, January 9, 2009) – Four premier professional soccer clubs, including three of Asia’s current champions, will participate in the second edition of the Pan-Pacific Championship (PPC), the international soccer tournament launched last year by Soccer United Marketing (SUM). The tournament will be played at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Wednesday, February 18 and Saturday, February 21, 2009, in a two-date semifinal and final doubleheader format.
For 2009, the tournament will move to the U.S. mainland, with Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy hosting the marquee event just outside of Los Angeles. In addition to the host team, the tournament will feature the best clubs from Japan, Korea, and China - J.League’s Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Champion Oita Trinita, K-League champion and winner of the Samsung Hauzen Cup 2008 Suwon Samsung Bluewings, and Chinese Super League winner Shandong Luneng Taishan FC.
The tournament will kick off on Wednesday, February 18, at 5:30 p.m. local time with Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea) taking on Shandong Luneng (China) in the opener, followed by the LA Galaxy (USA) hosting Oita Trinita (Japan). The two winners will battle for the Pan-Pacific Championship 2009 on Saturday, February 21, preceded by the third-place match, starting at 5:30 p.m. local time.
The inaugural 2008 championship, which was embraced by soccer fans worldwide, was won by 2007 Japanese Nabisco Cup champions Gamba Osaka after defeating 2007 MLS champion Houston Dynamo in the final at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The 2007 SuperLiga finalist LA Galaxy defeated Australia’s Sydney FC of the Hyundai A-League to capture third place.
Tickets for the Pan-Pacific Championship 2009 will be available starting Monday, January 12 at 10 am PT by calling the LA Galaxy at 877-3GALAXY. Fans are encouraged to visit the tournament’s official website, http://www.ppchampionship.net/ for further information.
Pan-Pacific Championship 2009 – Schedule (All times local)
Wednesday, February 18
5:30 p.m. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea) vs. Shandong Luneng Taishan FC (China)
8:00 p.m. LA Galaxy (USA) vs. Oita Trinita (Japan)
Saturday, February 21
5:30 p.m. Third place match
8:00 p.m. Championship match
Information on the different teams can be found below.
LA Galaxy - Major League Soccer (USA)
The two-time MLS Cup winners, LA Galaxy, will look to improve upon their third place finish from the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship in 2008. Under the direction of former U.S. National Team Coach Bruce Arena, who led the U.S. to a Quarterfinal berth at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan/Korea, the Galaxy will look to start 2009 on the right foot by hosting and winning the second installment of the PPC.
Oita Trinita - J.League (Japan)
Branded the miracle team of the J.League, Oita Trinita managed to win the Cup title with one of the lowest budgets in the first division thanks to the “Chamusca magic” tactics (named after Head Coach Péricles Raimundo Oliveira Chamusca), and its emphasis on youth development. Two Oita players represented Japan at the Beijing Olympics, and their standout 19-year-old, Mu Kanazaki, has already been called up to the senior squad.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings - K-League (Korea)
Suwon Samsung Bluewings will look to its coaching, led by Korean legend Cha Bum-Kun, the first Korean to play in the Bundesliga. A number of Bluewing players count on World Cup experience, including Lee Chun-Soo, the Korean side’s star player, who represented his country at the 2006 edition.
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC - Chinese Super League
Nicknamed the “Real Madrid of China”, Shandong Luneng has dominated their opponents thanks to talents like Li Jinyu, who scored his 110th goal this year and will look to put his mark on this year’s Pan-Pacific Championship by adding even more to his account.
http://www.ppchampionship.net/
4 comments:
Okay, this is unexpected/interesting. I guess it's a very good way to test where our LA Galaxy team stands are far as pre-season form, fitness, and strength. I've seen how Suwon Blue Wings play from last year; I believe they're decent opposition. Not really sure about Oita (Japan) and Shandong (China). Hopefully, a lot of people will get to show for this tournament. I'm right now very curious at how strong, how deep, and how thorough our squad will be. We will NOT have Landon nor David for these matches. I hope Bruce, Dave, Cobi, and Paul realize how much extra training, practice, drills, and scrimmages are going to be seriously required to get back to 90+ minutes match fitness!!!
preseason tournament in LA @ HDC = Ole and well done
However,
will the games be shown live on FSC/ESPN/FOX or the MLS/PPC website?
why is there no 2nd MLS team?
why is there no A-League team?
why are the Galaxy qualified - it can't be the hosts (it wasn't the case last year)
will the Galaxy always be qualified for that cup now ?
will AEG hand out free tickets to season ticket holders/familys/schools ?
Not smart to play the Japanese team in the first round.
Just finished watching Group B 1st match-up at the HDC between America and Atlas. WOW!!! What a spectacular game! It was intense and action-packed. Atlas kept pushing, fighting, cornering, and grabbing as many turn-overs as they could. Besides a handful of players in America, the rest of the team fielded were relatively young & not used to playing with each other, I guess. America fans dominated the HDC. I bet it stung like hell to see Atlas steal away their final's spot. It was a fun & exciting match. If our LA Galaxy players could only show 3/4s of the fight, drive, intensity, and will-power as Atlas... our team would be going up in the table for sure. I just really hope Bruce, Dave, and Cobi are able to change things in the locker-room, on the field, at practice, at matches, and most importantly inside their ownselves for 2009 and the future. Otherwise, there will be unerasable shame and humiliation that will not wash away!
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