TourUSA diary: Webster's Netflix tip, Macca applause and thank you, America
Read our final diary dispatch from Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the USA after the Reds wrapped up their visit by travelling to South Carolina for a showdown with Manchester United…
Friday
6.30am: It’s an early start as we pack up, say farewell to Philadelphia and begin our journey to Columbia for the last stop of this year’s tour. Regardless of the bleary eyes on show as we board the bus, there’s much chatter about how Philly has quickly captured people’s hearts; Natasha Dowie definitely wants to return in the future, as does Jamie Webster, the Scouse singer declaring it to have a “bit of New York” about it. He’s not wrong, it has been highly enjoyable. Jamie is more lively than most this morning and I earwig on his Netflix recommendation – Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War – for in-flight viewing. Now, just hope I haven’t left anything behind in the hotel…
11.25am: Touchdown in South Carolina! A brisk journey south takes us to the Soda City, where it is phenomenally humid. Once again, it’s a reasonably quick turnaround for Arne Slot’s squad, who will be undertaking a stretching session immediately upon arriving at their hotel, with an on-pitch training workout to follow at the University of South Carolina facilities in the late afternoon. The clock is ticking, of course: the Reds will be facing Manchester United in 32 hours.
1pm: It’s been a warm welcome in more ways than one. We pop out for a sandwich to help fuel our content creating in the hours ahead, and a very friendly man couldn’t wait to greet us to the city. “Thank you for coming and welcome to South Carolina!” he beams, while explaining to us that there’s plenty of Liverpool support in the surrounding area. Lovely. The place is certainly prepared for us: there are pennants scattered around the streets advertising the fixture.
4.15pm: The end of the trip may be in close sight but we still have one more arrival before heading back to Merseyside. After a short break that followed his Copa America triumph with Argentina, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister reunites with his Reds teammates. He looks delighted to be back and after pausing for photographs and autographs with some local supporters on his way in, he meets Slot for the first time and grabs hugs with the likes of Diogo Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai. Bienvenido de nuevo, Macca.
6.30pm: The players are off to training and Mac Allister is already among them. The No.10 is treated to a chorus of applause from his teammates in recognition of his successful summer on the international stage. How nice of them. Sweat sufficiently worked up by their latest drills and exercises, when the workout concludes we catch up with both Ben Doak and Ryan Gravenberch. Between interruptions from a pesky group of flies and the mischievous Harvey Elliott, the interview sees Gravenberch tell us his anticipation for season No.2 with the Reds: “Happy to be back, happy to be here and happy to see the faces again.”
Saturday
10.30am: The relative quietness of a morning when the match is in the evening allows for a spot of research. Including an interesting article shared by my ever-curious colleague Glenn Price. Per the report from The State, some modifications have been required at Williams-Brice stadium – home of college football team South Carolina Gamecocks – to ready it for Liverpool v United. Specifically, to ensure the difference in pitch width between the sports can be accommodated. “The width was such an initial concern that there were talks of tearing out some of the hedges that line Williams-Brice and then replanting them after the game,” goes the piece, before revealing the alternative solution found: “South Carolina needed to lay grass over concrete in each of the four corners.” So, now you know.
11am: Ironing debate update. On the way to have a morning pancake or two on our last day in the States, I’m the latest to get a jovial but earnest ticking-off from LFC legend Gary McAllister for a lack of taking the creases out of my clothes. Nothing gets past this man.
2pm: There have been whispers since yesterday of a thunderstorm being imminent in the area – and the first signs of it have just come. A rumbling roar from the skies is followed by a sustained sprinkling of rain that brings the temperature down slightly. Rain jackets are suddenly being sought by many members of the media team, who have been able to rely on T-shirts and shorts for almost the entirety of the trip. I’m sure the lads on the pitch won’t mind a little dampness to keep them cool later, of course.
4pm: We make our way over to The Cock Pit – as Williams-Brice Stadium is affectionately known – and there is another large peal of thunder during our journey. Kick-off is still more than three hours away when we reach the venue, though the area is already a hive of activity, with, naturally, red everywhere you look as both sets of supporters congregate. From the press room high up in the stand, we’ve got a plum spot to see a series of lightning ripples to the left. Can anyone time a photo perfectly? Next, a menacing black cloud drifts over the stadium and dumps a swirl of rain down. The big screen is showing real-time storm information, and the lightning keeps appearing. Could be an interesting evening.
10pm: As send-offs go, this was a fun one. The thunderstorm abates in time for the Reds to produce an enjoyable performance and defeat their fierce rivals by three goals to nothing. Fabio Carvalho gets the scoring going and Curtis Jones makes it two shortly before the interval. Kostas Tsimikas is fastest to a rebound in the second half and prods home.
Three victories from three matches during our stay in America. We’ll take that, and so will the boss. “Very positive,” Slot says of his overall tour assessment post-match. “Of course the results are what everybody is looking at but players stayed fit and they were able to perform in the way we wanted – a high-intensity game. We scored some great goals during this tour, some great build-up situations and I see them working really, really hard not to concede.”
11pm: A quick turnaround from full-time to our flight home means a mighty rush follows the final whistle. Kit is packed, match reports and pictures are filed, and reaction from the dressing room delivered. Soon enough, the entire LFC party will be onboard the plane to take us back to the UK. A journey of almost seven hours awaits us, and I’m sure most will be trying to get some shuteye. Let’s hope the jet lag is kind to us [prediction: it won’t be].
After 12 memorable days Stateside, there’s just one thing left for us to say: thank you, USA.
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