Vince Xie

    SZ_DailyVince@163.com

    MANCHESTER City, winners of two of the past four Premier League titles, opened its training session to fans at Shenzhen Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of its match against Dortmund from Germany at Longgang Stadium in Longgang on Thursday night.

    Shenzhen is the last leg of Manchester City’s China tour this summer. The Premier League team was in Beijing for the International Champions Cup. It had to cancel Monday’s long-anticipated derby with Manchester United in Beijing due to the heavy rain that continues to affect Northern China.

    Their public training session lasted one hour but attracted a huge crowd from Shenzhen and many other cities.

    Fans, dressed in blue, gathered around the stadium’s gates early, to wait for their favorite players. When the players finally showed up at around 5 p.m., screams and praise were everywhere to hear.

    “I came here for Yaya Toure, he is my favorite player on Manchester City,” said He Kai, a football fan from Shenzhen Fans Club. “This is gonna be an unforgettable experience. I’m so happy to be here. All of us fans are looking forward to the coming battle against Dortmund.” he added.

    The Manchester City players were divided into two groups and did some basic training exercises including shuttle runs, strength training and tactical drills. Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s manager, supervised their training from the field. Fans on the stadium bleachers would sometimes scream and applaud a good shot.

    The public training gave a precious opportunity for local soccer fans to get close to their stars. Sergio Aguero, Gneri Yaya Toure and David Silva were among the most popular stars for Manchester City.

    ICC was created by Relevent Sports and developed in Asia-Pacific by sister company Catalyst Media Group, and has revolutionized the pre-season touring experience for the world’s top international club teams.