Commerce City, CO - The Colorado Rapids announced today they will host an international friendly match against the Chinese National Team that will take place at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sunday, June 10 at 6 p.m. (MT).
The Chinese National Team, which will be making their first ever appearance in the state of Colorado, reached the World Cup finals for the first time in the country's history in 2002. Their performance was closely watched by more than 300 million Chinese fans, who reportedly bought a stunning total of more than 170 million new television sets just to be able to follow the event.
"The Chinese Team sees this as an important match as a part of the final preparation of the Asian Cup finals in July and will bring its strongest squad possible," said Peter Chen, FIFA Match Agent, whose firm, US Sports Management, helped secure this match.
The Chinese National Team, who are currently ranked No. 72 in the FIFA World Rankings (out of 199 countries), played their last international friendly on March 27, 2007, defeating Uzbekistan 3-1 on the road. Before that game, the Chinese side fell 2-0 to Australia in a game played in Guangzhou, China PR on March 24, 2007.
In recent friendly matches, team China has featured players in their lineup such as Manchester United (ENG) forward Dong Fangzhuo, Manchester City (ENG) defender Sun Jihai, Energie Cottbus (GER) midfielder Shao Jiayi and Charlton Athletic (ENG) midfielder Zheng Zhi, among other Chinese stars that play for local clubs such as Dalian Shide, Beijing Guo'an, and Tianjin Teda. Also a regular starter is defender Sun Xiang of Dutch Powerhouse PSV Eindhoven, who just won the Dutch Erevidisie championship last week.
The last time that the Rapids faced a national team in Colorado was in 2003, when the team hosted the Guatemala on October 15, 2003. The Rapids defeated Guatemala 3-1 behind goals from John Spencer, Chris Henderson, and Alex Blake. The lone goal for the Central American side was scored by current FC Dallas forward Carlos Ruiz.
Tickets for this match will go on sale Saturday, May 12th at 10 a.m. and will start at just $20 per seat. Tickets will be available at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park Box Office, at ticket kiosks located in all Colorado area Dick's Sporting Goods locations, online at www.tickethorse.com, or by phone at 1-866-466-6556. Full Season Seat Holders of the Colorado Rapids will have this game included in their season package and will use their game ticket(s) marked Special Game B for entrance into the match. Discounted ticket packages will also be available for groups of ten or more by calling the Rapids Sales Office at 303-825-GOAL (4625).
