July 25, 2011

Check out some of the photos from Man City's visit to Sullivan Field.

LOS ANGELES - For two weeks in July, Loyola Marymount University served as a home-away-from-home for Manchester City, one of the top soccer clubs in England, as they embarked on a summer tour of the west coast of North America. Man City, who finished tied for second last season in the English Premier League and won the prestigious FA Cup, held their training sessions at Sullivan Field and became the first tenants in the brand-new Lions Athletic Center from July 9-23.

The club was in Los Angeles as part of a three-match summer tour for the Herbalife World Challenge, a 14-match tournament pitting teams from Major League Soccer, Mexico, and the top European leagues. MCFC completed an undefeated US Tour, posting a 2-0 win over Club America of Mexico at AT&T Park in San Francisco on July 16, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS 3-1 in Vancouver on July 18, and moving past the L.A. Galaxy 7-6 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Home Depot Center on July 24.

Although most of the training sessions were closed to the public, the club was very accommodating to their hosts, allowing several members of the LMU men's and women's soccer teams to watch the practices from either the ADG Conference Room in the Lions Athletic Center or down at field level. The fortnight culminated in an open training session on Friday, July 22 in which nearly 100 fans turned out to watch and get autographs. There was also a visit from Miguel Torres of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Manchester City features international stars such as England's Joe Hart, Micah Richards, James Milner, and Shaun Wright-Phillips, Mario Balotelli (Italy), Nigel de Jong (Holland), David Silva (Spain), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), Gael Clichy (France), and Vincent Kompany (Belgium).

- GO LIONS -