Champions Tour Soccer: Comes to the USA

Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus Head Stateside

With the 2022-23 season quickly approaching, Europe’s top clubs are getting their final tune-up matches in. It just so happens that some of the best and brightest in world soccer are in the USA for Champions Tour Soccer. Teams like Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Chelsea F.C. are all in the states. Huge clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Juventus are participants in the inaugural Soccer Champions Tour.

Two of Mexico’s biggest clubs, Club America and Chivas de Guadalajara, are also participating. Now, let’s run through the game scheduled for the tournament, which is taking place in various cities in the West.

July 22: Juventus vs CD Guadalajara (11 p.m. EST, Las Vegas)

Juventus and Chivas de Guadalajara will kick off the action on Friday night. Somewhat surprisingly, it’s not the first time these two clubs have met.

Juventus have lost two of their key center backs this Summer, Giorgio Chiellini and Matthijs de Ligt. Juve signed Gleison Bremer from crosstown rivals Torino but it may be a little too soon for him to make his debut.

Typically one of the best soccer teams from Italy, Juventus finished fourth in Serie A last season. Heading into the 2022-23 season, Serie A odds price them as -450 favorites to qualify for the Champions League. They also sit at +185 odds to win Serie A as the most likely team to win other than Inter Milan.

Chivas de Guadalajara is in the middle of their Liga MX season and entered the week in 15th place of 18 teams. There won’t be much rest for them in between Wednesday night’s match vs Leon and Friday’s contest vs. Juventus.

July 23: Real Madrid vs Barcelona (11 p.m. EST, Las Vegas)

Although it’s listed as preseason friendly, it’s never friendly when Real Madrid and Barcelona meet. El Clásico is officially coming to the Soccer Champions Tour. This is a rare chance for American fans to see the two clubs in action, especially with their new players.

Despite their financial woes, Barcelona has managed to bring in Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. Lewandowski, one of the greatest strikers of all time, could be the missing piece in FCB’s attack. Raphinha, the former Leeds United winger recently said, “For me, we’re better than Real Madrid.” Expect both players to play a part here.

Real Madrid won the La Liga and Champions League double in 2021-22 and has strengthened further. Midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni and defender Antonio Rudiger are both high-level players ready to make an impact.

It should come as no surprise that Real Madrid and Barcelona are far and away the two most likely clubs to win La Liga this season. Real Madrid is the favorite, at +110 odds, while Barça isn’t far behind, at +135.

July 26: Barcelona vs Juventus (8:30 p.m. EST, Dallas)

The offseason soccer schedule heats up as Barcelona takes on Juventus in Dallas, Texas. Usually, these two clubs meet in the Champions League, which certainly speaks to their quality.

With a few friendlies under their belts before this, we may see something close to the starting lineups here. Xavi, in his first offseason as Barcelona manager, will certainly want to get started off on the right foot.

Juventus, who recently brought back Paul Pogba and signed Angel Di Maria, will be looking to improve this season. With a lot of moving parts, this is an excellent opportunity for the players to build some chemistry on the field.

July 26: Real Madrid vs Club America (10:30 p.m. EST, San Francisco)

Spain’s most successful team takes on Mexico’s most successful team in a much-anticipated matchup. This will be just the second-ever meeting. The last time these teams met was in the 2016 Club World Cup semifinals, a matchup Real won 2-0.

Club America is among the favorites to win the Apertura of the Liga MX. They’ll also have already played Manchester City by the time they face off vs Real Madrid. America is no pushover, as they made the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League final.

This should be a good tune-up for Real Madrid, as they play a team who’s already in midseason shape.

July 30: Juventus vs Real Madrid (10 p.m. EST, Pasadena)

The Rose Bowl has hosted its fair share of important soccer games over the years. In 1994, Brazil defeated Italy, in penalties to win the World Cup. Now, it plays host to Juventus and Real Madrid in the Soccer Champions Tour.

Juventus and Real last met in 2018, when Cristiano Ronaldo was still playing for Los Blancos. So, it’ll be interesting to see how these two teams stack up now. No one would be surprised if this were a Champions League semifinal, or even ‘final’, matchup later on this season., thus making the champions tour soccer, even better.