I went to this in Tokyo, in I think 1984, in its previous incarnation as the Intercontinental Cup. It was Liverpool against someone, can't remember who. The Liverpool team had Ian Rush in it, that's literally all I can remember. I was absolutely dying of thirst for football at the time, which explains why I went.
(Incidentally, I seem to remember that after the fiasco involving Celtic, United then got quite a kicking from Estudiantes the following year, in ’68.)
But — no satellite tv at the time, no internet, really. No tours of far-flung countries to play friendlies. I can see why this existed at the time — as a shop window to get football off the ground globally. There was some rationale for it. By the way, the stadium was packed.
That war has now been won, and been won completely and utterly. It is the prerogative of anyone who thinks it's important to care about winning it, and watching it. It is my prerogative to not care about it, and not watch it.
First, though, we have a barrier to hurdle on Saturday. Let's worry about that.
