The International Champions Cup opening match brought 36,289 fans to Comerica Park, chanting and waving flags in support of two European teams that competed in the first professional soccer game at the Downtown Detroit baseball stadium.
DETROIT — The International Champions Cup opening match brought 36,289 fans to Comerica Park, chanting and waving flags in support of two European teams that competed in the first professional soccer game at the Downtown Detroit baseball stadium.
The match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AS Roma ended in penalty shootout after PSG scored in the first half and Roma caught up in the second to tie the game.
Fan Corey Lewandowski, 23, had been hoping to see a hat trick from Roma’s Edin Dzeko.
„Dzeko will get at least two goals, “ he said.
Highlights of the Paris Saint-Germain vs. AS Roma soccer match in Detroit
It wasn’t to be. But he appeared to enjoy his second ICC match in Michigan.
„I went to the [game] in Ann Arbor last year and I think that was good exposure, “ Lewandowski said.
Real Madrid and Chelsea FC filled The Big House in an ICC match last year.
Charlie Stillitano, chairman of ICC host Relevent Sports, said that while the Comerica crowd wasn’t as big, he was „blown away“ with the match.
„When you have 100,000 people in Ann Arbor, you got atmosphere, “ he said. „We came here … great place to open the tournament and I thought the game was great. One of the benefits of having a lot of substitutions… you can switch a whole group of players and still have real high quality out there. I think you saw that today.“
Detroiter who played soccer for Roma to watch old team compete at Comerica Park
The two teams that faced off in Detroit don’t have quite as broad and rabid a following as some other European clubs, but the match was an „incredibly high-level game“ fitting for the city, Stillitano said.
„We knew that neither had an enormous fan base here, so we wanted to find a city that would embrace the game itself, “ Stillitano said.
Brennan McNamara, 20, was excited to see former Barcelona player Dani Alves, who recently transferred to PSG and made an appearance in the Detroit match.
„I think it’s awesome, “ he said. „Add more Brazilians to their defense. I think he’ll do really well there.“
Former Roma star Francesco Totti recently announced his retirement, but that didn’t bringing fan Julian Cafmeyer down.
„I’m sad that he’s gone, but he is still the king of Roma, “ said Cafmeyer, 22.
Cafmeyer was also excited for Wednesday’s match because of the international soccer exposure to the U. S.
„It’s definitely great for the city, “ he said. It’s good for soccer in America because I mean when else can we see a European team unless you go to Europe. It’s pretty cool.“
Amid talks of potentially Pistons owner Tom Gores and Quicken Loans found Dan Gilbert luring Major League Soccer to the Motor City, Cafmeyer says a new team would „do well in Detroit.“
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„I think there would be a lot of people that would enjoy having a soccer team here, especially with the sports complex they’re building here now with Little Caesars Arena“ in addition to Comerica Park and Ford Field, “ he said.
His father Rene Cafmeyer said international matches help bring awareness to Downtown Detroit’s resurgence.
„I think that’s what this is all about, “ Rene said. „It needs to be downtown. I think that would be fantastic and I think there will still be a lot of followers for (minor league team Detroit City FC) . That won’t go away, I think there’s so much interest down here, we need to expand, we need to get our own team.
„This whole city has so many ethnic pockets. Italians, French, Belgians.“
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