Manchester United Kick Off Tour 2014 in LA Tonight

New boss Louis van Gaal takes charge of the Reds side for the first time as the boys from Old Trafford cross the Atlantic to the ‘new world’ for their pre-season tour of the United States. Many of the club’s World Cup stars will be part of Tour 2014, presented by Aon.

Fresh off taking the Dutch national squad to third place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, new manager Louis van Gaal will lead United for the first time in a much-anticipated pre-season match against LA Galaxy in the Chevrolet Cup at the Rose Bowl tonight – Wednesday, July 23.

The match is the first of four scheduled matches on Tour 2014, presented by Aon, with a possible fifth to come if the Reds reach the International Champions Cup final in Miami. Many of United’s World Cup players will also be in attendance for the tour's duration, including Wayne Rooney, David De Gea, Shinji Kagawa and Juan Mata.

Alongside these familiar faces fans will also see new signings Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw make their Manchester United debuts. Check out the final 25-man tour squad here.

Ashley Young says pre-season is key: “re-season is more intense and there’s a lot more running involved, but you’ve got to go through it to get yourself fully prepared for the new season.”

Big names in big places
After the opening match against LA Galaxy at the world-renowned Rose Bowl – one of the United States’ premier sports venues – United will face AS Roma in the International Champions Cup in a mile-high match in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, July 26, at Sports Authority Field – a site that will be forever known as Mile High to local fans.

The team then travels cross country to the capital to play Italian powerhouse Inter Milan at FedEx Field in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, July 29.

Four days later they travel back to the American heartland on Saturday, August 2 to face Spanish conquistadors Real Madrid at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Home to the University of Michigan, “The Big House” is the third largest stadium in the world. United are expected to play in front of a record crowd in The Big House with the match set to have the largest attendance for a football (soccer!) match in the United States. The stadium sold out in 24 hours this past spring – over 100,000 tickets!

If United make the final of the International Champions Cup, the pre-season tour will conclude with the final in Miami on Monday August 4.

United legend Paul Scholes says Tour matches will test Reds: “I think players prefer against top-class teams.”

Players relish challenge
The players will relish playing against some of the biggest teams in world football. “Football is becoming bigger in America all the time," says United legend Paul Scholes. "We've got eight million supporters there and you couldn't ask for eight better teams to play in this tournament. It'll be great for the fans to get a closer look at them and see us train and play.”

New kit debut
Fans will get their first glimpse of the squad playing in the new Chevrolet-sponsored 2014/15 kit in the opening match of Tour 2014, presented by Aon. The new kit was unveiled on Monday ahead of the new season and the players will wear it for the first time against LA Galaxy in the Chevrolet Cup at the Rose Bowl on 23 July.

Reds’ striker Wayne Rooney says team is determined: “Any player will tell you the most important thing for the season is to get a good pre-season under your belt and that's what we're all trying to do.”

Last season’s moving moments
Despite the team’s struggles last season, Manchester United and DHL delivered many moving moments that we will not soon forget. Click here to have a look at the highlights.