Michael Owen scored the winning goal in a friendly with Malaysian XI

London is hosting two friendly mini championships 迷你联赛: the Wembley Cup and the Emirates Cup.

The Wembley Cup allows teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, Celtic and Al Ahly (of Egypt) to show their potential 展示他们的潜力 against Champions League winners Barcelona.

These games matter  "[Harry Redknapp] knows you can't say these games don't matter, because they do."   Terry Venables, Ambassador for the Wembley Cup

Even though these matches are widely known as friendlies they are often taken very seriously.

Talking as an ambassador 形象大使 for the Wembley Cup, Terry Venables discussed Tottenham's involvement in the competition. He said of their manager Harry Redknapp:

"[He] knows you can't say these games don't matter 不重要, because they do. It's so important you get a good work out 锻炼 ahead of the season."

Commenting on the Emirates Cup, Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal Chief Executive said:

"The tournament will provide a very competitive level of preparation 有竞争性的准备 for all the teams ahead of the 2009/2010 season."

Very competitive  The tournament will provide a very competitive level of preparation."   Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal Chief Executive

So these matches help teams to prepare for the following season, they showcase 展示 young and upcoming 新兴 players and they offer first glimpses 最初的几次亮相 of new signings 签约球员。

Perhaps most importantly, they allow international fans a rare opportunity 难得的机会 to see their favourite players in the flesh 本人。

And whilst many teams have chosen to participate in UK, European or US-based friendlies, Manchester United and Liverpool will be two Premiership teams spending their summer that little bit further afield 远一点的地方。

Liverpool's summer schedule includes matches in Thailand and Singapore while Manchester United's tour takes in Indonesia, Malaysia and China.

Unfortunately for Manchester United, their tour has been hit by a not-so-friendly turn of events 情况发展。 Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United Manager, made the difficult decision to abandon 取消 the opening game of their tour after a bomb was detonated 被引爆 at the Jakarta hotel in which the players were due to be staying.

However, the Manchester United players did make it onto the pitch 出现在球场上。 Michael Owen scored a winning goal in his debut 首次亮相 for the team and earned them a victory over Kuala Lumpur. They will now continue with the rest of their East Asia tour and will play FC Seoul and Hangzhou Greentown FC in coming weeks.