BANGKOK/MUNICH/TOKYO -- Major European soccer clubs, eyeing the enormous potential for revenues and expansion of the market, are including Asia in their regular summer calendars.
On July 21 a crowd of Chinese soccer fans rushed through downtown Shanghai, chanting, "Super Bayern! Super Bayern!" They wore red uniforms like those of the Chinese national team, but they were supporting Bayern Munich, the club that recently captured its 25th championship in the Bundesliga, the first division of the German professional league. Manuel Neuer, goalkeeper for both Bayern and the German national team who won the 2014 World Cup, delighted the fans with an unannounced appearance out of the pitch.
