Lunar New Year: Inter Milan, Liverpool and Man United ring in Year of the Ox
- European giants Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich target China and other Asian countries celebrating Lunar New Year
- Chinese-owned teams and English Premier League sides lead the way in what has become an annual event on football calendar
The Lunar New Year is upon us and nowhere is it more keenly marked than by the biggest clubs in European football.
These annual celebrations have become a key part on the calendar for those clubs with an eye on China and beyond where they look to build fanbases – and then cash in on them with lucrative marketing and sponsorship deals in the region, or even attract investment into the club.
This Year of the Ox, starting on Friday, is no different and it is the usual suspects who are making the effort despite the impact of Covid-19.
Inter Milan, who are owned by Chinese retail giant Suning (at least for the time being), have long gone above and beyond – the Year of the Ox is no different.
Once more the players will sport their names written in simplified Chinese characters in a game, this year against Lazio on February 14. The shirt will also see a special patch on the left sleeve and an Ox print in the number.
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In past years they have worn Chinese characters on the front and back of their shirt with then sponsor Pirelli appearing on the front against Cagliari in 2008.
The club have also released a video – playing on the difference between red cards and “hongbao”, the red packets used for gifting money and good fortune in China – and are set to release merchandise with an Inter logo that has been redesigned to include an Ox.
“The central protagonist of the festivities surrounding the new lunar year in the Nerazzurri household could be none other than Lautaro Martinez. Inter’s number 10, as well as being nicknamed ‘El Toro’ (Spanish for bull), was born under this sign in 1997,” the club said on their website.
Over in the English Premier League, Liverpool have cashed in on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose nickname is “The Ox”, with a video of him speaking to fans for their Hong Kong-based shirt sponsor Standard Chartered.
They made another video for fans in Asia, where manager Jurgen Klopp speaks Chinese.
The Anfield side have also marked the Lunar New Year with a special shirt. The champions’ limited edition shirt, made by kit manufacturers Nike, takes its inspiration from traditional Chinese knots.
Tottenham Hotspur launched their Lunar New Year campaign when they played Chelsea in the league earlier this month, wearing special T-shirts during the warm-up, the design of which was decided by the club’s Weibo followers.
Spurs campaign “aims to promote healthy living among its fans over the Chinese New Year period, with exclusive content featuring Heung-Min Son, Gareth Bale and Hugo Lloris”, they said on their website.
They will mark the Lunar New Year in Son’s native South Korea, as well as Malaysia and Vietnam.
Elsewhere in England, Arsenal and Manchester United were among the Adidas-sponsored clubs to mark the Year of the Ox with special clothing collections.
The Old Trafford side wore a special shirt during the warm-up of their English Premier League game against Liverpool on January 18. They also marked the celebration in “What’s Happening at United This Week?” on the club website.
European giants Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich were also given the same treatment by the German manufacturer, while Dutch side Ajax released a video as did Barcelona.
Others will surely follow this year or in the future.
