Liverpool FC
Football - True Thai Premier League All Stars v Liverpool - Pre Season Friendly - Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand - 14/7/15 Liverpool players pose for their team group photo before the match REUTERS/Vivek Prakash Livepic

Queensland coach Mal Meninga, who has been a fan of iconic football club Liverpool, was the first to usher the Reds into Brisbane. Liverpool will face Brisbane Roars on Friday night as part of the club’s preseason tour in Australia.

Meninga was the first to introduce Liverpool’s trio of Kolo Toure, Mamadou Sakho, and Shayi Ojo to Caxton St., which was renamed as Anfield Road in honour of the English giant club’s arrival. Meninga, who became a Reds fan while playing rugby league for St Helens in the early 1980s, explained to the footballers how good the entertainment is in Queensland’s most iconic street.

"It's a great celebration when you've got a sporting event, this street is abuzz. Not many people make the game from here but it's an extraordinary place to come,”Meninga said according to the reports of Sydney Morning Herald.

The Maroons manager will also get the chance to meet Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers while the Reds stay in Brisbane. The 55-year-old State of Origin coach has been hopeful to learn from Rodgers and is “looking forward” to meet the Liverpool boss as reported by Fox Sports. Meninga also said he expects a jam-packed Suncorp Stadium with the same type of atmosphere it had during Queensland’s 52-6 Origin win over Blues in their series decider last week.

Meanwhile, Rodgers believes Liverpool’s preseason tour in Australia can strengthen his team for a tough Premiere League season. The 42-year-old manager said the club is looking to “maximise” what they can in their hectic schedule of preseason tours, but also cited that the Reds are “very honoured” to travel to countries that support Liverpool on a global stage. Rodgers added that after the tour, Liverpool will be in a “really good” football condition to start their campaign, A-league.com.au reported.

"There's always positives and negatives when you travel so far. I think for us we really focus on the positives,” Rodgers said.

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