Invisible Real apologise to Chinese fans

Real Madrid have apologised to hundreds of Chinese fans who showed up to watch their heroes training only to discover they would not get to see new signing David Beckham and his team mates after all. Officials from Real and the provincial government of Yunnan, where the club is training for a week amid swamps, mountains and ghostly mists, on Sunday said sorry to media in China for mix-ups that have sparked criticism in the local press.

Heavy rain and a rash of publicity blunders were behind the controversy that began on Saturday morning when fans packed bleachers to watch Real train, only to learn that the team was resting after a long flight from Madrid the previous day.

On Sunday morning, supporters came out by the hundreds again but had to wait an hour under heavy rain before Real appeared. The team began drills out of the fans' view on a nearby pitch, to prevent ground conditions at the main venue deteriorating.

Real and their hosts blamed the scheduling snafus on misunderstandings with local organisers and the weather.

"I want to apologise for the confusion in the first two days and want to gain your understanding," deputy sporting director Emilio Butragueno told some 200 reporters via an interpreter.

Yunnan government secretary Cui Zhitao also apologised to journalists, saying a typhoon that hit southeast China last week had brought unusually troublesome weather.

"This continuous rain has caused certain difficulties for Real Madrid's training," said the official.

Real's hosts in Kunming, tobacco giant Hongta, have pledged to hand out training passes to employees of the state-owned cigarette manufacturer rather than sell them to the public.

But many of the fans at the training sessions bought tickets resold at prices as high as 500 yuan ($60), the better part of a month's wage for some working class Chinese in the cities.

"People did this on their own," Hongta general manager Qin Shaogao told Reuters. "It's hard for me to say how it happened."

Real are due to pocket eight million euros ($9.1 million) from four friendlies on their Asia tour but sporting director Jorge Valdano said before they left that the trip was more about meeting fans and boosting the club's image than the money.

At the same time, new coach Carlos Queiroz has made clear that their main mission is to get ready for the coming season.

Ordinary fans were not the only ones upset at not seeing Ronaldo, Raul, Beckham and company, who are staying in a villa under heavy security.

After Real arrived on Friday following a 15-hour flight, they left a banquet with the provincial governor earlier than the hosts expected and many guests never caught a glimpse of the players.

A ceremony to name Real "honorary citizens" of Kunming, originally planned for Friday, has been rescheduled for Monday.