THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — There’s no doubt which team Mike Humphrey will be cheering for when English giants Liverpool meet Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon.
The president of LFC Toronto, Liverpool’s biggest supporters group in North America, cheers for Canada’s first Major League Soccer team, but his heart still rests in Merseyside.
"Who will I be cheering for? It will be Liverpool," Humphrey said with a laugh Wednesday. "I’ve been a Liverpool fanatic since I was a little boy."
While the 59-year-old will have no trouble picking sides, he says other members of LFC Toronto will have their allegiances tested.
"It’s going to be kind of bitter-sweet for some of us because all of our members are massive Liverpool supporters but we all love Toronto FC as well," he said.
The Premier League club kicks off its pre-season North American tour against TFC this weekend before dates with Italy’s A.S. Roma at Fenway Park in Boston and English rivals Tottenham in Baltimore.
On Wednesday, Liverpool announced the roster of players that will travel to Toronto. The list includes England internationals Steven Gerrard, Andy Carroll, Glen Johnson, Stuart Downing and Jordan Henderson, as well as Joe Cole and Jamie Carragher.
Humphrey, who grew up in Liverpool and immigrated to Canada in 1976, would watch his team play with other ex-pats before the group officially formed LFC Toronto in 2001. The club boasts some 200 members, but that number can more than double at a local Toronto bar for big matches.
Humphrey, who also saw Liverpool play Portugal’s F.C. Porto at Rogers Centre in 2004, says he knew about the game against Toronto FC months before it was announced.
"It was one of the hardest things to keep quiet," he said. "I have really good contacts at Liverpool Football Club and I’d been told Liverpool were coming to Toronto but we weren’t allowed to say anything. "
It hasn’t been easy to be a Liverpool fan in the last few years. The 18-time English league champions have failed to contend in the Premier League of late and will miss out on the Champions League for a third straight campaign in 2012-13.
Former player Kenny Dalglish was fired as the club’s manager in May after an eighth-place finish and Brendan Rodgers was introduced as his replacement on June 1.
"It really did leave a sour taste in your mouth the way Kenny left the club," Humphrey said. "He’s a legend."
But as always, a new season brings new hope.
"I still love Kenny Dalglish and I was very disappointed with the way that ended," Humphrey added. "(But) you’ve just got to give your support to Brendan Rogers and hope he does well."