One, a visionary, was looking for a product to push in the world’s richest market; the other, the world’s top product, was searching for a way to tap that market. Manchester United and New Jersey’s Charlie Stillitano – who engineered the ChampionsWorld Tour – were the perfect match.

Man U is the world’s biggest soccer club – vying with the Yankees for best-known sports team – because its leaders were decades ahead of the marketing curve . . . except here in the U.S.

But two men from New Jersey, Westfield’s Stillitano and North Brunswick’s Tim Howard, are helping crack that barrier.

“There’s obviously an advantage for first-movers into a marketplace,” Stillitano said. “One thing they’ve brought that benefited ChampionsWorld is other teams have seen their success and they want to emulate it, jump into the process.”

United bought Howard from the MetroStars last year, and the first American to win the FA Cup quipped, “It’s been said I was bought for one reason. If so, we both made out.”

United usually does.

“Last year it was obviously a very successful tour as far as coverage, sold-out games, attractive games; that’s why we wanted to come back,” said chief executive David Gill.

The tour started as an idea in Stillitano’s mind, as he saw passionate, overflow crowds at the 1994 World Cup he ran at the Meadowlands. Then the ex-Metros general manager wrangled with his old club and promoted a Real Madrid-Roma tilt that packed Giants Stadium.

Two years later, he has a nine-team, 11-game, $25 million tour.

“We were going to invest in the biggest and best teams,” Stillitano said. “MLS invested their money in American players and developing the league. This is a different economic model.”

As for staging yesterday’s United-AC Milan game at Giants Stadium on the same day as MLS’ All-Star game at RFK, MLS commissioner Don Garber said, “Am I happy there’s an international match the same day as our All-Star game? Of course not. But it’s in the long-term interest of the sport.”