A-League club Melbourne Victory will play a one-off match against Italian giants Juventus at Telstra Dome next month.
Victory chairman Geoff Lord said Juventus had guaranteed they would send a squad that was close to full strength and he expected the May 30 clash to attract a huge amount of interest.
"Juventus to Italy are like Manchester United to the United Kingdom, they are one of the all-time great clubs in the world," Lord said.
"They have agreed to play one game in Australia ... there's no AFL football (in Melbourne) that night so we are hopeful it is a major spectacle and a major sporting event for the whole of Melbourne."
In particular, Lord said they were expecting a huge amount of interest from Melbourne's large Italian community.
Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri said in a press release issued by Melbourne Victory that he was looking forward to the game.
“Melbourne Victory is one of the top teams from the A-League, and I’m definitely looking forward to playing the upcoming match in Melbourne,” said Ranieri.
“The club also has a large pool of fans in Australia and we are looking forward to meeting our fans there.”
Victory players agreed to delay their annual leave by a week to play in the match, but striker Daniel Allsopp said it was an easy decision.
"Its a good challenge to play against players of the calibre that play for Juventus, hopefully we can learn something if nothing else," Allsopp said.
How good would that be. Go JUVE!
I will come down from Sydney for that match!
Victory chairman Geoff Lord said Juventus had guaranteed they would send a squad that was close to full strength and he expected the May 30 clash to attract a huge amount of interest.
"Juventus to Italy are like Manchester United to the United Kingdom, they are one of the all-time great clubs in the world," Lord said.
"They have agreed to play one game in Australia ... there's no AFL football (in Melbourne) that night so we are hopeful it is a major spectacle and a major sporting event for the whole of Melbourne."
In particular, Lord said they were expecting a huge amount of interest from Melbourne's large Italian community.
Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri said in a press release issued by Melbourne Victory that he was looking forward to the game.
“Melbourne Victory is one of the top teams from the A-League, and I’m definitely looking forward to playing the upcoming match in Melbourne,” said Ranieri.
“The club also has a large pool of fans in Australia and we are looking forward to meeting our fans there.”
Victory players agreed to delay their annual leave by a week to play in the match, but striker Daniel Allsopp said it was an easy decision.
"Its a good challenge to play against players of the calibre that play for Juventus, hopefully we can learn something if nothing else," Allsopp said.
How good would that be. Go JUVE!
I will come down from Sydney for that match!
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