It wasn’t that long ago, under the heady reign of David Hockaday, that Leeds United faced off against FC Gherdeina on a preseason tour of Italy.
To say that Leeds’ opponents that day were a pub team would be to describe them graciously. It wasn’t a result, more of a rout as the Whites cantered to an easy 16-0 victory. The tour also saw Leeds’ players take part in cold water therapy, recovery that saw them sat in a flowing Italian stream.
Thankfully, the reign of Hockaday was a mercifully brief one. The level of footballing friendly was upscaled, and last summer’s friendlies even saw the Whites ‘first-team’ squad take on a national side in Myanmar, a two-match stop that drew its own criticisms.
However, news is bubbling from many sources that the Whites are ramping it up somewhat for next summer. Leeds are being slated to take on no other than their bitter rivals in Manchester United. These reports have been picked up by local press, including the Yorkshire Evening Post who carry it in the following story.
All reports emanate from Australian media site The World Game who say that the War of the Roses rivals are set to play in Perth next summer “as part of a blockbuster pre-season tour” that they say is due “to be announced this week.”
The Whites are scheduled to play the Red Devils at Perth’s Optus stadium on Wednesday July 17, as well as taking on Western Sydney Wanderers in the official opening of the Western Sydney stadium in Parramatta on Sunday July 21.
From summers past of wallowing in cold Italian streams after hammering minnow village sides to basking in the Antipodean sun and harder matches against bitter rivals, Leeds United have come a long way.
