Celtic. Manchester United. Barcelona. Three iconic global clubs will be Down Under later in 2022, continuing a tradition of football’s powerhouses visiting Australia.
From Juventus and Liverpool, to Manchester United and Atletico Madrid, we have been treated to visits from some of the world’s biggest clubs, who have travelled to Australia to face Isuzu UTE A-League opposition or the A-League All-Stars.
As Aussie fans look forward to a mouth-watering calendar, we’ve taken a walk down memory lane.
May 30, 2008: Melbourne Victory 1-4 Juventus at Marcel Stadium (43,357)
In their second season back in Serie A having been relegated to Italy’s second tier in 2006, Juventus still showed they can draw a crowd against Victory. While they lost to a Juve side including Aussie goalkeeper Jess Vanstrattan, Carlos Hernandez provided fireworks for Victory with his long-range stunner.
July 12, 2009: Brisbane Roar 0-3 Celtic at Suncorp Stadium (31,340)
Scottish giants Celtic visited Brisbane to face Frank Farina’s Roar, which marked a senior club debut for Luke Brattan against Scott McDonald and Co.
July 3, 2011: Central Coast Mariners 1-0 Celtic at Stadium Australia (19,482)
Celtic’s latest Aussie tour kicked off against the Mariners, whose late show stunned the Glasgow giants via Troy Hearfield’s 86th-minute worldie.
July 10, 2011: Perth Glory 0-2 Celtic at HBF Park (15,350)
Perth were brave but outclassed by Celtic in front of a sea of purple and green. Gary Hooper, who has been granted a release by Wellington Phoenix, and Charlie Mulgrew inspired Celtic as Danny Vukovic, Jacob Burns, Shane Smeltz, Adam Taggart, Liam Miller, Travis Dodd and Mile Sterjovski all played for the Glory.
July 14, 2011: Melbourne Victory 0-1 Celtic at AAMI Park (20,794)
The final stop on Celtic’s tour was Melbourne. Super-sub Scott Brown was the difference between the two teams as Marco Rojas impressed for Victory.
July 20, 2013: A-League All Stars 1-5 Manchester United at Stadium Australia (83,127)
The first instalment of the All-Star concept pitted the A-League Men’s best and Ange Postecoglou against a United team kicking off the post-Alex Ferguson era. David Moyes had the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Robin van Persie and Ryan Giggs at his disposal.
July 24, 2013: Melbourne Victory 0-2 Liverpool at the MCG (95,446)
A fixture that still lives long in the memory and left quite the impression on Steven Gerrard. Almost 100,000 supporters packed into the MCG to see iconic Liverpool play Postecoglou’s Victory, delivering a stirring rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone.
August 10, 2014: A-League All-Stars 2-3 Juventus at Stadium Australia (55,364)
The second edition of the All-Star fixture saw the visit of Serie A champions Juventus. Bianconeri legend Alessandro Del Piero was the star of the show following his switch to Sydney FC two years earlier. Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Carlos Tevez and Patrice Evra were the headline acts.
May 30, 2015: Sydney FC 0-1 Tottenham at Stadium Australia (71,549)
Graham Arnold’s Sky Blues went up against Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, with Harry Kane scoring the only goal of the friendly.
June 2, 2015: Sydney FC 0-1 Chelsea at Stadium Australia (83,598)
The big guns continued to arrive in Sydney, with Jose Mourinho’s Premier League champions Chelsea the next opponent only days later. Again, the Sky Blues succumbed to one goal – Loic Remy.
July 18, 2015: Melbourne City 0-1 Manchester City at Cbus Super Stadium
Mauricio Pellegrini’s Manchester City earned bragging rights over sister club and fellow City Football Group outfit Melbourne City on the Gold Coast. Samir Nasri settled the friendly four minutes from the end.
July 23, 2016: Melbourne Victory 1-1 (4-3 on pens) Juventus 2016 at the MCG (23,174)
Victory and Juve renewed acquaintances in the International Champions Cup. It saw the emergence of Sebastian Pasquali as Kevin Muscat’s men outlasted the Italian visitors on penalties.
July 31, 2016: Melbourne Victory 1-0 Atletico Madrid at GMHBA Stadium (16,652)
Victory featured in another blockbuster fixture, this time against Diego Simeone’s Atletico in Geelong. And again, Victory came out on top courtesy of Nick Ansell.
May 24, 2017: Sydney FC 0-3 Liverpool at Stadium Australia (72,892)
Jurgen Klopp brought Liverpool back to Australia five years ago. Daniel Sturridge – now playing for Perth Glory, Alberto Moreno and Roberto Firmino all scored for the Reds, who had Gerrard and Jamie Carragher roll back the years too.
July 13, 2017: Sydney FC 0-2 Arsenal at Stadium Australia (80,432)
In the first of two fixtures in Australia, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal went head-to-head with ALM champions the Sky Blues. Per Mertesacker and Alexandre Lacazette downed Sydney.
July 15, 2017: Western Sydney Wanderers 1-3 Arsenal at Stadium Australia (83,221)
A couple of days later, the Wanderers were Arsenal’s opposition at the same venue. Steven Lustica scored for Western Sydney but the Gunners continued their pre-season preparations through Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny.
July 23, 2018: Perth Glory 0-1 Chelsea at Optus Stadium (55,522)
Chelsea began a new era under Maurizio Sarri in Western Australia, where an historic fixture took place with Jorginho, Alvaro Morata, Pedro, David Luiz and Cesc Fabregas all on show while Diego Castro headlined Perth’s squad. It was the largest crowd in Glory’s history and the biggest ever at a football match in the state.
July 13, 2019: Perth Glory 0-2 Manchester United at Optus Stadium (50,206)
New Socceroo Bruno Fornaroli led the line for Tony Popovic’s Perth against United, who won thanks to late goals from Marcus Rashford and James Garner.
And lets not forget…
July 15, 1999: Socceroos 0-2 Manchester United at the MCG (60,000)
While they didn’t face A-Leagues opposition, Mark Bosnich and the Red Devils – fresh off winning the treble – played a pair of friendlies against the Socceroos.
July 18, 1999: Socceroos 0-1 Manchester United at Stadium Australia
The Sydney friendly at the newly built Olympic Stadium was overshadowed by a serious knee injury suffered by emerging Socceroos sensation Simon Colosimo.
November 27, 2008: Sydney FC 5-3 LA Galaxy at Stadium Australia (80,295)
Not a global giant, but MLS side LA Galaxy rolled into town with their superstar David Beckham and he lit up Sydney, scoring a trademark free-kick as Becks mania swept through the US, Australia and the world.
December 6, 2011: Melbourne Victory 2-2 (3-4 on pens) LA Galaxy at Marvel Stadium (34,608)
Former Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris Saint-German and England winger Beckham came back to Australia three years later. Robbie Keane scored twice for the Galaxy against Mehmet Durakovic’s Victory as Harry Kewell watched from the sidelines.
Prior to the A-Leagues era, the likes of AC Milan, Red Star Belgrade, Franz Beckenbauer’s New York Cosmos, Partizan Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb have visited the country to face the Socceroos or an Australia XI.
Real Madrid, Roma and City have also featured in the International Champions Cup Down Under in recent years, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s last visit coming with Los Blancos to the MCG.
Have you sampled our new mid-week podcast? In My Football Passport we go one-on-one with fascinating Australian football personalities as they share anecdotes from their football journeys. Listen below, or via your favourite podcast platform.
