Plymouth Argyle will play Real Madrid in a prestigious pre-season friendly in Austria next week. Ian Holloway's men will face the nine-time European champions on July 21 at the Franz Fekete Stadion in Kapfenberg.
The Spanish club arranged the friendly after Argyle agreed to a request from the new Real manager Fabio Capello for them to switch their Austrian training camp base from the Schloss Pichlarn Hotel in Irdning next week as he wanted to take Madrid there.
However, Holloway, who was appointed last month, was slightly miffed about the inconvenience. "Who are they to move us? I don't like it myself. We're Argyle, get out of our way. We'll leave something on a few of them and I don't think they'll like that too much. It'll be something my lads will never forget. It will be an education for our lot. It's fantastic. Whatever side they put out, they will have some really good players. It's a once in a lifetime experience," Holloway explained yesterday.
Plymouth will be based at the nearby five-star spa resort of Loipersdorf, with the tour operators who arranged the trip picking up all the bills. "If it means we can stay in another good quality hotel for free, then that will suit us fine," Holloway added.