Villa will host Spanish giants Valencia in a prestigious pre-season friendly on Friday August 6.The evening game will kick-off at 7.45pm and there will be a series of activities beforehand for all the family to enjoy.Martin O'Neill's men took on and defeated Champions League winners Inter Milan during the pre-season programme of 2007-08 and now it's the turn of Valencia, one of the biggest and most successful clubs in Spain.Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups.They also reached two Champions League finals in succession, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and then German club Bayern Munich in 2001.In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them.In the all-time La Liga table, Valencia are in third position behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.They are also huge in terms of support, with more than 50,000 season ticket holders and another 20,000 on the waiting list.The Spanish giants, managed by Unai Emery and boasting stars like David Navarro, Joaquin and Mehmet Topal, will provide a great test for Villa, as the claret and blue boss gears the side up for the upcoming 2010-11 campaign.Before this, Villa travel to Walsall on Tuesday July 27 [ko 7.45pm] for their first pre-season clash. Villa will then head for Portugal to compete in the Guadiana Cup against former European Cup winners Benfica and Feyenoord.The pre-season tournament is set to be played in Vila Real de San Antonio in the Eastern Algarve.It takes place over three days between July 30 and August 1 in the 11,000 capacity San Antonio Stadium.Pre-Season Games ConfirmedJuly 27: Walsall v VillaJuly 31: Villa v FeyenoordAugust 1: Villa v BenficaAugust 6: Villa v Valencia
Good friendly. Why can't we play on a Saturday though?
Friday night in Birmingham sounds good!
For the second year running the missus has booked our holiday at the wrong time. Last year we flew to Spain the day after the Peace Cup had finished.This year we're in Spain (about an hour and half away from Valencia) whilst the match is on, but it's at Villa Park!!!
Free Tip: secret for a long marriage/partnership - Don't let the missus book the holidays - take control man!!