Norwich City vs Real Mallorca

[Huckerbys right foot]

Norwich City will complete their preparations for the Premiership campaign by playing Spanish top flight side Real Mallorca at Carrow Road, it has been revealed.

The team who inflicted a 3-2 home defeat on mighty Real Madrid last month will be City's opponents for their only home pre-season friendly of the summer on Saturday August 7.

The Canaries have yet to officially announce the game – but, as the EDP reports, the date has been confirmed on Mallorca's official website, with the City fixture coming at the end of a mini tour that also takes in visits to Leicester (July 31) and Middlesbrough (August 4).

It will be a tough test for Nigel Worthington's men – and one they will need before the big kick-off the following Saturday when the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United could be the opposition.

Mallorca have established themselves as a solid outfit in the La Liga in recent years, and their famous victory in the Bernabeu on May 9 helped them to a creditable 11th placed finish. Their Spanish Cup win in 2003 earned them a place in last season's UEFA Cup where they reached the fourth round before losing 7-1 on aggregate to Newcastle.

The Islanders stunned Sir Bobby Robson's side by taking a 1-0 lead at St James' Park in the first leg, with Uruguayan Fernando Correa netting a 57th-minute opener. But the Magpies hit back to score four times in 17 minutes and won the return leg 3-0 to complete a crushing triumph.

Mallorca were some way below their best in those games, but recovered to finish strongly in the league and will be looking to carry that form into pre-season. So the newly-promoted Canaries will need to be at their best when they make their first appearance of the summer in front of their own fans.

The visitors' best known player is probably Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o who was recently nominated for the African Footballer of the Year award. The talented striker scored 18 goals in La Liga last season and has frequently been linked with a move to a bigger club, with a number of English sides rumoured to be admirers.

Other big names include veteran defender Miguel Angel Nadal, the former Spanish international who spent nine years at Barcelona, and Dutch international striker Arnold Bruggink, who made his name with PSV Eindhoven.

There's also an East Anglian connection at Mallorca, with one-time Ipswich Town winger Finidi George now plying his trade in the Balearics. The Nigerian international, who cost Town a small fortune in fees and wages during his ill-fated stay at Portman Road, headed straight back to his former club once a sizeable pay-off had been negotiated.

All things considered it looks like the ideal game to christen the newly-laid Carrow Road surface, and completes a sensible looking build-up to the Premiership, with matches against First Division Coventry and Second Division Peterborough preceding the big homecoming.


GREAT NEWS OUR ONLY HOME FRIENDLY GAME IS VS A NICE OPPOSITION WHO BOAST DECENT PLAYERS!!

I'LL BE GETTING TICKETS!

::leedswac