Although the pre-season tour has become an opportunity for many clubs to pull off marketing coups and try to win over new fans from the four corners of the globe, it is first and foremost a chance to gauge the results of the physical and tactical work carried out over the summer. It is also an opportunity for more or less modest clubs to come up against others with a better reputation or a higher level. So every year brings its share of surprises for fans, both in terms of the fixtures on offer and the results achieved.
And while the results may be honourable, they can also create indelible memories. This article now lists 11 of the strangest pre-season friendlies in football history. 11 Strangest Pre-Season Friendlies in Football History 1 Real Madrid - Plymouth Argyle 1-0 2006 2 Heaton Stannington - Gabon Olympic 0-4 2012 3 Club Brugge - Otelul Galati 2-1 2013 4 FC United of Manchester - SL Benfica 0-1 2015 5 Hibernian - Barcelona 0-6 2008 6 Shrewsbury Town - Galatasaray 0-3 2013 7 Juventus - Notts County 1-1 2011 8 Fluminense U23 - Exeter City 0-0 2014 9 BG Pathum United - Borussia Dortmund 4-0 2024 10 Bournemouth - Real Madrid 0-6 2013 11 Walsall - Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 2018 Depending on how you spin it, Walsall's victory over could be seen as the starting point for the Dutch side's fantastic run of form in the 2018/19 season.
Back in July 2018, few would have predicted that 's men would be just a few months later - and this after having knocked out Real Madrid. Andy Cook's .