In less than a fortnight’s time, Leeds United will be jetting off to Australia to continue their preparations for the new Premier League season. The Whites will be there for around two weeks and they’ll take in three friendly matches along the way as they split their time between Gold Coast, Brisbane and Perth.
Jesse Marsch’s side will start their tour of Australia with a clash against Brisbane Roar, before they take on fellow Premier League sides Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. Leeds have a sizeable antipodean fan base and this won’t be the first time they’ve made the journey to Australia.
The last time they played on Australian soil was in 2019 under Marcelo Bielsa, and they made the journey back in 2002, too, with the likes of Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka in the side.
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Ahead of this year's pre-season trip, here’s a look back at their previous visits Down Under.
2019
The Whites travelled with a small squad as they prepared for their second Championship season under Bielsa. A host of key names such as Patrick Bamford, Pablo Hernandez and Kalvin Phillips made the trip, but a chunk of the squad were left at home to play a couple of friendlies on home soil.
Leeds made the journey direct to Perth to play old rivals Man United in front of 55,000 supporters at the Optus Stadium, where they will also be taking on Palace in three and a half weeks’ time. Ultimately, it was a result to forget for those Leeds fans in attendance, who were either based Down Under or had made the journey over, as they lost 4-0, thanks to goals from Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial.
They swiftly made the journey across to Sydney on the east coast, where they took on Western Sydney Wanderers at the Western Sydney Stadium in front of 24,419, which isn’t far off one of the biggest crowds the stadium has ever attracted.
Mateusz Bogusz scored the opening goal before the aptly named Kwame Yeboah netted for the home side. Hernandez came up with the goods in the final moments, though, to ensure Leeds wrapped up the tour with a win over the A-League side.
The tour was more than just about the games, though, as the club succeeded in engaging with those fans on the other side of the world. United saw signings sessions, open training sessions and fan Q&As full to the brim with supporters, and they’ll be heading out in a few weeks to do it all over again, such was the impression made by those Down Under.
2002
Terry Venables was in charge 17 years earlier as the Whites made a fleeting visit to Melbourne back in 2002 and having missed out on Champions League qualification, something that led to the sacking of David O’Leary, it’s fair to say there was plenty going on in the background.
The clash at the Docklands Stadium came just a few days after Rio Ferdinand had signed for Man U and supporters took the opportunity to voice their feelings about the centre-back and his decision to leave Leeds for their biggest rivals. Nigel Martyn had opted out of making the trip, preferring to stay at home instead, while Lee Bowyer was refusing to sign a new deal.
Adding to the excitement of the tour, though, was Leeds’ contingent of Aussies with Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Jacob Burns and Danny Milosevic all in the squad at the time. The game came as part of Leeds’ tour of the Far East and Australia and they made the trip after thumping Green Town FC 5-1 in China.
Chilean outfit Colo Colo would be Leeds’ opponents in Melbourne and it was home favourite Kewell who notched the only goal of the game, beating three players to fire home in style. United would finish their tour with a clash against a Bangkok XI in Thailand before heading home to start their Premier League campaign with a 3-0 win over Man City.
Ultimately, though, the 2002-03 season would be a difficult one.
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