Leeds United are in Australia and we’re going along for the ride as the Whites play three friendlies Down Under in just under two weeks. Jesse Marsch’s side are currently in Gold Coast, where they’ll take on Brisbane Roar on Thursday and they’ve already been pretty busy.
Here’s what happened on day one of United’s pre-season tour.
Surf’s up!
Leeds arrived at their Surfers Paradise hotel late on Monday night after almost 24 hours of travelling, but the Whites have been given little time to overcome their inevitable jet lag. The players were thrust into a gym session first thing this morning before travelling as a group to make their first public appearance of the tour.
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Given their location, that appearance simply had to come on the beach as they made their way down to the Kurrawa Surf Club to meet the mayor of Gold Coast. The Whites were presented with a surfboard featuring the club’s logo, while Jesse Marsch gave the mayor a Leeds shirt.
While Marsch and a handful of senior players were posing for photos and dealing with the local press, who had come out in force, the rest of the squad took the opportunity to knock a ball about on the beach and meet some of the locals.
Typical
The weather had already started to turn by the time Leeds arrived on the seafront, with dark, threatening clouds marring what had previously been a wonderful day on the east coast. The sun had been shining and while it wasn’t quite as hot as it is in the UK at present, the beach was full of sunbathers and a couple of surfers could be spotted bobbing up and down in the sea, too.
However, the change in weather was enough to clear the beach and by 3.30pm the heavens had opened. The rain continued throughout the entirety of Leeds’ first training session on Australian soil, but that didn’t stop the supporters coming out to watch United in action.
Leeds taking over
Despite Gold Coast being approximately 10,200 miles from Elland Road, the Whites will be feeling at home and not just because of the miserable weather. Everywhere Leeds have been they have been greeted by hundreds of adoring supporters, many of them with Aussie accents.
Leeds do have a strong supporter base Down Under due to the sheer amount of Australians who have represented the club in the past, but it’s easy to underestimate the popularity of the club in these parts until you witness it yourself. From their appointment with the mayor at 1.30pm to their open training session, Marsch’s side have been extremely popular and the promise of a Q&A with Patrick Bamford and Joe Gelhardt was enough to pack out Broadbeach Tavern.
There are still plenty of uncertainties regarding this Leeds team, but one thing is clear: Thursday’s game against Brisbane Roar seems to be the hottest ticket in town.
Excitement building
The so-called Queensland Cup may be just a pre-season exercise to Leeds, but it gives the Australian football fans a rare chance to see elite Premier League sides in action and they’ve certainly bought into it. Airport security staff, taxi drivers and barmen have been amongst those to showcase their enthusiasm and as the opening game nears it seems the excitement is starting to build.
Around 20,000 tickets have been sold so far for the Whites’ clash against the A-League outfit and the club are expecting double that for their game with Aston Villa at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Sunday. Pick up a newspaper in Queensland and the sport pages will be filled with rugby league, cricket and AFL coverage, but Leeds’ arrival in the Southern Hemisphere has certainly caused a stir.
Training gets underway
There was nothing easy about United’s first session Down Under as they stepped out at the Cbus Super Stadium, home of local NRL side Gold Coast Titans, to train in testing conditions. The jet lag may have been kicking in for some, but they were put through their paces in a number of short but intense drills.
New signings Tyler Adams, Darko Gyabi and Luis Sinisterra looked particularly impressive in training, while Dan James raised a cheer with a skilful goal from short range. Leeds will train once more before taking to the field on Thursday night to take on Brisbane and Marsch will be keen to make the most of the time he has with his team over the next fortnight.
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