Real Madrid Coming To Dean Court

Last updated : 05 July 2013 By Bournemouth Co-Ordinator

With news breaking while I was on holiday (wearing a Cherries shirt in Benidorm) that AFC Bournemouth are hosting Real Madrid on July 21st (ko @ 1945), here's some reaction to that historic annoucement.

Manager Eddie Howe was quoted in the Bournemouth Evening Echo as saying: "It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this football club to play one of the top club sides in world football, so it was a very easy decision for us to add it to our pre-season schedule. It is going to be a brilliant day in the history of AFC Bournemouth. To play a club side like Real Madrid is something I never thought would happen here. To be given that opportunity to be able to pitch ourselves against some of the best players in the world will be a wonderful learning experience for the group, and that will no doubt help us towards the season".

There has been some raised eyebrows that tickets for this match will be in the region of £60 each. Chairman Eddie Mitchell is quoted as saying: "It is very difficult to see where to pitch prices but we have things to cover. The press that it will get is priceless but we have done our best to keep them (prices) to a minimum. We appreciate it is hard times for people but we have to get revenue into the club and we have tried to be sensible about it".