Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou isn’t taking the pre-season lightly. Along with his two blockbuster matches against Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Liverpool, the coach is amping up the Victory pre-season with a number of friendlies.

This Tuesday, Victory take on Greek sponsored team Bentleigh Greens at Kingston Heath Reserve. Second on the ladder for this season, Bentleigh Greens are in good stead to make things difficult for the A-League team.

For Postecoglou, the matches are important for tackling fitness issues and getting much needed practice.

“They’re pretty important in our pre-season, we obviously need some games as well as training, it’s a long offseason in Australia and playing the VPL sides gives us that match practice,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

Already, Melbourne Victory played against VPL’s Richmond SC last Tuesday, securing a strong 2-1 win. Postecoglou fielded a young team, with Nathan Coe, Mark Milligan, Mitch Nichols and Archie Thompson away with the Socceroos. New Greek recruit Jesse Makarounas made another strong start with the side in the midfield, while the team managed to score two goals in the first half.

“It was a good game for us,” Postecoglou says. “We got what we wanted out of it, the players get some fitness and work on a few things.

“They get good crowds for those games and it’s a good atmosphere and it helps some of the local clubs as well.”

Richmond is currently eleventh on the ladder and has been struggling to boost its position, but fought a tough game scoring the first goal of the night.
Victory will then play newcomers to the VPL season, Port Melbourne Sharks, on July 16 at SS Anderson Reserve. After being promoted up to the seniors, Port Melbourne have been playing extremely well and sit fifth on the ladder.

The game will be crucial in helping Melbourne Victory train for the Liverpool match the week after. On top of that, Postecoglou will be coaching the All Stars A-League team against Manchester United.

“I’m going to camp with the All Stars the end of next week and then back here to prepare for the Liverpool game, so it’ll be exciting,” he says.

Already sold out, the Liverpool match will be a showstopper and comes just days after the Manchester United match.

Melbourne Victory July pre-season games:
Tuesday July 9 v Bentleigh Greens – Kingston Heath Reserve, kick-off: 7.30 pm
Tuesday July 16 v Port Melbourne – SS Anderson Reserve, kick-off: 7.30 pm
Wednesday July 24 v Liverpool FC – MCG, kick-off: 8.00 pm.
Tuesday July 30 v TBC