Published: Wednesday, 14th July, 2010 5:00pm

Ticket details for Athlone's festival of football revealed

by Kevin O'Neill

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LOCAL soccer followers are preparing for a festival of football at Athlone Town's Lissywoollen stadium next week, with English Championship club Middlesbrough and Spanish giants Villarreal due in town during the course of a spectacular week of action.

It all begins next Monday evening, July 19, at 7.45pm, as former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan brings his Middlesbrough side to Lissywoollen.

The meeting with Middlesbrough is quickly followed by a visit from another English side, this time League 2 side Port Vale, on Tuesday (July 20) at 7.45pm.

Athlone must then sandwich in a league fixture against Wexford Youths on Friday, July 23, at 7.45pm, before the keenly awaited arrival of La Liga giants Villarreal on Saturday (7pm).

The fixtures look hugely attractive for the club, particularly the visits of Middlesbrough and Villarreal, but are also bound to stretch Brendan Place's squad to its very limit, although Place is expected to only field his strongest team against Middlesbrough and Villarreal, as well as, of course, in the league against Wexford.

Middlesbrough are bound to raise a significant level of interest in Athlone, particularly with talismanic and often outspoken manager Gordon Strachan at the helm.

Strachan, who has previously managed Coventry City, Southampton and Celtic - the latter of whom he guided to three consecutive SPL titles - only took over at the Riverside Stadium in late October, stepping in to replace the sacked Gareth Southgate, who, at the time, had Middlesbrough in a seemingly healthy fourth placed position in the Championship.

However, Strachan took some time to settle in at the Riverside, and had to wait five games before tasting victory, and only three wins from his opening 16 games in charge saw Middlesbrough slip away from the Championship promotion race.

Strachan's side's form continued to be somewhat frustrating and inconsistent between then and the end of the season, and Middlesbrough finished the campaign in eleventh position, eight points adrift of a play-off place.

Strachan, 52, will be extra determined to get off to a positive start this season though, and has already added former Rangers striker Kris Boyd - the top goalscorer in SPL history - to his squad.

Speaking last week about the signings of both Boyd and former Charlton Athletic midfielder Nicky Bailey, Strachan said: "I hope we can make a right few signings over the next few weeks. We've got two of our main targets (Boyd and Bailey) early on."

The basis of a really strong Championship squad is already in place at the Riverside, with the likes of captain Gary O'Neil, Argentine midfielder Julio Arca, and former Celtic trio Barry Robson, Willo Flood and Scott McDonald on board.

The game is also likely to bring back many memories for former Willow Park youngster Sean Prunty, who signed for Middlesbrough in the late nineties as a teenager, and spent several years on Teeside before returning to the League of Ireland in 2000.

After playing Athlone next Monday, Middlesbrough travel to Wicklow to take on Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds next Wednesday, before jetting out to Germany for a short tour there.

Micky Adams' Port Vale are the visitors to Lissywoollen next Tuesday, when several of Athlone's fringe players are expected to be looked at by Brendan Place.

Founded in 1876, Port Vale currently play in League 2 in England, and narrowly missed out on the promotion play-offs last season.

Although their squad boasts very few well known players at present, Port Vale include players like Robbie Earle, Ian Taylor, Steve Guppy and Martin Foyle, among their more illustrious and successful past performers. The club is also renowned for boasting world famous popstar Robbie Williams among their loyal fanbase.

Villarreal CF, meanwhile, have announced they will bring a full-strength squad to Athlone for next Saturday week's friendly at Lissywoollen (7pm), apart from Spanish World Cup winner Joan Capdevilla, who will be given a well-deserved period of rest after helping his country to global dominance in South Africa. Villarreal, who finished seventh in last season's La Liga, and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2006, will include captain Marcos Senna, a member of the Spanish side that won the 2008 European Championships, and former Manchester Utd forward Guiseppe Rossi, who has 14 caps for Italy to his name.

Several players who featured in the World Cup Finals will also be in Athlone, including talented Brazilian forward Nilmar, who has eight international caps, and the United States international Jozy Altidore. Central defender Diego Godin was also part of the impressive Uruguay team that reached the semi-finals in South Africa, while Villarreal's squad also contains precocious Brazilian teenager Tiago Dutra, who at just 19 years of age, has already amassed a total of 18 caps for the Brazilian under-19 team.

Commenting ahead of the game against Athlone, Villarreal manager Juan Carlos Garrido said: "Recent years have been great for the game in Spain with the European Championship win and success in the various UEFA club competitions now capped off by the magnificent World Cup victory. La Liga is increasingly competitive, so it's vital we get off to a strong start when it recommences, and our match against Athlone Town is a very important part of our pre-season preparation."

Head of Football at Platinum One, the sports management agency responsible for Villarreal's trip to ireland, Eamon McLoughlin said: "Football fans throughout the Midlands are in for a treat when Villarreal visit Athlone. The Spanish style of football seen at the World Cup is the same with the top La Liga clubs like Villarreal, and anyone who enjoys open, attacking football should come to Athlone Stadium to see Villarreal."