Melbourne striker Danny Allsopp says he and his team-mates can't wait to take on Italian powerhouse Juventus at Telstra Dome on May 30.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Juventus, historically the most successful team in Italy with 27 Serie A titles, nine Italian Cups and two European Cups, had come to terms on a deal to play the match as part of their Asia-Pacific tour in May/June.
For Allsopp it presents an opportunity to match up against one of the most feared club defences in the world. He said there was not even a moment's hesitation when the players were asked to push back their annual leave to take part in the match.
"There was no real decision to make. It wasn't a factor. We can't wait for this game. It's a great time for us. We've gone all over Asia playing against good sides home and away and then we get this game on top of it. It's a good time to be a player for the Melbourne Victory," he said.
Allsopp said the match offered the Melbourne players an opportunity to not only test themselves against some of the best players in Europe, but also to showcase their talents on a world stage.
"The more people who are watching the better. It's a good challenge to play against players of the calibre who play for Juventus. Hopefully we can learn a few things from them as well. It's pretty amazing from where we've come from, the club and the league are still very young and now we're playing Juventus."
For Victory coach Ernie Merrick it's a very different challenge than the one he is embarking on at the moment in the Asian Champions League. He will be going from educating his players on teams they know little about to educating on them on taking on one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"We're certainly enjoying playing in the Asian Champions League at the moment but to snare a club like Juventus, the boys were happy to give up a week of their holidays," he said.
"Juventus is the team you dream about, they've had the best coaches in the world, they've supplied more players to the national team than any other team, they've won 51 trophies, they are just one of the biggest clubs in the world. And it's rumoured they have 170 million supporters worldwide."
So the great challenge for Merrick and his staff is how do you prepare yourself?
"I've already asked Aaron Healy (assistant coach), if he's had time to do some game analysis on Juventus," Merrick said. "He said, 'they're pretty good'"
"I'm hoping we'll have our full side back and available. Carlos Hernandez and Tom Pondeljak will both be available, while with a bit of luck, we might have Archie (Thompson) back. It will just be a great experience."