Before taking charge of Macarthur FC, the A-Leagues All Stars represent Dwight Yorke’s first coaching gig.
The All Stars will go up against LaLiga juggernaut Barcelona in a blockbuster friendly at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Wednesday.
It’s Barcelona’s first trip to Australia after Xavi’s men concluded their 2021-22 LaLiga campaign on Sunday.
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As Yorke prepares to lead the All Stars against Barca in his first foray into management before getting to work with Macarthur in the Isuzu UTE A-League, he told reporters: “I knew I wanted to go into management but I didn’t envisage that Barcelona would be my first ever coaching assignment.
“We know we won’t get some of the players we want because of the (A-League) grand final (between Melbourne City and Western United) on the weekend.
“Who doesn’t want to play against Barcelona? It would be naive for anybody to miss out. I want to make it clear that I’ll use every individual who has travelled to be here.”
Barca land in Sydney on a charter flight in the early hours of Tuesday morning before a game against the revived A-Leagues All Stars at midweek.
They then depart first thing Thursday morning, a little over 48 hours after they arrive.
The A-Leagues will host a joint press conference on Tuesday afternoon with Barca boss Xavi and Yorke.
A picture opportunity follows in front of the Harbour Bridge before an open training session on Tuesday evening prior to Wednesday’s game.
Despite the short time on Australian soil and limited build-up in the A-League Men Grand Final week, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) say they have sold over 60,000 tickets.
Barca’s top goalscorers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay are on the plane from Spain as is prodigious talent Ansu Fati, goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Dani Alves.
Veteran defender Gerard Pique has not travelled with the group, while Ferran Torres cannot enter Australia as he has not “completed the required vaccination programme”, according to Barcelona.
The contest is the first All Stars game since 2014 after the league’s best lost 3-2 to Juventus.
