Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier is no stranger to Victoria as the English Premier League club prepare for the International Champions Cup at the MCG.
Older brother Kelvin spent two years in the Regional Premier League, playing for Shepparton United between 2013 and 2014.
Kelvin was a key figure during his two seasons in Shepparton, the Englishman scoring the winning goal in the 2014 grand final, with sibling Kieran – then of Burnley – having travelled to Melbourne three years ago.
And with pre-season matches against Italian champions Juventus (July 26) and Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid (July 29) looming at the MCG, Kieran told Omnisport: “Melbourne’s a beautiful place and I was there watching my brother.
“It will be good to go back and play two games against top opposition. It will also be good to go away with all the boys back together so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Kieran added: “Shepparton is a quiet little town where my brother played but it is a really nice place with friendly people and it was good to see my brother play in a different atmosphere.
“We went to Melbourne a couple of times when I was out there and it’s a great place to be with so many wonderful places to visit.
“My brother loved Melbourne especially; he visited a few places in Australia but Melbourne was his favourite.
“It should be a great atmosphere whilst we are out there and we need to take it all in and enjoy it.”
Tottenham are set to descend on Australian shores for the second time in just over a year.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men graced Sydney in May last year before going on to finish third behind Leicester City in the Premier League in 2015-16.
Kieran did not feature in the 1-0 win over Sydney FC on May 30, having not yet signed from Burnley, but the 25-year-old insists his star-studded team-mates are relishing the opportunity to play in Australia again.
“I didn’t go Sydney before but the players that did have been talking about it and been saying what a good trip it was so everyone is really excited about returning,” Kieran continued.
That night in Sydney only enhanced the A-League’s growing reputation throughout Europe, with a Harry Kane strike all that separated the two teams in front of 71,500 fans at ANZ Stadium.
Melbourne Victory will fly the flag this time around – against Juve on Saturday – and Kieran and Co. have been impressed by the standard of the league.
“People know about it over here and you see more players going over there to play too,” he said, referring to the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, David Villa, Dwight Yorke, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono.
“It’s a good league to play in and I’ve watched it a few times on the TV too.”
