We’ve taken a look back at some of the most memorable Leeds United pre-season friendlies from the past few campaigns
Pre-season friendly are a fixture on the football fan calendar, allowing fans to assess their club’s team ahead of the new season.
Although the matches rarely bring the excitement of a competitive encounter, fans love them as a chance to return to their regular pattern of watching football with friends and family, sometimes even in the sun.
Many are ordinary or marred by repeated jokes about how proud the trialist family must be, but some stand out for a variety of reasons.
Some are remembered for their brilliance, while others are remembered for their oddity, and LeedsLive has chosen the most memorable Leeds United friendly of the last decade.
It is not uncommon to play against much weaker opposition in pre-season to increase confidence and gain match fitness.
However, scheduling a game against a team as bad as FC Gherdeina of Italy may not have been the best decision Leeds has ever made.
Leeds United faced the local side during a pre-season training camp in Italy and mercilessly crushed the minnows.
Matt Smith scored seven goals in the triumph, Noel Hunt had a hat-trick, and fellow forwards Steve Morison and Dominic Poleon also had braces. Midfielders Luke Murphy and David Norris also scored, as did young forward Lewis Walters.
Leeds United won 3-1 in 2014.
The thrashing of FC Gherdeina was not the only strange match to take place during the Italy trip.
The Whites were supposed to play Romanian side Viitorul Constanta, but when their opponents failed to appear, an in-house game was held for traveling fans.
The squad was divided into two teams and played three 20-minute sessions in front of bewildered fans, with the game concluding 3-1 to the team wearing the home kit.
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