Sir Alex Ferguson returns to his former stomping ground on Saturday afternoon as Manchester United face Aberdeen in the 'Gothenburg Greats' testimonial match.

Fergie managed Aberdeen to European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph some 25 years ago – and Saturday’s fixture has been arranged to pay tribute to some of greats who made up that side. United then travel to South Africa for the 'Vodacom Challenge Cup'.

The Red Devils are set for fixtures in Cape Town, Durban and Tshwane - but, despite its glamorous trophy, don't get any ideas about this being a particularly competitive tournament. United play the Kaiser Chiefs on the 19th July and the Orlando Pirates three days later. However, even if we lose both games; we automatically qualify for the final. The Chiefs and the Pirates will do battle on the 24th of July in the 'Soweto Derby' to decide who gets to play United a second time and contest the final of the competition – which takes place at the Loftus Stadium two days later.

After the jaunt to South Africa, United stop off in Nigeria for a bizarre friendly against Portsmouth. The two teams are already doing battle in the 2008 Community Shield – but that didn’t stop this meaningless game being organised just the day after our “Cup Final” against Soweto’s top club. It's part of the Tinapa Invitational Cup - though United insist they will only play one match and it will be against fellow English opposition. On return to British soil.

United face Espanyol on August 2nd at Old Trafford in a game which has been earmarked as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's testimonial. That's followed with a friendly at Peterborough - managed by Fergie's son Darren - two days later; before pre-season games are concluded with a glamour tie against Juventus on August 6th.

As per usual, it’s an exciting line-up of matches and I'm all for giving friendly matches a competitive edge. However, I do struggle to get overly excited when the bulk of these games have been organised with money in mind. Nevertheless, I must admit to looking forward to seeing the lads back in action – and we’ll have full and comprehensive coverage here on ManUtdWeb.com.

Below is a full list of our pre-season expeditions: 

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