By J Bateman
June 28 2002

Yes it is true Wolves are in europe but alas - only in friendly competition against 2 of Portugal's toughest teams Sporting Lisbon & Maritimo. Yes Wolves will be flying to Portugal again this pre season with high profile fixtures against Sporting Lisbon and Maritimo.

Wolves start the first of 2 fixtures against Portugese giants Sporting Lisbon on July 18th they are at the moment redeveloping there Avalade XXI ground which will when complete hold 72,000 , but sadly for Wolves won't be finished in time for the friendly so the game will be played at the training complex near by.

It's a massive game for wolves who face a number of world cup stars in the team like Rui George , Sa Pinto and Jao Pinto (who at the moment doesn't know if he'll play for Sporting again due to an incident in a world cup game just gone).

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Then 3 days later on july 21st Wolves will face Maritimo who run leeds close in the UEFA Cup last season.
Maritimo is on the pleasant island of Madeira and wolves won't be there for sunbathing it's hard work all the way , in preperation for the big kick off in august.
Estadio Dos Barreiros is the venue for the game and the staduim holds about 35,000 it's one of the smaller clubs in Portugal's top flight but are developing into one of the fiercest teams in the league

It will be a pleasing holiday for Wolves fans who are travelling out here but for the squad it's back to the graft and what graft it is against 2 of Portugal's finest.