Breaking Down Tottenham's Pre-Season Friendly Opponents

With the majority of head coach Mauricio Pochettino's squad back in pre-season training, preparations for Tottenham Hotspur's 2014-15 campaign are well underway.

For supporters, glimpses of the team's sessions on social media are better than nothing after a month away. But the opportunity to actually see their team in action—players new and old working together for the first time—that is when things begin to feel real again.

Over the following pages Bleacher Report looks at Tottenham's announced opponents for this summer's friendlies.

We begin with the League One outfit hosting a Spurs XI side (likely consisting of development squad talent and any auxiliary players Pochettino needs to run the rule over), right up to the big-name opposition the first team will face just days prior to the Premier League season opener.

Pre-season only tells us so much, but they are nonetheless fascinating steps toward the proper action beginning.

Peterborough United, Saturday 18 July, London Road

Tottenham's first opponents of the summer, Peterborough United, got their pre-season off to a winning start this past week with a 3-2 win over Dulwich Hamlet. On the scoresheet was striker Joe Gormley, signed in June after netting 40 goals for Northern Irish side Cliftonville last season.

The 26-year-old's scoring exploits saw him mentioned in the same breath as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by UEFA.com's Darren Fullerton in the spring. Now Peterborough manager Dave Robertson is hoping Gormley can help fire his team out of League One.

"I'm over the moon, he's a fantastic signing for us," Robertson told The Posh TV. "We know that Joe is going to bring goals to the team next season."

Ninth in England's third tier last season, Posh have also added former West Ham United midfielder Jack Collison to a squad that includes former Spurs goalkeeper Ben Alnwick.

The new blood, coupled with last season's experience, has suitably raised expectations. "Anything but promotion is failure in my eyes," defender Michael Smith admitted to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, per BBC Sport.

With a game against West Ham already under their belts by then, Peterborough should be in shape to provide Spurs a decent examination of their burgeoning fitness levels.

MLS ALL Stars, Thursday 30 July, Dick's Sporting Goods Park

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Tottenham could face off against former star striker Robbie Keane, currently of LA Galaxy, in the MLS All Star game.

After 2014's three-match North American tour, Tottenham make a briefer visit to the States this year as they participate in the MLS All-Star Game.

The eighth English club to be invited to take on the league's best since the old East vs. West All-Star format was abandoned, Spurs follow Bayern Munich who were defeated 2-1 in last year's match.

Preferring to keep most of his team's preparations closer to home, the fixture is Pochettino's one pre-season concession to the now-routine activity of Premier League clubs heading overseas to further their global brand. 

Despite being a primarily commercial exercise, Spurs should find an exacting on-pitch challenge in the form of an MLS select group attempting to again demonstrate their ability against one of European football's famous old names.

The still-to-be-confirmed team could well feature former Spurs striker Robbie Keane, in his fifth year with the division's reigning champions Los Angeles Galaxy. For several of Pochettino's team, it will be their first opportunity to get some important minutes in their legs ahead of the Premier League season.

Stevenage, Saturday 1 August, Lamex Stadium

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Former Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham represented the club in a charity match in May. The newly appointed Stevenage manager now prepares to take on his old club.

Those not making the trip to Colorado will be heading to Hertfordshire as Spurs open August away at Stevenage.

A frequent pre-season opponent over the years, Stevenage's Lamex Stadium also hosts the club's under-21 fixtures that don't take place at the training ground or White Hart Lane. This latest meeting carries extra intrigue in that it is one of the first games for recently installed Stevenage boss and Spurs Hall of Fame inductee Teddy Sheringham.

"The aim is to do better than last season," said Sheringham to his new club's official website following his appointment, while understanding that will be difficult given they reached the League Two play-off semi-final. The existing Spurs links at the club did not escape him either. 

"I know a few of the boys, the likes of Chris Day were at Tottenham, I think Charlie Lee might have kicked me once or twice when he was coming through the ranks. I know Ronnie Henry too." 

Defender Mark Hughes, midfielder Steven Schumacher and centre-forward Brett Williams have all been drafted in to join those already there. Sheringham told the club's website he intends "to bring in two or three more players at least" but also stated "I like what I have got now, the base of what we have looks really good."

The Boro first team plays Wealdstone in its first friendly this weekend before visiting St Neots Town next week. Prior to taking on Tottenham in the final warm-up before the season begins, Sheringham's squad will take on another two of his old clubs, Nottingham Forest and Millwall.

Real Madrid, Tuesday 4 August, Allianz Arena

Associated Press

Another reunion is possible for Tottenham when they take on Gareth Bale and Luka Modric's Real Madrid in the Audi Cup.

Tottenham not wrapping up their pre-season programme with a fixture at White Hart Lane has been a rarity in recent times. But those supporters hoping to get a pre-opening day idea of how the club's new signings are faring alongside their new team-mates will likely have to be content with their involvement in the Audi Cup.

Their semi-final opponents out in Germany, Real Madrid, have changed manager more times than Spurs in the last decade.

"Here in Real Madrid the demands are great and nothing is ever enough," president Florentino Perez bluntly stated at the appointment of the latest man to try and fulfil the lofty expectations of the Bernabeu, former B team boss Rafa Benitez. Despite a mixed couple of years at Napoli, the well-travelled coach will be as confident as anyone he can do so.

"I hope things go well, that we are able to win titles and also that the team play well," Benitez said upon his arrival, also via the club's official website. "I would like to thank the club for the faith they have shown in my work."

He inherits a team that reached the semi-finals of last season's Champions League and finished second to the eventual European champions Barcelona in La Liga. A rough year by their standards, they certainly remain an opponent Pochettino will relish pitting his young team against.

The Spanish giants still boast an enviable array of talent including James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo and former Spurs men Gareth Bale and Luka Modric. Brazilian right-back Danilo is their standout recruit thus far this summer, and you would suspect others will soon join him.

Indeed, the Mirror's Liam Corless reports Real fans were chanting not-so-secret target David De Gea's name during the unveiling of the aforementioned signing from Porto.

AC Milan or Bayern Munich, Wednesday 5 August, Allianz Arena

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Mauricio Pochettino could get the opportunity to pit his wits against Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola.

Regardless of their result against Real Madrid, Tottenham will have one more match in Munich the following day. They will face either AC Milan or hosts Bayern in either the third/fourth play-off or final.

Last season's 10th-place finish in Serie A has prompted change on and off the pitch at Milan.

Pippo Inzaghi has been replaced with Sampdoria boss Sinisa Mihajlovic in the San Siro hot seat (almost as toasty as that found at the Bernabeu). Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca formerly of Shakhtar Donetsk and Sevilla, respectively, have been brought in to bolster the team's flagging attack. From within Italian borders they have drafted in Andrea Bertolacci and Luca Antonelli to try and improve things in midfield and defence.

The Rossoneri would kill for the kind of season Bayern Munich had.

Despite a dominant run to the Bundesliga title, the failure to win the Champions League has upped the pressure on Pep Guardiola.

Bayern have been brilliant more often than not on his watch. Yet Guardiola's inability thus far to replicate the success enjoyed by the team in Jupp Heynckes' final season two years ago could count against him soon enough, no matter the difficulty of matching 2012-13's extraordinary treble.

Should Spurs cross paths with Bayern in August, and depending on the circumstances, they could be witness to a fascinating atmosphere at the Allianz Arena.

Iffy performances from the German side in their own tournament do not necessarily mean anything at such an early stage. But Guardiola and his team would prefer to launch their latest pursuit for glory and history in the most positive fashion possible.