Tottenham have confirmed they will travel to Israel to play against Roma for the I-Tech Cup in pre-season to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the new Premier League campaign. The match will see Jose Mourinho face Spurs in the managerial dugout for the first time since he was relieved of his duties by the north Londoners back in April of last year.
The Portuguese boss failed to win a trophy at Tottenham but has since enjoyed a better time of things in charge of Roma, who clinched this year’s Europa Conference League title with a narrow victory over Dutch outfit Feyenoord in the final on Wednesday evening. Mourinho will soon receive the opportunity to show his mettle against his former club by taking on Antonio Conte’s men in the Israeli city of Haifa in pre-season, as revealed in a statement on the club’s official website.
The match will take place on July 30 at the Sammy Ofer Stadium, which is able to hold a capacity of 30,780 supporters, and will form part of the I-Tech Cup, a format created to showcase local technologies in Israel. The fixture will represent the fourth encounter between Tottenham and Roma since 2008, with the Premier League heavyweights having registered a 4-1 victory in their last meeting in pre-season four years ago.
“We are delighted to be heading to Israel as the final part of our pre-season preparations and I would like to thank MTR7 for providing the opportunity for the Club to visit in July,” said Tottenham’s managing director of football, Fabio Paratici.
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“We are looking forward to an exciting fixture against a strong opponent in AS Roma. It will provide good preparation for the start of the new season the following weekend as we look to build on a strong 2021/22 season.”
Tottenham’s game against Roma will serve as the club’s final pre-season fixture after initial matches against Team K League and Sevilla, which will both take place in South Korea. Spurs will then briefly return to the UK to entertain Rangers at Ibrox prior to facing Roma in Israel.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Mourinho will be able to exact revenge over Tottenham in his first match against his former club since he was sacked by Daniel Levy towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign. The 59-year-old was dismissed just days before Spurs were due to face Manchester City in that season’s Carabao Cup final, a game they eventually lost under the guidance of interim boss Ryan Mason in spite of their best efforts.
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Mourinho’s time in charge of Tottenham appeared to take a downward twist during the latter stages of his tenure before he was relieved of his duties after drawing with Everton in his final match at the helm. He appeared to aim a sly dig in the direction of Levy when quizzed on the circumstances of his departure earlier this year despite having redeemed himself with a productive spell at Roma in the months since.
“I have to admit that in my long career, with so many things that have happened for good and for bad, that [sacking] is quite unique but I think that Mr. Levy is quite a unique person in football,” Mourinho told reporters last month.
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