Ian Holloway literally fell off chair as Plymouth played Real Madrid in friendly

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    Fan-favourite Ian Holloway was so surprised at his Plymouth Argyle side facing Real Madrid that he didn't nearly fall out of his chair – he literally did.

    The Pilgrims, then a mid-table Championship team, were shockingly scheduled to face the La Liga giants in their first pre-season match ahead of the 2006/07 campaign.

    It came about after newly-appointed Los Blancos manager Fabio Capello discovered the Schloss Pichlarn retreat in Austria, his go-to spot for a summer training camp, was already booked up.

    Plymouth's chiefs had beaten him to it, so Capello offered to pay them to move to another base – and take them on over 90 minutes when they both got there.

    READ MORE: Pre-season's wildest scorelines – from two 22-0 beatings to Leyton Orient 6-1 Newcastle

    Holloway, who himself had just arrived on the south coast to take over from Tony Pulis, was asked about it in his first press conference after being signed.

    A reporter said: "Need a bit of reaction please to the Real Madrid match, and the fact obviously that's been confirmed now."

    What's the most unusual pre-season friendly your club have played? Let us know in the comments section.

    In true 'Ollie' fashion, he jokingly fell to the floor with a hilarious look on his face before the sentence had even been finished.

    "That's as true as you'll get really," he chuckled as the laughter broke out in the room after the initial sense of confusion had cleared.

    Holloway continued: "Send that to Soccer AM." And lo and behold, a clip of the moment ended up on Sky Sports' Saturday morning football show later that week.

    The veteran footy boss then added: "I told you you'd have some fun with me. What do you want me to say? Yeah we're playing Real Madrid, I'm sure they're worried about us."

    While many would have feared a battering for Argyle, they held their own against Real – who were without most of their top stars, in fairness, as the 2006 World Cup had not long finished.

    They only lost 1-0 at Austrian second division side Kapfenberg's Franz Fekete Stadium on July 21. Around 200 fans travelled from England to see the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, Thomas Gravesen and Guti in action.

    • Real Madrid FC
    • La Liga
    • Plymouth Argyle FC
    • Championship

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