Real Madrid to play J-League clubs in pre-season

Real Madrid will play J-League clubs JEF United Ichihara and Tokyo Verdy on a pre-season tour of Japan, the Japanese clubs announced on Monday.

The Spanish giants face Ichihara on July 29 at National Stadium and Tokyo Verdy across town at Tokyo Stadium on August 1.

Real, whose squad of "galacticos" includes Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham, finished fourth in La Liga last season after losing five straight games in a humiliating run-in which cost their coach Carlos Queiroz his job.

The Spaniards also toured Japan before last season and some Spanish media commentators said the tiring schedule of lucrative appearances there could have contributed to some degree to their subsequent failure in the primera liga.

Spanish and UEFA Cup champions Valencia play a pre-season match against Japanese side Albirex Niigata on August 1.

Barcelona, runners-up in Spain last season, also travel to Japan to play J-League clubs Kashima Antlers and Jubilo Iwata in early August.