This is shaping up to be the summer that soccer fans in Philadelphia get spoiled.
After the AT&T MLS All-Star Game featuring UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea on July 25, Philadelphia will also host a 2012 World Football Challenge match featuring Real Madrid taking Celtic on August 11 at Lincoln Financial Field (1:30 pm ET).
Tickets for the match go on sale on Monday, June 4.
The event pits Real Madrid, reigning champions of Spain's La Liga, against the recently crown Scottish Premier League champions. Both legendary sides beat out their most bitter rivals — Barcelona and Rangers — for their respective domestic titles.
Real Madrid are already set to play two other WFC matches against MLS champions LA Galaxy on August 2 at The Home Depot Center and then against Italian Serie A winners Juventus on August 5 in Las Vegas.
The matchup between Real Madrid and Celtic that will be witnessed at Lincoln Financial Field is not a common occurrence. The documented meetings between the two sides date back to their two-leg European Cup quarterfinal in 1980, which saw the Spaniards narrowly advance 3-2 on aggregate.
They also played two friendlies in 1963 and 1967, the same year Celtic won the European crown and beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in an Alfredo di Stéfano testimonial match.
