Spurs in Melbourne | Mabbsy takes a trip down memory lane at MCG

Gary Mabbutt turned the clock back almost 40 years when he stepped out at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Our legendary former skipper was part of the squad that played in a four-team tournament alongside the Australia Soccer Federation (ASF), Udinese and Vasco da Gama at the end of the 1984/85 season in May, 1985.

First up, it was the ASF at the MCG - 29 May, 1985 - with the home side running out 1-0 winners against a Spurs team including the likes of Mabbsy, Ray Clemence, Graham Roberts, Paul Miller, Ossie Ardiles, Mark Falco and Micky Hazard. We also lost against Udinese before a 1-1 draw against Vasco da Gama.

This afternoon local time in Melbourne, Mabbsy, now Club Ambassador, was back at the MCG for a function and then a special tour of the stadium with tour partners AIA Australia, a regional office of our Global Principal Partner, AIA.

"It's such an historic stadium," said Mabbsy. "I love every sport and I used to love playing at the biggest stadiums - Highbury, Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Anfield, Wembley - then today, walking out at the MCG, you feel the history in there.

"We went to the dressing rooms, we were told by the Tour guide, Peter, that there's a red seat to mark the biggest ever six hit in there. He had such knowledge. I was there for a function as well, where Ange spoke really well. He's so humble. It was a fantastic afternoon with AIA as well. I'm looking forward to the game, I'm sure the players will love playing there, as I did."

Reflecting on that match approaching 39 years ago, Mabbsy said: "We were here for about 12 days and played in a massive tournament with the Australia national team, Vasco da Gama from Brazil and Udinese from Italy. We played in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne and the first game was here at the MCG. We lost 1-0 to Australia, but it was a great experience."