Manchester City bring 1700 items of clothing and 260 boots on Australian tour

WE see the finished product, the team that will run out in front of a packed MCG crowd to face the might of Real Madrid on Friday night.

Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini (C) addresses the squad ahead of a team football training session at the International Champions Cup tournament in Melbourne on July 20, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Paul CROCK -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE

WE see the finished product, the team that will run out in front of a packed MCG crowd to face the might of Real Madrid on Friday night.

But that’s just the half of it.

Bringing a team — a club — the size of English Premier League giant Manchester City to Australia is a mammoth operation.

Not only have you got the 35 players to worry about, but then there’s the kits they put on for games and training, the boots they wear and the balls they kick around.

More than 1700 items of clothing made their way from Manchester to Melbourne via Abu Dhabi — and that’s not even counting spares.

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On matchday there’s an assortment of 400 playing shirts, 400 shorts and 300 pairs of socks on hand.

For training sessions each of the players, six football management staff and 25 football backroom staff — such as physios, doctors etc — have four training kits.

Then there’s the boots, all 130 pairs of them, plus the 60 balls used for training and matchday warm-ups, as well as the 30 spares of each size of shorts and shirts thrown in for good measure.

Players also lug with them their club-issued polo shirts, jumpers, tracksuit pants and suits, but it’s hard to imagine — no matter how forgetful or clumsy — any player or coach being left without a particular item of clothing, even if the MCG surface is a little grubby.

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Good luck to those members of staff who have to, first, account for, and then pack up the gear tomorrow morning before the team jets off to Vietnam.

Retired Socceroo Danny Tiatto played more than 150 games for Manchester City between 1998-2004 and maintains close contact with the club.

Manchester City players ahead of their match against Roma at the MCG.

The club, in Tiatto’s playing days, was a shadow of what it is today, yo-yoing between League 1 and the Premier League.

But the City Football Group takeover in 2008 was a watershed moment from which there has been no looking back.

“They took it to a new level, which is great for a club that has always had that passionate support,” Tiatto said.

“It’s a huge process to come out to Australia on a tour like this, it’s not just a matter of sticking a pair of boots in your bag and flying over.

“It’s a massive project for all the European clubs who come here, they’re used to having everything on a platter for them back home, so as much as they can bring out here with them they do.

“But also, with the facilities that we’ve got here, I think things can only get better for the game here if we can put on a good spread for these sort of clubs to show them what we have to offer.”