Big Things Poppin’

In what promises to be an exciting and memorable summer for New England soccer fans, 2010 World Cup Champion Spain and Premiership power Manchester United will be visiting Gillette Stadium for exhibition action in June and July, respectively.

Although a date has not yet been determined, Spain will play the United States in an international friendly sometime in early June, before the Yanks embark on CONCACAF Gold Cup competition on June 7th. The last time La Roja set foot in Foxboro was during the 1994 World Cup, when they lost to Italy 2-1 in the quarterfinals on July 9, 1994.

Meanwhile, Manchester United will play the hometown New England Revolution in a exhibition match on July 14th. The match will kick off the the Red Devils 2011 American Tour, which includes stops in Seattle (July 20), Chicago (July 23), New Jersey (July 27th), and Washington, D.C. (July 30th). Manchester United’s last appearance in New England came over 50 years ago, when they beat the Fall River Stars 7-0 in Fall River, MA, back in 1960.

Gillette Stadium, which has an artificial turf surface for its football and soccer games, will feature a natural grass surface for the Spain and Manchester United matches. Additionally, both matches could threaten the stadium’s attendance record for soccer. On September 12, 2007,  a whopping 67,584 fans attended an exhibition between Brazil and Mexico, which Brazil won 3-1.