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What’s the story?
The Barcelona Legends team will be coming to India next year to play a match in Mumbai. Following an agreement with Football Next Foundation, it has been confirmed that a match will be played in Mumbai against an opponent which hasn’t been decided yet.
In case you did not know...
The Barca Legends team is a product of a programme undertaken by FC Barcelona to remember the legacy of the many great players who have worn the team’s shirt. In addition to being a means to enhance the globalization of Barcelona, the Barca Legends is also a means by which several players can enjoy the game by playing it even after retiring from the sport.
The team consists of Barcelona veterans such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Eric Abidal and Patrick Kluivert in addition to few players who have played for Barcelona for a short while that include former Portuguese international Simao, former Brazilian player Edmilson, Luis Garcia and Gaizka Mendieta.
It also consists of players who have never played for Barcelona like 61-year-old Andoni Goikoetxea. The vision of the Barca Legends programme is to arrange numerous matches and events across the globe. Following their match in Mumbai, there will be several matches for the team to play in the future.
The team is coached by former Spanish right-back Albert Ferrer who played two World Cups for Spain and was part of the team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
The heart of the matter
This Barca Legends team previously played against the Manchester United Legends, a team comprising greats such as Edwin van der Sar, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Dwight Yorke, and Denis Irwin. The first leg at Camp Nou in June was won by Manchester United Legends 3-1 thanks to goals from Jesper Blomqvist, Karel Poborsky, and Dwight Yorke. Barcelona’s solitary goal was scored by Frederic Dehu.
The second leg at Old Trafford last month saw the Manchester United legends squandering a 2-0 lead to tie the match 2-2. United’s goals were scored by Ruud van Nistelrooy and Danny Webber while Barca’s goals were scored by Luis Garcia and Gaizka Mendieta.
What’s next?
With the match being confirmed, let’s wait and watch who will be the opponent for the Barcelona Legends in Mumbai.
Author’s Take
2017 has been a very important year for Indian football with the FIFA U17 World Cup and India qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. 2018 will also begin well for Indian football with a very big match to be played in Mumbai which will be contested by some of the legends of the sport.
