FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will line up against each other in the City of Joy in the third week of September. The exhibition game, which will feature former players from the two sides, was announced yesterday and is a mouth-watering prospect for football crazy Kolkata and indeed the rest of India.
The high profile exhibition match will be a tribute to the late Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. The former Barcelona player and manager is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of football. Real Madrid legends Amancio Amaro, Isidoro San Jose and Richard Galeo confirmed about the match through an announcement at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
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Salt Lake Stadium will not be able to host the exhibition match due to the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup in October. As a result, the proposed match is likely to be held at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium which hosted all the ISL matches in the 2016-17 season. The match will be organised by Football Next Foundation, who issued a press statement to this effect.
A source close to Football Next Foundation told Sportskeeda, "We are on the verge of confirming this venture, and there is a high possibility of it happening. I cannot reveal more than this right now."
Kaushik Moulik, an entrepreneur from West Bengal and a football fanatic, is in Madrid to confirm the match. He has been accompanied by Dipendu Biswas, a former Indian footballer and a sitting MLA of the ruling party from Basirhat. Dipendu will be the Brand Ambassador for the El Clasico.
The Spanish heavyweights were at each other’s throats again this year as the title race went down to the last day. Barcelona crucially beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu earlier this season which will be remembered for Lionel Messi’s last-minute goal and epic celebration. But it was Cristiano Ronaldo who had the last laugh as the Los Blancos pipped the Catalans to the title.
Kolkata is host to the famous Bengal derby involving Mohun Bagan and East Bengal every year and the passion for the game over there is unparalleled. Now they will witness one of the greatest rivalries of all time – an El Clasico! Gear up, football fans in India. You are in for a treat!
