The legends of famous European football clubs, FC Barcelona and Juventus, are set to step on the field at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on April 27.
A few Juventus legends who are set to play are David Trezeguet, Edgar Davids, Paolo Montero, Ciro Ferrara, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Gianluca Zambrota.
Andoni Golcoetxea, Frederik Dehu, MA Nadal, Frank de Boer, Juan Carlos Rodriguez and Jose Edmilson are some of the Barcelona legends who are in the first list of players released on Wednesday.
Trezeguet and Zambrotta are former World Cup winners with their countries France (1998) and Italy (2006). Zambrotta had also played in the ISL for Delhi Dynamos in 2016.
Founder of Football Next Foundation who has arranged the game, Kaushik Moulik, said that it was just a preliminary list which can undergo some changes.
“The legends are those who have played in World Cups, European championships or in over 200 matches. They are expected to arrive on April 24,” said Moulik who had earlier arranged top Bundesliga club Bayern Munich’s trip to Kolkata in 2010. “We have plans with these teams to help in developing Indian football. That’s the whole idea,” he said.
DY Patil Sports Academy’s president, Dr Vijay Patil, said that the game would be a “great opportunity to showcase our country.”
“The game will be telecast live by the two clubs on their own TV. There will be a huge audience to watch it,” said Moulik, adding that the cost of tickets for the public to watch the game at the stadium will be priced between Rs 500 and 1,500.
In a video message the president of the Mumbai District Football Association, Aditya Thackeray, said “It’s a big day for Mumbai.”