Ballon d’Or winners, World Cup champions and all-conquering European stars make up the glittering list of players who will take part in the legends match between Barcelona and Real Madrid in December.
Icon of Barcelona just retired Andres Iniesta headlines the List A friendly at Tokyo’s Ajinomoto Stadium on December 15. The 40-year-old hung up his boots after a year in the United Arab Emirates with Emirates, but had previously spent half a decade in Japan with Vissel Kobe.
Iniesta will join the Barcelona midfield of his former teammate Xavi Hernández, as revealed by the official website of the club. The former club captain spent almost three years as Barcelona coach before being sacked in the summer.
In 1999 Ballon d’Or winner Rivaldo will also line up for Barcelona along with Javier Mascherano, Ludovic Giuly, Adriano and Javier Saviola. Bojan Krkic and Rafa Márquez continue to work at the Catalan club behind the scenes and will represent the team on the pitch at the end of the year.
Real Madrid they have their own Ballon d’Or winner, although Barcelona can also claim Luis Figo. The Portuguese forward infamously crossed the terrible divisionin motion from Catalonia to Madrid at the turn of the century When Figo returned to Camp Nou for a Clásico in November 2002, he was bombarded with golf balls, plastic lighters, beer cans and, most memorably, a pig’s head. The atmosphere in Japan is expected to be a little less intense.
Roberto Carlos and Iker Casillas will line up alongside their former divisive teammate. Julio Baptista, Steve McManaman, Savio and Ivan Campo have also been booked for this illustrious event.
The two current iterations of the Spanish giants they faced each other as recently as October. Barcelona won 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu in a performance that added to the legend of several current players.
