A team of Barcelona legends came face to face with a team made up of Brazilian stars in Curitiva for a charity match that brought together a number of legendary players. Romario, Cafu, Rivaldo, Javier Saviola and Xavi Hernandez were all on show on a pitch that was 2-1 in favour of the ‘Cules’.
Barcelona Legends beat Pele Pequeno Principe 2-1 on Sunday in a charity match in the Brazilian city of Curitiba that brought together stars such as world champions Romario and Cafu, who made world football history. Rivaldo, voted the best footballer in the world by FIFA in 1999, opened the scoring after 13 minutes, Richarlyson equalised in the second half for the visitors and the winner for the Catalans was scored by Argentine Javier Saviola late in the game.
Romario, the most eagerly awaited figure at the Liga Arena stadium in the Paranaense capital on Sunday, was back in the Catalan club’s jersey 30 years after having been one of Barca’s leading scorers and idols, but this time he failed to find the back of the net. Alongside the legendary former striker, other Brazilian and international stars who had played for Barcelona took the field, including Spaniards Xavi and Jesus Angoy, Frenchman Frederic Dehu and Italian Francesco Coco, who were coached by Spaniard Albert Ferrer.
For the Pele Pequeno Principe, former Brazilian stars who played for the ‘Selecao’ and from other countries who were stars in their national teams, such as Cafu, the Argentinian Andres D’Alessandro and the Uruguayan Diego Lugano, were coached by Mano Menezes.
Funds raised from the charity match will go to the FC Barcelona Foundation and the Instituto de Pesquisa Pele Pequeno Principe, which is dedicated to reducing infant and child mortality through research into complex diseases.
