Real Madrid and Barcelona football legends will go head to head for a friendly in Kolkata. Yes. you read it right!! An El Clasico in India. The City of Joy is in for a joyride and what’s better than taking football legends on a ride in the Mohun Bagan’s hometown.
The news was confirmed yesterday at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid in the presence of Real Madrid legends Richard Galeo, Amancio Amaro and Isidoro San Jose. The high profile exhibition of Real Madrid and Barcelona stars playing a friendly will be a tribute to the late Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. He was a former Barcelona player and manager who was, and still is, considered to be one of the greatest footballers in the history of this game.
An El Clasico is a mouth water prospect for India and especially for the football crazy crowd of Kolkata, which has been one of the biggest centers of the nation, giving fresh talent to the Indian national side.
Dipendu Biswas, a former Indian footballer and sitting MLA of the ruling party in Basirhat is accompanied by Kaushik Moulik, and football-crazy entrepreneur from West Bengal in Madrid and are finalizing the event. While Dipendu will be the El Clasico’s Brand Ambassador, Kaushik Moulik is the founder of Football Next Foundation, which is organizing the event and is bring Real Madrid and Barcelona stars to India.
Salt Lake Stadium, the most appropriate spot for the friendly clash, will not be able to host the match as it will be hosting the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup in October, which is also the first FIFA event in India. However, the El Clasico of the old times is expected to be played at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium which proved its capabilities during the ISL 2016-17 season.
The exhibition match is expected to be played in September and the whole list of players from both Real Madrid and Barcelona is yet to be announced.
Real Madrid and Barcelona, the two Spanish giants, were on each other’s heels this year during the La Liga title race and Lionel Messi’s last-minute goal gave Barcelona all the reasons of a celebration. However, Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal scoring spree gave Real the last laugh as they pipped the Catalans to the Spanish title.
While the Indian El Clasico will not include current team players, it will definitely a treat for every football fan who only got to experience it on their television sets. While Indian football lovers will get to see the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup on October 28, almost one month before, they will also have the opportunity to witness one of the greatest ever rivalries, an El Clasico!!
Moreover, Cristiano Ronaldo is also being said to have been contacted for his presence at the FIFA U-17 WC Draw and by the looks of it, it seems like India is getting all the deserved attention when it comes to football, finally.