July 23, (THEWILL) – The 56th edition Joan Gamper Trophy, an annual friendly football match held in August, before the start of FC Barcelona’s La Liga season named in honour of Joan Gamper, a founding member, player, and later President of the club, will be a different affair for 2021.
This year’s competition will be the first time ever that the trophy will feature not just the men’s team but the women’s side of the Barcelona brand.
This will be special for Asisat Oshoala’s side as they won everything on their path last season. It is only fair that they are recognised in the preseason schedule in much the same way as the men.
Another special feature of the 2021 Joan Gamper Trophy is the opponent that the men’s and women’s sides of the Catalan giant will face. For the renewal of rivalries old and new, for men and women, the back-to-back games will be against the same side, none other than the men and women Juventus teams.
As is the tradition, Camp Nou will play hosts for the Sunday August 8 event. At 5.00pm local time, the Jonatan Giráldez-led women’s team and current European champions, will clash against their female counterparts Juve for Giráldez’s first competitive match in charge, and immediately after, at 8.30pm, Ronald Koeman’s charges will do likewise.
It immediately brings to mind the more than a decade long rivalry from the era of the El Clasico of Spanish football between two of the best footballers of the modern era, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. As it comes at a time when it is as yet uncertain if either of these footballers will be available for the fixture, it is a wonder if they will play.
Messi’s contract situation still remains messy as Barca is yet to satisfy La Liga stipulations on spending limits with difficulties facing their attempts to offload expensive outfield players like Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti and some players like Sergio Busquets refusing a reduced wage proposal.
Ronaldo has not confirmed any decision regarding his future with daily reports linking him with a rumoured move to different clubs. Most recently, there have been some interest bubbling around the possibility of him ending up in France with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, which will make them a fierce force to reckon with.
Recent inclusions into the Ligue 1 club such as Euro 2020 winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Inter Milan title-winning Achraf Hakimi, Georginio Wijnaldum from former Champions League winners Liverpool and Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid’s iconic defender have beefed up a side already boasting of Copa America winning Angel di Maria, Brazilian playmaker Neymar Jr and French lethal forward, Kylian Mbappe.
Bringing the firepower of Ronaldo into that combination will be such a potent force that the opposition they will face will have to be at their best to survive the raw fire it will unleash.
However, nothing about the move of Ronaldo to PSG or the contract resolution of Messi and Barca, is certain at this point. That is why the notion of a clash of both their clubs will be empty of the heightened fireworks it could have promised with the certainty that Ronaldo and Messi will feature in another installment of their lengthened rivalry.
In front of a 20% filled capacity stadium, meaning a maximum attendance of nearly 20,000 people, Barca and Juve will again compete for the Gamper after their previous 2005 experience. In that game, an as-yet little known 18-year-old called Leo Messi thoroughly impressed Juve coach, Fabio Cappello, he asked to sign Messi on loan from Barca.
Of the times both sides have clashed, the most memorable encounter of all was the final in Berlin in 2015, where goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suárez and Neymar Jr won Barca the trophy for the fifth time.
On the women’s side, Barcelona Femini also met Juventus very recently, in the round of 32 of the 2019/20 Champions League. The Catalan side won both legs as goals from Alexia Putellas and Marta Torrejón earned a 2-0 victory in Italy, and they progressed with a 4-1 aggregate after Putellas and an own goal made it 2-1 at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in the reverse fixture
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
