Jidher li din is-sena Juventus se jkunu il-mistiedna speċjali tat-Trofeo Joan Gamper, trofew illi ta’ kull sena jiġi organizzat minn Barcelona qabel il-ftuħ uffiċjali tal-istaġun.

Din is-sena mhux talli Barcelona stiednu lit-tim tal-kbar tal-Juventus imma stiednu wkoll lit-tim tan-nisa li għall-ewwel darba se jkun involut f’dan it-trofew li se jinfetaħ anki l-kategorija tan-nisa minn din is-sena. Id-data għad trid tiġi mħabbra.

L-unika darba li l-bianconeri lagħbu f’dan it-trofew kien fl-2005 meta rebħuħ bil-penalties wara draw ta’ 2-2 sad-90 minuta. Il-logħba intlagħbet quddiem 91,826 (naturalment fil-Camp Nou) u ż-żewġ timijiet niżżlu b’dawn il-formazzjonijiet:

Juventus: Abbiati, Pessotto (87’ Zalayeta), Cannavaro, Chiellini (46’ Blasi), Zebina (46’ Balzaretti), Camoranesi (80’ Olivera), Vieira, Giannichedda, Del Piero (46’ Mutu), Ibrahimovic  (46’ Trezeguet). Kowċ: Fabio Capello.

Barcelona: Valdez, Oleguer, Puyol, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst, Van Bommel, Iniesta, Gabri, Ronaldinho, Messi, Larsson. Kowċ: Frank Rijkaard.

Din kienet waħda mill-ewwel dehriet ta’ Messi mal-blaugrana wara li ngħaqad magħhom mit-tim B tal-istess klabb għal 3 miljuni.

Fil-11 –il minuta fetaħ l-iskor Del Piero minn penalty wara fawl fil-kaxxa fuq Veiera. Iniesta ġab id-draw fil-65 minuta u Gio għamilhom 2-1 għal Barcelona ħames minuti wara b’xutt minn distanza konsiderevoli li għeleb lil Abbiati. Trezeguet ġab id-draw minn penalty ieħor fit-78 minuta wara fawl fil-kaxxa fuq Mutu.

Is-sekwenza tal-penalties kienet hekk: Deco (gowl), Mutu (gowl), Eto’o (parata t’Abbiati), Oliveira (gowl), Martinez (għoli), Vieira (gowl), Belletti (gowl), Trezeguet(gowl).

Sadattant lura fil-preżent u t-Trofeo Gamper ta’ din is-sena, jidher ċar li s-Superlega kompliet kabret ir-relazzjoni tajba bejn iż-żewġ timijiet jew aħjar tal-Juve maż-żewġ timijiet Spanjoli.

Invitation for two

It seems like this year Juventus are going to be the special guests of the Joan Gamper Trophy, a trophy match organized annually by Barcelona before the official season kicks-off.

This year, besides Barcelona inviting Juventus to participate, they also invited Juventus Women for the very first time the trophy will also feature the female squads of both sides. The dates are still to be announced.

The only time the bianconeri were invited was back in 2005 when they won the trophy after a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 draw in the 90 minutes. The match was played in front of 91,826 spectators at the Camp Nou (obviously) and the starting line-ups were as follows:

Juventus: Abbiati, Pessotto (87’ Zalayeta), Cannavaro, Chiellini (46’ Blasi), Zebina (46’ Balzaretti), Camoranesi (80’ Olivera), Vieira, Giannichedda, Del Piero (46’ Mutu), Ibrahimovic  (46’ Trezeguet). Kowċ: Fabio Capello.

Barcelona: Valdez, Oleguer, Puyol, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst, Van Bommel, Iniesta, Gabri, Ronaldinho, Messi, Larsson. Kowċ: Frank Rijkaard.

This was one of the very first appearances of Messi with the blaugrana after he joined them weeks before from the club’s Team B for a mere 3 million.

Del Piero was the first on the score sheet from the penalty spot on the 11th minute after a foul on Vieira in the area. Iniesta equalised on the 65th minute while Gio made it 2-1 for Barcelona five minutes later with a long distance shot which beat Abbiati. Trezeguet made the score 2-2 from another penalty on the 78th minute after a foul in the area on Mutu.

The penalty sequence was as follows: Deco (goal), Mutu (goal), Eto’o (saved by Abbiati), Oliveira (goal), Martinez (high over the crossbar), Vieira (goal), Belletti (goal), Trezeguet (goal).

Back to the present day and this year’s edition of the Gamper Trophy, the invitation from Barcelona clearly shows the strengthened relationship between the two clubs or rather between Juve and the two Spanish sides.