Back in 1999 i went with a friend who is a Chelsea fan (shhh don't tell anyone) to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea play Barcelona in the QF 1st leg.
To this day it is one of only 8 English/European professional games i have ever watched live in stadium (I have lived in NZ for 38 of my 46 years on this planet):
- 1982/3 Coventry v Nott Forest 4-3, Coventry v Liverpool - 0-0
- 2001-2 four Charlton games (QPR (fa cup), Derby, Aston Villa, Man U)
- 1989 - Brentford v Reading (can't remember the score, don't care)
- 1999 - Chelsea Barcelona (3-1)
To make Man U fans i know over here jealous i tend to mention the Man U personnel i saw play Charlton that day... Van Nis, Keane, Becks, Giggs, OGS, Butt, Scholes, Bartez, Blanc, Nevilles x 2 etc..
Likewise with the Coventry Liverpool game i like to name drop Grobbelaar, Dalgleish, Rush, Souness, Whelan, Hansen, Lawrenson, Kennedy, Johnson etc..
But i looked up who played that Chelsea Barca game last night and realised there were some epic names in that game as well. I counted five, FIVE world cup winners across the two teams Desailly, Deschamp, Rivaldo, Xavi, Puyol. And then there were also stars like Figo, Zola, Kluivert, Litmanen.
Who can think of a club game they have watched live in which more World Cup winners featured? I am sure someone will have (its not a competition
)
I just feel very fortunate from so few games to have seen so many legends.
Merry Christmas all
Comments
Add in Boniek and Platini, plus Bonini, Brio and Bettega, and that's a proper team. Yet they lost in the European Cup Final to Hamburg.
There is always one (usually me).
Wednesday 23rd April 2003.
Surprisingly only 4 World Cup winners on the pitch (bold italics).
Also a winner on the bench (Blanc), a runner up on the pitch (Makelele) and a World Cup referee thrown in for good measure.
Man Utd: Barthez, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre (Phil Neville 79), Veron (Beckham 63), Butt, Keane (Fortune 82), van Nistelrooy, Giggs, Solskjaer.
Subs Not Used: Ricardo, Blanc, Forlan, Fletcher.
Booked: Veron, Fortune.
Real Madrid: Casillas, Salgado, Hierro, Helguera, Carlos, Zidane, McManaman (Portillo 69), Figo (Pavon 88), Makelele, Ronaldo (Solari 67), Guti.
Subs Not Used: Cesar, Morientes, Flavio, Cambiasso.
Booked: Figo.
Attendance: 66,708.
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy).
One of those games that you can claim to have been at...
Milan v Juve ‘03
Italy 06 -
Juve - Buffon, camoranesi, Zambrotta, Del Piero
Milan- Gattuso & Pirlo
Nesta & Inzaghi in Italy squad
Brazil 02
Milan- Junior
Dida in Brazil Squad
Rivaldo on the bench in this game
France 98
Juve - Thuram
Trezeguet in France squad
8 played in this game, and played in and won a World Cup final
further 4 played in the game are World Cup winners as part of a squad
1 sat on the bench but played in and won a World Cup final
2 were part of a World Cup winning management team