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A strong match between the Catalan giants and the Cairo club before the start of the new season
Media reports have revealed the real reason behind Barcelona’s selection of Egypt’s Al-Ahly to face them in the Juan Gamper Cup friendly.
Yesterday, Friday, news was spread in the media that “Barcelona” has agreed with “Al-Ahly” to hold a friendly match for the Juan Gamper Cup.August 19 at Spotify Camp Nou Stadium.
Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo He confirmed that Fulham were among the options offered to host the game, given Barcelona’s desire to capitalize on the widespread popularity of English Premier League clubs.
However, that idea completely disappeared as soon as the English club announced their signing of Spanish coach Alvaro Arbeloa, former manager of arch-rivals Real Madrid, to take charge of the team next season.
The newspaper notes that Barcelona’s management refused to allow the former Real Madrid coach to fight for that championship, especially after his comments in which he criticized the Catalan club during his time with the Royal team.
Barcelona tried to reach an agreement with Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands and Cruz Azul of Mexico, but this failed due to the lack of agreement on the date of the match and the need to play it at the stadium of the Catalan club.
The Juan Gamper Cup is the annual event in which Barcelona presents its first team to its fans before the start of the new season.
The tournament first started in 1966 with the participation of four teams, before the system was changed to two teams since the 1997 edition.
Notably, Al-Ahli will be the first Arab and African team to be selected for the Juan Gamper Cup title alongside Barcelona, as the previous participants did not leave the continents of Europe, South and North America.
