To kick off Barcelona‘s La Liga season, the Joan Gamper Trophy is an annual exhibition match between the best teams from Europe’s top divisionsand the host, the Blaugrana. It is held in the Camp Nouin Barcelona and is namedafterJoan Gamper, a founding member, player, and president of the club.
One of Gamper’s predecessors,Enric Llaudet, started the tournament in 1966. Itbegan with four teams, including two semi-finals, a third-place play-off, and a final. Expectedly, the Spanish giants won theinaugural edition.
Over the years, Serie A andBundesligateams havealso been invited tocompete.With an expandedfixture schedule, the event has been reduced to a single game only since1997. A penalty shootout is used if the match is level at the endof the regulartime.
Why was Barcelona vs Romagame canceled?
Barcelonawere scheduled to meet Roma in the prestigious Joan GamperCupat the beginning of August. Roma, on the other hand, had laterannounced their withdrawal from the tournament, as Barcelonadisclosed.
The Serie A club hadlast competed in the tournament in 2015, falling to the hosts 3-0.Therefore, theywould havebeen returningto the event for the second time. In fact, the Spaniardmentioned that this decision was made ‘withoutreason’.
Subsequently, there wasa response from the Italia community as well, who have released a statement of their own.Their decision was made due tothe necessity to ‘adjust the schedule for summer-friendly matches’ and to finish pre-season training with games ‘near to home with less travel necessary.’
Mexican side Pumas UNAMtook Roma’s spot in the tournament after their withdrawal. Thus, the Catalans will face them at the rebranded Spotify Camp Nou on August 7 in their bid for the prized Cup. Xavi Hernandez‘s players will play at their newly renamed stadium for the first time before beginning their La Liga season one week later.