Sport is the cradle of rituals that become traditions that feed the flame of passion for them, as in the case of the Joan Gamper Trophy match that FC Barcelona plays religiously and that in its 2022 edition takes it to face Pumas UNAM of Mexico. In the following paragraphs you will find the probable line-ups for the match scheduled for August 7 at Camp Nou.
This peculiar friendly match was born in 1966 as a tribute to Joan Gamper, founder of the Culé team, who assumed the presidency on multiple occasions over 17 years. The Swiss was also responsible for the club playing for the first time in its own stadium, the Camp de la Indústria.
Since its creation, which was initially a mini-series contested by 4 teams, FC Barcelona has dominated the trophy, winning it 44 of the 50 times it has been played. The last team capable of snatching the victory from the Blaugranas in the Joan Gamper Trophy match was AC Milan in 2010 after equalizing in regular time and winning on penalties.
Possible Barcelona lineup against Pumas UNAM
The Catalan club’s season begins on August 13 at home against Rayo Vallecanoin LaLiga. The match against the Liga MX team is Xavi’s last chance to fine-tune his game in a context as close as possible to that of an official competition. It is no secret that any non-European team facing Barcelona will play them to the death.
Thus, the speculation begins about the arrangement of the pieces of the Culés, both the new ones and the old ones. How will Christensen, Koundé, Kessié, Rapinha and Lewandowski best fit in with Piqué, Araujo, Busquets, De Jong, Pedri and Dembelé?
Barcelona’s likely lineup for the 2022 Joan Gamper Trophy: Marc- Andre Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Franck Kessie, Frenkie de Jong; Ousmane Dembelé, Robert Lewandowski, Rapinha.
Pumas UNAM’s possible lineup against Barcelona
The university team has a luxury guide for its visit to Camp Nou, an element that lived his best moments as a footballer there and who contributed to FC Barcelona winning an infinite number of titles: Dani Alves.
The Brazilian surprised the world by venturing into the folkloric Liga MX and destiny has rewarded him with a nice opportunity to play against his former team. Pumas is already in the middle of the season. They have played 6 matches, of which they have won only 1 and drawn 5, thus remaining as the only undefeated team in the Apertura 2022 Tournament.
Pumas’ probable lineup for the 2022 Joan Gamper Trophy: Julio Gonzalez; Pablo Bennevendo, Arturo Ortiz, Nicolás Freire, JerónimoRodríguez; Higor Meritao, Daniel Alves, Leonel López; Eduardo Salvio, Juan Dinenno, Gustavo del Prete.
