FCBARCELONA.CAT

23.07.2009 11:01

Barça to play Manchester City in the Gamper

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Barça will face Manchester City of the English Premier League in the 44th Joan Gamper Trophy in August. The English club has grabbed the headlines this summer by signing stars such as Tévez and Adebayor and features Brazilian forward Robinho.

Manchester City are managed by former Barça striker Mark Hughes. Last season they finished ninth in the Premier League, far from the expectations of a club that had spent a lot of money on players such as Pablo Zabaleta, Elano, Martín Petrov, De Jong, Robinho and Shay Given.

Transfer activity

Once again they have splashed out a lot of money this summer on bringing three star names into the squad – Argentine striker Carlos Tévez, from arch rivals Manchester United, Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor, first choice centre forward for Arsenal over the last three seasons and Paraguayan international Roque Santa Cruz, signed from Blackburn Rovers.

Robinho completes a 5-star attack

In addition to these three stars, Manchester City signed the Brazilian international Robinho from Real Madrid in the summer of 2008. This quartet of forwards is one of the best in European football and added to Barça’s Messi, Henry and Iniesta guarantees plenty of goals in the 44th Joan Gamper Tournament.

Second Joan Gamper

This will be the second time Manchester City have competed for the Joan Gamper Trophy. In 1982, when the tournament was made up of four teams, City reached the final after beating Köln in the semi-finals after a penalty shootout ended the 1-1 stalemate. They lost the final 3-1 to Porto Alegre.