The last decade has seen the Joan Gamper Trophy take on a marked Italian flavour and Napoli are the latest Serie A team to be invited, following the appearances over the years of Milan, Inter, Juventus, Sampdòria, Parma and Brescia.
Napoli will face Barça in the 46th edition of the Joan Gamer Trophy on August 22nd in what will be
the first official game between the two teams at the Camp Nou, as last season’s third place
team in Serie A join a long list of Italian teams who have graced the tournament.
Milan make debut in 1986
AC Milan were the first Italian team to take part in the tournament, taking part in
the triangular 1986 edition, alongside Spurs and Barça and going out 3-1 in the semi finals,
despite fielding a team including such legendary names as Tassotti, Baresi, Maldini or Donadoni.
Milan returned in 2004 and last season, when their visit became a tribute to Ronaldinho.
Inter and Sampdoria
Inter Milan and Sampdòria played in the Gamper in 1996 and 1997, with Inter losing
2-1 in the final against Barça, whilst the following year, Sampdoria lost on penalties to Van
Gaal’s Barça team. Inter also made a second appearance in 2007.
Messi lights up Juve visit
Leo Messi made his first big impression on the international scene with his
performance on August 24th 2005 against Juventus, whose coach Fabio Capello was highly impressed
with the youngster’s precocious talents. Juve ended up winning that trophy on penalties after
the teams had drawn 2-2.
Brescia and Parma
In 1994, Brescia were invited to take part and were roundly beaten 4-0, with goals
from Stòitxkov, Txiki Begiristain, Gica Hagi and Jordi Cruyff, whilst in 2001, Saviola, Christanval
and Alfonso scored for Barça in their 3-2 win over Parma.