Footballing legends face off, gladiator style, in Seoul

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Footballing legends face off, gladiator style, in Seoul

Published: 20 Oct. 2024, 12:44 Updated: 20 Oct. 2024, 16:11

PAIK JI-HWAN
paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr

FC Spear warm up during a Nexon Icons Match preliminary event at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Luis Figo, Didier Drogba, Nemanja Vidic and a veritable who's who of footballing royalty turned up at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Saturday for a tune-up event ahead of the almost laughably star-studded Nexon Icon Match to take place at the same venue on Sunday.

FC Spear and Shield United, two entirely made-up teams of football legends, appeared at Seoul World Cup Stadium for preliminary events Saturday ahead of what Nexon says is its biggest budget event, ever.

It's an attack vs. defense affair. FC Spear, as the name suggests, is nearly all offense, while Shield United is home to some of the best defenders and defensive midfielders of the past 20 years.

On Saturday for the tuneup event, players entered the stadium EA Sports FC Online style, with their details shown on the big screen before they entered the stadium.

Didier Drogba introduces himself to Korean fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Saturday ahead of the Nexon Icons Match preliminary event. [YONHAP]

Former Chelsea striker Drogba of FC Spear was first onto the pitch, drawing a huge ovation from the stands. Following Drogba was the rest of the FC Spear squad: Former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard, former Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez, Korean football legends Ahn Jung-hwan and Lee Chun-soo, former Manchester United forward Dimitar Berbatov, former Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan, former Liverpool forward Michael Owen, former Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini, former Real Madrid forward Figo, former Barcelona forward Rivaldo, former Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero, former Korean national team goalkeepers Kim Byung-ji and Kim Yong-dae.

FC Spear manager Thierry Henry and assistant coach Park Ji-sung also waved to fans.

Former United midfielder Park reunited with his former teammate Tevez, who played for both City and United, on the pitch, with the big screen showing the two greeting each other.

The duo was a core part of United's lineup for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, winning multiple titles including the Champions League.

Shield United players captained by Rio Ferdinand also came on. Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho, former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise, former FC Seoul midfielder Adilson, Korean legends Kim Nam-il and Park Joo-ho, former United defender Vidic, former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, former Barcelona defenders Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano, former Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci, former AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf, former Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo, former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, former Korean goalkeeper Lim Min-hyeok then walked into the stadium in order, followed by assistant coach Lee Young-pyo and manager Fabio Cannavaro.

Shield United during a Nexon Icons Match preliminary event at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Korean fans welcomed everyone with cheers and plenty of old-school shirts on display like a Chelsea jersey with Hazard’s name and a Bonucci Juventus kit.

The legends immediately participated in Saturday’s showdown consisting of three events: A one-on-one battle, shoot power contest and shooting accuracy test.

The team to win the first two events was to be the winner of Saturday’s contest.

The one-on-one battle saw one forward from FC Spear go up against one defender from Shield United to see if they could run past the defender and goalkeeper to score. Five players from each team were up for the challenge where FC Spear could earn a point by scoring two goals out of three attempts per player and Shield United could do so by blocking two shots out of three attempts.

The first team to score three points in the best-of-five format was to win the challenge and take one point in Saturday’s showdown.

Hazard went up against Carvalho, Kaka took on Riise, Tevez on Adilson, Ahn on Lee Young-pyo and Lee Chun-soo on Kim.

Shield United sealed the victory early on, with the first three defenders blocking the shots, but the battle continued for the fans’ sake. Only Lee Chun-soo managed to find the back of the net on his second attempt, with Shield United winning the contest 5-0.

The second challenge tested shooting power. One player from each team across six attempts took a shot attempting to break as many styrofoam boards as possible. It's the old karate chop through wooden boards format, but with balls and styrofoam.

Each team could earn a point when their player broke more boards than the opponent. The first team to win four attempts was to win the challenge. But after six players from each team had finished, they tied the number of boards broken at 28, forcing one final battle between two former Ivorian national team aces: Droba and Toure.

Droba broke six boards and Toure smashed seven, winning the second challenge for Shield United.

The third challenge was about accuracy. Three players from each team went up for the challenge, with the first team to score 10 points winning the contest.

Figo, Rivaldo and Del Piero went up against Bonucci, Seedorf and Pirlo, with the forward trio taking the win for FC Spear.

As Shield United had already won the first two challenges, however, the series ended with a 2-1 win for Cannavaro's squad.

The series served as a warm-up for the ultimate attack-versus-defense Nexon Icon Match due to kick off at 6 p.m. Sunday at Seoul World Cup Stadium, where the legends would reunite with those whom they faced during their prime years.

In the press conference Saturday ahead of the challenge series, Droba recalled his memories playing against defenders Cannavaro and Ferdinand, who joined the press conference with Henry.

From left: Didier Drogba, Thierry Henry, Head of Nexon's FC Online Park Jung-moo, Fabio Cannavaro and Rio Ferdinand pose for a photo after a press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Saturday. [NEWS1]

“Well I think two of them are here,” Drogba said about the toughest defenders he faced. “Yeah we had some great battles against each other. Sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but in the end, I think I learned a lot playing against them. They really helped me to improve my game, so I'm very happy about that.”

The Chelsea legend faced former United defender Ferdinand often in the Premier League during the 2000s, while he also played against Cannavaro during the 2011-12 Champions League run that Chelsea won at the end.

Ferdinand also praised Drogba and Henry when asked about the toughest forwards he faced.

“The same, these two guys here,” Ferdinand said. “Very difficult to play against. We were just walking in together, and I was thinking what Thierry said. Thierry said, ‘Imagine us two (Thierry and Droba) as a partnership,’ and I was like, me and Vidic wouldn’t sleep before a game against these two guys.”

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]