Footballing icons meet in Zurich for Legends match

An amazing collection of footballing icons were in Zurich to participate in festivities surrounding The Best FIFA Football Awards, including a FIFA Legends match yesterday morning.

Split into four teams, the Legends – featuring the likes of Diego Maradona (photo), Carles Puyol, Carli Lloyd, and many others – joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino and members of the FIFA Council, who are meeting on the 9th and 10th at the Home of FIFA, for a small-sided round-robin tournament.

According to a report on fifa.com, there was friendly banter and surprising skills all around, with El Pibe keeping teammates and competitors alike on their toes. The 1986 FIFA World Cup winner mock-scolded Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo after allowing a long-range goal from Michel Salgado, and after the match he warned Frenchman David Trezeguet, himself a World Cup winner in 1998, not to expect such mercy next time.

Maradona said matches like this were important for the footballing community. “It is an important part of FIFA coming together with the people and players, which is a big part of what Infantino is trying to do.”

“It was great fun, even though I stopped counting how many goals we gave up,” said three-time FIFA World Cup veteran Gabriel Batistuta of Argentina with a laugh afterwards. “It was a very nice thing to meet everyone from different places and times. We should do this sort of thing more often.”

FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura watched from the sidelines in the cold along with gathered media. “The Legends is an excellent initiative because it shows how FIFA is trying to put football at the centre of importance,” she said. “And it proves how much the former players want to help out. I am especially happy they are mixed teams because the presence of women sets the tone for the push for gender quality. I am impressed.”

Also in attendance were 10 winners from competitions on FIFA’s Digital platforms, who came from all around the globe to attend The Best awards.

Milan Bosnjak, an 18-yearold FIFA.com trivia winner from Sydney took a 22-hour flight to be in Zurich, and he was thrilled by the extra chance to see the Legends.

He added: “It’s been absolutely amazing... A once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’ve been really happy seeing