Bay Area gets a look at Barcelona, AC Milan
Storied soccer teams FC Barcelona and AS Milan will play Saturday at Levi’s Stadium in a summer exhibition tournament known as the International Champions Cup. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
A crowd of more than 45,000 fans is expected for the teams’ final game of the U.S. tour.
Barcelona plays Sevilla on Aug. 12 in the Spanish Super Cup final, six days before the La Liga season opener. Milan opens Serie A on Aug. 19 against Genoa.
The Catalans had 14 players at the World Cup earlier this summer. Most of them didn’t make the U.S. trip, including stars such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitic, Gerard Piqué, Andres Iniesta and Philippe Coutinho.
But soccer fans will see plenty of talent from teams that have combined to win 43 league titles, 35 major domestic cups and 13 Champions League crowns. AC Milan has won seven Champions League titles, the second most in history behind Real Madrid’s 12.
Milan has teen goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, forward Nikola Kalinic and attacking midfielder Hakan Çalhanoglu among others on its roster. The Rossoneri won’t have star Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, who signed with the club Friday.
The International Champion Cup is in its sixth year as event owner Relevant Sports has turned the tournament into a big part of the preseason for the world’s best soccer teams.
“The ICC has created a whole generation of fans,” Relevent chairman Charlie Stillitano said. “When these teams come over here the U.S. fans get a chance to touch and feel these players. In Europe, it is tough to even get a ticket to a match.”
Although the World Cup that ended last month diluted the rosters of the world’s biggest names, it hasn’t stopped fans from turning out to see their favorite European teams play. Manchester City, Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, AS Roma and FC Bayern also have appeared in the United States this summer.
“The fans are sophisticated,” Stillitano said. “They know when the superstars are going to be there. True fans will still come.”