Argentine Boca Juniors crowned the Maradona Cup title, after their victory over Barcelona 4-2 on penalties, after they drew 1-1 in normal time at the Marsool Park Stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in a friendly match in memory of the late Argentine legend Diego Maradona.
The confrontation took place nearly a year after the death of the “golden boy” on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, of a heart attack, weeks after he underwent brain surgery.
The match was attended by the family of the World Cup winner in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, a large number of heads of Saudi clubs, former and current players, as well as a number of media professionals who flocked from several countries to cover the match, as well as a large audience.
Maradona wore the Boca Juniors shirt twice, first in the 1981-1982 season and then in 1995, in his last two professional seasons in a long career.
He also played in Barcelona’s colors for two seasons between 1982 and 1984, where he played 58 matches and won the King’s Cup, before moving to Napoli, Italy, where he achieved his footballing exploits.
Barcelona, who participated in the reserve team, advanced with a goal by Ferran Gutgla (51) and Boca Juniors equalized with a goal by Echquiel Ceballos (76).
And participated with Barcelona for the first time, the Brazilian player Dani Alves (38 years), who returned to him as a free player after he left the Catalan club in June 2016, to participate with his new-old team in the official matches as of next January.
Coach Xavi Hernandez’s team dominated the first half, and was close to scoring when Alves played a dangerous cross but did not find anyone to follow it into the goal (9), followed by Ricky Butch with a strong shot that goalkeeper Augustin Rossi caught (13).
Rossi continued his brilliance when he blocked Alves’ strong ball and turned it into the corner (19). From a quick attack, Boca Juniors missed a real goal when Sebastian Villa singled out the goal and aimed the ball next to the post (29).
Barcelona came close to scoring when the American Sergino Dest hit the left side with a ball and played it next to the post (34), before his Brazilian teammate Philippe Coutinho shot a powerful ball from the outskirts of the penalty area, slightly over the crossbar (37).
Five minutes after the start of the second half, during which Barcelona made one change compared to seven for Boca, Barcelona succeeded in opening the scoring when Gotgla received a cross he prepared for himself and turned and shot it strong in the left scissors of goalkeeper Rossi (51).
Barcelona almost consolidated its progress, but Ferran’s ball passed near the post (54).
From a defensive lapse, Boca almost equalized the result, but the Brazilian goalkeeper Norberto Neto saved the ball and turned it into the corner (57).
A chance was created for Boca, but substitute Aaron Molinas’ ball crossed the crossbar (70). After several attempts, Boca Juniors managed to adjust the result when substitute Ceballos received a cross, which he played directly to the left of Neto (76). Boca tried to add a second goal when Rojo hit a strong ball, but it crossed the bite (87). The two teams resorted to penalty kicks, which the Argentine team decided in their favour.
Maradona had visited Saudi Arabia and participated in a friendly match with Al-Ahly Jeddah team in November 1987 against the Danish team Brondby in a football sports festival to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Saudi club.
The match coincided with the 2021 Riyadh season, where the stars of the Saudi Al Hilal and Al Nasr teams will play a match against Paris Saint-Germain next month, with the participation of all the stars of the latter, led by Argentine Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian Neymar.