FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.05.2010 16:35

Barca to play in Beijing on August 8

www.fcbarcelona.cat

FC Barcelona will face Guoan FC of Beijing on August 8 in the Bird’s Nest Stadium, as part of this year’s preseason summer tour of Asia.

Following Joan Oliver’s announcement on Monday, the game was officially presented today by the Director General in the presence of Sporting Vice President Rafael Yuste and Beijing International Sports Co represntatives, Den Xian i Jeff Chen.

Second Anniversary of Olympic games

The game is being organised by the Beijing International Sports Co, and will be star attraction of the First Sports Festival of the Olympic City, organised by Beijing City Council and which will be the commemoration of the second anniversary of the Olympic Games and Paralympics that were held in the Chinese capital in 2008.

This will be the second and final friendly that FC Barcelona will play in Asia during the preseason. The first will be played on August 4 in Seoul between Barca and an all-star team picked from the K-League, the South Korean championship.

‘This game will be a memorable one”

According to Sr Yuste, the game will:”be more than just a match- the club is making a definitive bid for the Chinese market. This game will be a memorable one for all Barca fans. We are very proud that China has chosen us represent our country. In reply, Den Xian, General Manager of International Sports replied: “Barca are one of the most fascinating teams in Europe and the world”, adding: “this game will help join two Olympic cities”.

Olympic Stadium

The game in Beijing will be played in the ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium, the emblematic venue used for the Games, located in the Olympic garden in an area that occupies 250,000 square meters.

The stadium was designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, and in recent years has become one of the great temples of the sports world. As well as the opening and closing ceremonies, the stadium was also used for the spectacular track and field events at the 2008 Games.

The outside of the stadium is particularly eye-catching due to its spectacular construction and huge number of lights around it. The Olympic Opening Ceremony was attended by 91,000 people, although the capacity has since been reduced to 80,000, its current capacity.

Opponents are current Chinese Champs

FC Barcelona’s opponent in this game will be Guoan FC, the current champions of the Chinese Super League and which forms part of CITIC, the China International Trust and Investment Corporation. They are one of the biggest clubs in China, having been formed on December 31, 1992 as part of the general reforms to Chinese football.
Most of the members of the squad are Chinese, with the exceptions of Darko Matic, a 29 year old midfielder from Croatia, Scottish defender Maurice Ross, and strikers Valto (Brazil) and Griffiths (Australia).

Since 1994, the team has won two Chinese Super Cups (won in 1997 and 2003), three Chinese FA Cups (won in 1996, 1997 and 2003) and the 2009 Chinese Super League.

Second game against Guoan

This will not be the first time that FC Barcelona has played this side. They already met in the 2007 preseason when the side then coached by Frank Rijkaard won 3-0 at the Fengtai Stadium.