THE JOAN GAMPER TROPHY PITS FC BARCELONA AGAINST PUMAS UNAM.

  

The Joan Gamper Trophy, also known as the Joan Gamper Cup, was established in 1966, with the Blaugrana inviting Anderlecht from Belgium, Nantes from France, and Koln from Germany to the inaugural event. It had four participants until 1997 Barcelona and three other invitees and consisted of two semi-final ties, a third-place playoff, and a final. The Blaugrana won their first championship, defeating Cologne 3-1 in the final.

Due to an increased fixture list, the Joan Gamper Trophy underwent changes in 1997, abandoning the previous format in favour of a one-off match style. Furthermore, there is no extra time in the competition, with a penalty shoot-out deciding the winner if the game is tied after 90 minutes. This tournament has drawn teams from all over the world, including fellow Spanish powerhouses Atletico Madrid and Valencia, as well as South American behemoths Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Santos. In 2017, Barcelona invited Chapecoense to the 52nd Joan Gamper Trophy to pay tribute to the Brazilian team's tragic plane crash while travelling to the Copa Sudamericana final and to aid in the team's institutional and sporting reconstruction.

Barça was able to sign big names such as Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Frank Kessie, Jules Koundé, and Andreas Christensen. This was a significant victory for the Blaugrana and Joan Laporta in their efforts to improve the team's competitiveness. On the field, Barça dominated Real Madrid in the El Clasico, as well as Juventus, the New York Red Bulls, Inter Miami, and the A-League All-Stars in Australia. Barcelona is preparing to sign new players for the upcoming season. Xavi Hernandez, on the other hand, will have access to the entire squad against Pumas UNAM.

Despite the fact that many of the names on the list are expected to leave in the final month of the transfer window, Xavi summons the entire squad for the presentation to the fans.Everyone is fit because there were no injuries during the preseason, and new signings Koundé, Christensen, Kessie, Raphinha, and Lewandowski are all set to make their home debuts for the club.

 

Goalkeepers: Marc-André ter Stegen, Iñaki Peña, Arnau Tenas

 

Defenders: Sergiño Dest, Jules Koundé, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Piqué, Eric García, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Alejandro Balde

 

Sergio Busquets, Miralem Pjanic, Pedri, Nico González, Frenkie De Jong, Franck Kessie, Gavi, Lex Collado, Pablo Torres, Sergio Roberto

 

Forwards: Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite, Ez Abde

 

Barcelona vs. Pumas projected lineups

With the La Liga season set to begin in one week's time, Barcelona will look to build chemistry among the players in the expected starting lineup. Xavi will get headaches trying to fit his best attacking talent into the lineup on a weekly basis, with so many world-class attacking players at his disposal.

It appears that talisman Robert Lewandowski will be a long-term starter, but his supporting cast is uncertain. Raphinha and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have both had productive preseasons, while Ousmane Dembele is back on a new contract and in good form. As Ferran Torres trails the others as he recovers from an offseason injury, while Ansu Fati and Memphis Depay are also in the mix.