Europe XI v Africa XI (1997)

Europe XI v Africa XI (1997) was a friendly football match that took place on 29 January 1997 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, between a European select side and an African select side.[1] The match was jointly organized by UEFA and CAF as part of the European Year against Racism.[2] The African XI won 2–1 with goals from Abedi Pele and Mustapha Hadji.[3]

Europe XI v Africa XI
Date29 January 1997
VenueEstádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal
RefereeVitor Melo Pereira (Portugal)
Attendance8,000

Background

The European Union's "Year Against Racism" started with an exhibition match between All-Star teams representing Europe and Africa. The following day, UEFA, European football's ruling body, and CAF, its African counterpart, held their first joint-executive meeting in Lisbon where they signed a friendship agreement which ended years of barely concealed hostility. The agreement obliged the two confederations to "undertake extensive co-operation in all football-related matters as partners with equal rights".[3]

The European side, selected by Rinus Michels and Berti Vogts, had a 17-man squad which contained four players who were among Germany's Euro 96 winners, including their captain, Jürgen Klinsmann, as well as the Dutch twin brothers Ronald and Frank de Boer, and Zvonimir Boban, Milan's Croat midfielder. While many of the world's top players were involved, there were no English players in the European squad as the Premier League had a packed schedule that night. No players from eastern European clubs were involved either, because of their winter break. The African All-Stars 18-man squad, selected by Rabah Madjer and Mawade Wade, included four of Nigeria's Olympic gold-medal winning squad and two of South Africa's African championship winning squad.[2]

Selecting Benfica's Stadium of Light to host the event was a deliberate choice serving to recognise the enormous contribution that Benfica's greatest player, Eusébio, had made to European football. Benfica had players in both squads, with Portugal's João Pinto in the European camp and Paulo António of Angola, in the African. Because the intention was to give everybody a game, both teams were allowed to use two re-substitutions - the sending back on a player previously substituted - in the event of second-half injuries. As a continuing part of the anti-racism initiative, the under-17 Meridian Cup, which comprises four nations from each continent, kicked off two days later.[2]

Match

Europe XI1 – 2Africa XI
Guérin  43' Pele  14'
Hadji  78'
Attendance: 8,000
EUROPE XI:
GK20 Edwin van der Sar 60'
RB2 Zvonimir Boban
CB4 Frank de Boer
CB5 Ronald de Boer
LB7 Vincent Guérin
CM9 João Pinto 46'
CM10 Jürgen Klinsmann 46'
CM11 Jürgen Kohler
RW14 Paulinho Santos 46'
CF15 Rui Costa 46'
LW16 Matthias Sammer (c) 46'
Substitutions:
GK1 Stanislav Cherchesov 60'
DF6 Stéphane Henchoz 46'
MF12 Andreas Möller 46'
MF13 Pavel Nedvěd 46'
FW3 Pierluigi Casiraghi 46'
FW6 Domingos Paciência 46'
Manager:
Berti Vogts
Rinus Michels
AFRICA XI:
GK20 Andre Arendse 46'
CB2 Frank Amankwah
CB16 Taribo West
CB5 Mark Fish
RM7 Sunday Oliseh
CM12 Radwan Yasser 65'
CM14 Moussa Saïb 58'
LM10 Abedi Pele (c)
RF3 Tijani Babangida 58'
CF8 Ahmed Ouattara
LF9 Paulão 64'
Substitutions:
GK1 Abiodun Baruwa 46'
MF6 Mustapha Hadji 58'
FW4 Chiquinho Conde 64'
FW11 Quinzinho 58'
FW15 Souleyman Sané 65'
Manager:
Rabah Madjer
Mawade Wade

Assistant referees:
João Esteves (Portugal)
Carlos Matos (Portugal)

References

  1. International Matches 1997 - Other
  2. "Football: Europe v Africa match makes history". The Independent. 29 January 1997. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  3. Metcalf, Rupert (31 January 1997). "Football around the world". The Independent. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.