Bengaluru FC to take on FC Barcelona B and Villarreal B in pre-season friendlies
The pre-season tournaments are going on in full swing. With ISL rivals Kerala Blasters currently playing in the 3-team Toyota Yaris LaLiga World, that is taking place in Kochi, Bengaluru FC's management have also arranged for a few friendly matches with strong Spanish clubs.
The Blues will now be taking on the reserve teams of Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona, which play in the Segunda División B or the third level of Spanish football. Carles Cuadrat’s men just finished their training Camp in Bellary and will be off to Spain to play these friendly matches.
The Blues confirmed, via their official Twitter handle, that they will be having the pre-season Tour in Spain.
FC Barcelona B played in the 2nd tier of Spanish football or La Liga 2 in the last season but were relegated after a 20th place finish. Villarreal B, on the other hand, played in Group 3 of the Segunda División B and had an excellent run, finishing 2nd out of the 18 teams. They won 16, drew 17, and lost only 5 matches out of 38 -- scoring 65 points in the process.
Carles Cuadrat’s men are scheduled to play the AFC Cup Inter-zonal Semi-finals against Altyn Asyr FC (first leg on 22nd August and second on 29th August) and the friendly encounters will also act as a preparation for them.
Previous season's ISL runners-up will be keen on trying out the newly signed players and see how the team bonds with them. Their training is scheduled to be at Soccer’s Masía La Grava facility in Valencia.
Besides Barcelona FC B and Villarreal CF B, the Sunil-Chhetri led side will play against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai FC and Atletico Saguntino as well.
The Catalans' reserve team is the place where legendary players like Xavi, Iniesta and Santi Cazorla were nurtured. Hence, it will be a huge privilege for the Blues to play at the Mini Estadi in Barcelona but it is bound to be a stern test for them.
The matches in Spain will provide great exposure to the winners of the inaugural edition of Super Cup and have got Bengaluru FC fans really excited.
Following is the schedule of the Matches Bengaluru FC will play in Spain:
August 3: Bengaluru FC vs Atlético Saguntino
August 6: Bengaluru FC vs Shabab Al Ahli Dubai FC
August 11: Bengaluru FC vs Villarreal CF B
August 14: Bengaluru FC vs FC Barcelona B