Manchester United icons were summoned to Korea, to take part in a football match with quite the unique twist.
The former United legends have travelled to Asia to play a friendly match organised by the game company, Nexon, in association with EA Sports.
Two teams are pitted against each other – FC Spear and Shield United. The unique edge? One team is made up entirely of attackers, and the other defenders.
Alongside Manchester United players of old, several star-studded former greats of the game also took part in front of 60,000 supporters.
Which Man Utd players took part in the Nexon Icon match?
FC Spear was captained by Chelsea legend Didier Drogba and also featured Dimitar Berbatov, Kaka, Luis Figo, Eden Hazard, Carlos Tevez, Michael Owen, Park Ji-Sung, Rivaldo, Diego Forlan, Thierry Henry and Alessandro Del Piero.
South Korean stars Ahn Jung-hwan, Lee Chun-soo, Kim Byung-ji and Kim Yong-dae also featured.
As for the opposition, Rio Ferdinand captained Spear FC, and was partnered by Nemanja Vidic at the back, with Edwin van der Sar between the sticks. The lads caught up before the game with an iconic photo.
Javier Mascherano, Yaya Toure, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Carles Puyol, Leonardo Bonucci, John Arne Riise, Ricardo Carvalho, Adilson and Fabio Cannavaro joined them. TKim Nam-il, Park Joo-ho and Lim Min-hyeok were also in the squad.
The starting XI’s were certainly quite wild.
Starting XI for FC Spear: 4-3-3
- GK – Kim Byung-ji
- LB – Thierry Henry
- CB – Dimitar Berbatov
- CB – Didier Drogba
- RB – Carlos Tevez
- CM – Rivaldo
- CM – Marouane Fellaini
- CM – Kaka
- LW – Eden Hazard
- ST – Alessandro Del Piero
- RW – Luis Figo
Substitutes: Andriy Shevchenko, Park Ji-sung, Lee Chun-soo, Michael Owen, Ahn Jung-hwan, Diego Forlan and Kim Young-dae.
Starting XI for Shield United: 3-4-3
- GK – Edwin van der Sar
- CB – Fabio Cannavaro
- CB – Nemanja Vidic
- CB – Rio Ferdinand
- LM – Javier Mascherano
- CM – Andrea Pirlo
- CM – Leonardo Bonucci
- RM – Carles Puyol
- LW – John Arne Riise
- ST – Yaya Toure
- RW – Clarence Seedorf
Substitutes: Ricardo Carvalho, Park Joo-ho, Adilson, Lee Young-pyo, Lee Min-hyuk and Kim Nam-il
What was the Nexon icon Match result?
The match finished 4-1 to Shield United – in an action-packed fixture.
Yaya Toure bagged the first with a tap in, before Clarence Seedorf made it 2-0 just under 10 minutes later with an audacious lob. That was it for the first 45.
The second half saw Park Joo-ho finding the back of the net in the 57th minute and Javier Mascherano adding a fourth in the 81st minute.
FC Spear finally pulled one back when Park Ji-sung himself came onto the pitch, scoring a penalty in the 85th minute. A fitting end.
- Final Result: Shield United 4 – 1 FC Spear (Yaya Toure, Clarence Seedorf, Park Joo-ho, Javier Mascherano; Ji-Sung Park)
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