With just one month to go for FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, five FIFA Legends — Carlos Valderrama, Fernando Morientes, Marcel Desailly, Jorge Campos and Emmanuel Amuneke — took part in an exhibition game at Dr DY Patil Stadium and unveiled the Winner's Trophy for the Navi Mumbai leg of the Trophy Experience.
It was an unforgettable day for Indian football as the FIFA Legends took on an Indian contingent comprising Arjuna awardee Oinam Bembem Devi; Indian women's national team captain Ngangom Bala Devi; two kids from Mission XI Million, the legacy programme for FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017; Minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprise Babul Supriyo and Bollywood filmmaker Shoojit Sircar.
Football fans in Mumbai watched the game enthusiastically from the stands and cheered for both teams in a match that ended 5-4 in favour of the FIFA Legends.
Fernando Morientes scored four goals while Bala Devi was the standout performer for the Indian icons, scoring two goals and assisting another.
Morientes said, “Infra-structure and coaching can help create an ecosystem that can be conducive to the transition between youth teams and senior teams. That’s what Spain and France have been doing all these years. The infrastructure has to start from the school level, right to the top.”
