On the pitch Erling Håland and Robert Lewandowski and their duel for the goal. On the bench Xavi and Guardiola who meet again for the first time as coaches. And in everyone's eyes, the battle against ALS of Juan Carlos Unzué, the exporter and technician who was diagnosed with this disease two years ago. Solidarity and high-voltage duels will meet today at the Spotify Camp Nou starting at 9:30 p.m. in a match that, with more than 76,000 tickets sold, seeks to raise the maximum amount to donate it to the Fundació Luzón, which oversees research, improvement the quality of life of those affected and prevention in the diagnosis of the disease. "It is a party that is born of friendship with capital letters," says Unzué.
Barça arrives at the meeting in high spirits after the 1-4 win against Real Sociedad, which has restored the confidence lost after the tie in the league debut against Rayo. Two of the four Barça goals were scored by Lewandowski, the Polish striker who wants to maintain the streak against one of his favorite rivals, the Norwegian Erling Håland. Both scorers have seen each other on a total of seven occasions with the shirts of Bayern and Dortmund. In these seven clashes, the 34-year-old new Barça striker achieved the full victories with Bayern, scoring nine goals against Håland's five.
The Norwegian, who has scored four goals this season with City, will seek to shine against a Barça team that dreamed of having him. He will do it by sharing ownership with Bernardo Silva, another intended by Barça. Xavi could give minutes to less usual players like Pablo Torre. It will also be an opportunity to see Koundé in action, the only one of the five Barça signings that has not yet been registered in the League and to say goodbye to Aubameyang or Memphis, both on the starting ramp. Who knows if tomorrow the Champions League draw (6:00 p.m., Spanish time) crosses them again.
The Barça team will take advantage of the match against City to debut their third kit for the 2022-23 season, presented this morning through the club's website and social networks. The shirt is grey, with a Barça cross in the centre. The design is inspired, as Barça itself explains in a statement, in the Creu de Sant Jordi. This year is the thirtieth anniversary of the granting of this recognition to the club by the Generalitat de Catalunya, for "its social aspect and its sporting, civic and solidarity values".
For this reason, both players from the men's and women's teams, such as Lewandowski, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Mapi León and Aitana Bonmatí, participated in the kit presentation ceremony, along with players from the Barça Genuine Foundation squad. It is a "commitment to diversity and inclusion". The Spotify logo appears in the center of the cross in gray, the names of the players and the numbers are black and the shorts and socks are the same color as the shirt. It will be on sale exclusively in various official stores and online between August 24 and 28. From then on, the general sale begins at the usual points.
