Joan Gamper Trophy History, Past All-Time Winners List, Format, Rules, Prize Money

Know more about the prestigious friendly tournament Joan Gamper Trophy, the all-time winners list and most successful teams along with the runner-up, results and score

Barça was scheduled to play AS Roma in the renowned Joan Gamper trophy in August. PUMAS have taken the place of Roma in the competition, as was made known by Barcelona’s official Twitter account. PUMAS, also known as Club Universidad Nacional, are one of Mexico’s most illustrious teams. They have been identified as Barcelona’s challenger for the coveted title, and the match is scheduled to take place on August 7 at the newly renamed Spotify Camp Nou.

Joan Gamper Trophy History, Past All-Time Winners List, Format, Rules And Prize Money

Joan Gamper Trophy History, Reason of Naming, And Participant Teams

Before the start of Barcelona’s La Liga season, in August, a preseason exhibition game called the Joan Gamper Trophy pits top-tier European clubs against Barcelona. Joan Gamper, a founding member, player, and subsequently president of the club, is honoured by the competition, which is held at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium. Enric Llaudet, one of Gamper’s successors as club president, launched the competition in 1966.

The competition, which had two semi-finals, a third-place play-off, and a final, was initially attended by four teams. France’s Nantes, Belgium’s Anderlecht, and Germany’s 1. FC Köln joined Barcelona for the first edition in 1966. In the championship game, Barcelona defeated Germany 3-1. The only team, aside from the hosts, to win the competition more than once was Köln, which went on to win it in 1978, 1981, and finished second in 1979.

Another Spanish team, Atlético Madrid, made its debut in the next season. They joined the hosts, German team Bayern Munich, and Argentine team Boca Juniors. Among the most frequent visitors, Bayern finished in second place in 1984, 1987, and 2006, while Boca was the first of several South American guests to be invited and later returned in 1977, 1984, 2003, 2008, and 2018. Brazil’s Internacional won the competition in 1982, becoming them the only non-European team to do it.

Teams from other leagues, like the German Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A, have participated in subsequent competitions. Other elite Spanish clubs, such as Tenerife and Valencia, champions in 1993 and 1994, respectively, have also on occasion been invited. Due to a longer schedule of games and a shorter close season, the competition has only included one game per season since 1997. No further time is added if the score is tied after 90 minutes; instead, a penalty shootout is used to determine the winner.

Joan Gamper Trophy All-time Champions, Runner-up Team, And Final Results

Since the inception of the tournament, Barcelona have managed to become champions in 44 editions. In the last edition, Barcelona won the final against Juventus with a comfortable score line of 3-0 as Juventus were no match against the hosts. While no money is handed to the winner, an amount of 1 million euros is usually generated from tickets sales and hosting of the encounter.

Joan Gamper Trophy, MVP Award And Most Successful Teams

Only Lionel Messi has ever scored in six straight Joan Gamper Trophy competitions, encompassing the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Only Lionel Messi has received the Man of the Match (MVP) honor more than once in the Joan Gamper Trophy’s history. Four times, against Santos in 2013, León in 2014, Sampdoria in 2016, and Boca Juniors in 2018, he has triumphed.

On top of a 10-kilogram (22 lb) marble plinth foundation, the trophy itself is an 800-gram (1.8 lb) silver cup with five micrometers of gold finishing.

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