India vs Brazil — Ronaldinho, Rivaldo return for Legends match in Kochi before senior teams clash in Kolkata

Ronaldinho was also part of India vs Brazil legends match played in Chennai last year. | Photo Credit: B JOTHI RAMALINGAM

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi is all set to host legends of Brazil and Indian football for an exhibition match nearly a week before the national teams of two countries face off in Kolkata.

The Brazilian legends squad will include prominent names like Ballon d’Or winners Ronaldinho (2005) and Rivaldo (1999). The two prolific forwards were part of Brazil’s victorious World Cup-winning team of 2002, the last time the South American giant won the trophy.

The exhibition game on September 23 — organised by Chennai-based Gaammen Sports — is the second iteration of the fixture, with the last such match taking place in Chennai last year. Brazil Legends had won the match 2-1, with Ricardo Oliveira and Alvito netting for Brazil while Bibiano Fernandes pulling one back for India.

Rivaldo and Ronaldinho had both started the match in Chennai.

The game in Kochi will also mark the return of Ronaldinho to Kerala after a decade. In 2016, the former Barcelona and AC Milan striker had come to Kozhikode as the brand ambassador of a football tournament and had narrowly escaped a street accident.

Brazil’s full squad for the game, which Sportstar has a copy of, mentions other World Cup winners in Paulo Sérgio, Jorginho, Viola and Edmílson.

Among Indian football legends, I. M. Vijayan will cherish the opportunity to play in front of his local crowd along with fellow Kerala boys K. T. Chacko, Jo Paul Ancheri, C.K. Vineeth and N.P. Pradeep.

Bibiano, the goalscorer in the previous iteration of this fixture, is also included in the list, while former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia does not feature in it. Among Kolkata club veterans, ex-East Bengal stars Mehtab Hossain and Muttath Suresh, along with two-time Indian Super League winner Arnab Mondal have made it to the list.

The fixture is expected to set the stage for India to witness a first-ever clash between the senior men’s national teams of India and Brazil on October 3. In the last few weeks, another Brazil legend, Cafu, had visited several cities in India as the country gets ready for the international friendly, at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

Squads for India vs Brazil legends:

Brazil: Gomes — Jorginho, Gustavo Nery, Elivélton, Pará — Edmilson, Amaral, Souza, Junior, Camanducaia — Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Paulo Sergio, Giovanni, Viola, Ricardo Oliveira, Diogo

India: Subashish Roy, Sandeep Nandi — Suresh Muttath, Debabrata Roy, Ajayan, Arnab Mondal, Mehraj Uddin Wadoo — Bibiano Fernandes, Rino Anto, N P Pradeep, Climax Lawrence, Jo Paul Ancheri, Mehtab Hossain, Nelson — I M Vijayan, Mohd Rafi, C K Vineeth, Ashim Biswas, K. T. Chacko

Kick-off time: 7:30 pm IST

Tickets for the India vs Brazil Legends match are already available on the District app, with the early bird tickets sold out. However, seats in most stands are still available, with tickets ranging from Rs. 1125 to Rs. 9375.