"We didn't stop having fun at the dorm." "The elegant legend" Verbatov said, "I really want to meet Korean fans again."
"We didn't stop having fun at the dorm." "The elegant legend" Verbatov said, "I really want to meet Korean fans again."
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Dimitar Berbatov (43, Bulgaria) looked forward to meeting with Korean fans again.
Berbatov wore an FC Spear uniform made up of legendary strikers for the "2024 Nexon Icon Match" held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Oct. 20. His opponent was Shield United, made up of legendary defenders.
The game was a 4-1 victory for the Shield, where Sedorov was active with one goal and three assists.
Berbatov played one of the pillars of the four-back defense with Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Carlos Tevez.
"I want to say thank you first," Berbatov said at a post-match press conference. "Many fans welcomed me warmly from the moment I arrived in Korea."
"The officials took care of us a lot so that we could stay without any inconvenience. It was a time in Korea as if we were spending time at home. In the main game, the Shield consisting of defenders deserved to win. While playing as a defender, I felt that 'defense is really difficult'," he said.
It was a game in which the legends of world football were all out.
Those who worked with Berbatov included Aleksandar Del Piero, Eden Hazard, Luis Figo, Marouane Fellaini, Rivaldo, Kaka, Drogba, Henri, Tevez, Diego Forlan, Andriy Sevchenko, Michael Owen, and Park Ji-sung. Kim Byung-ji, Ahn Jung-hwan, Lee Chun-soo, and Kim Yong-dae also participated in the match as Spear members.
In addition to Cedorov, Yaya Touré, Jon Arce Lise, Javier Mascherano, Andrea Pirlo, Leonardo Bonucci, Carlos Puyol, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Fabio Cannavaro, Edwin van de Sarr and Hicardo Carvalho also joined the winning shield. Park Joo-ho, who opened the scoring, Lee Young-pyo, Lim Min-hyuk, and Kim Nam-il also worked with the legends included in the shield.
Berbatov once worked with a Korean player when he was an active player. When he was with Tottenham Hotspur, he played with Lee. After moving to Manchester United, he played with Park Ji-sung.
Berbatov said, "I met people I had with when I was a player for the first time in a long time," adding, "There were former teammates and some who faced each other."
Berbatov continued, "We talked a lot from the dorm. We exchanged jokes and laughed a lot. There were some stories that were hard to talk about in public. It was an unconditional competition in the stadium as we did when we were active. It is true that we wanted to win. We didn't win, but we had a great time competing with good players for the first time in a while. It was a happy time."
The Seoul World Cup Stadium was filled with 64,210 spectators. Fans applauded and shouted for each movement of the legends. 안전놀이터
"We had a great time," Berbatov said. "I hope the fans left good memories like us."
He added, "I really want to meet Korean fans again."