The traveling rosters for the three European powerhouse clubs that will travel this week to Red Bull Arena for the Barclays New York Challenge were released, and there are a number of stars who will be on display at the three day, four match tournament.
The Red Bulls’ newest signing, Thierry Henry, is expected to debut for the club when the Red Bulls take on Tottenham Hotspur FC of England to kick off the showcase on Thursday night. Tottenham is gearing up for the 2010-11 Premier League season, and also have qualified for this season’s UEFA Champions League thanks to their fourth place finish in last season’s Premiership. With many important fixtures in the near future, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp will require the services of many bodies going forward, and the Challenge will give him a good look at the depth of his squad. Star on the rise Gareth Bale will make the trip, and the Welsh international is quickly becoming one of the great young fullbacks in world football. Longtime Spurs marksman Robbie Keane will also travel to Harrison, bringing with him the scoring pedigree which has placed him eighth all-time on Tottenham’s scoring list. Croatian international Luka Modric provides a creative force in the midfield, and he’ll be looking to orchestrate some goals for Tottenham this week.
Tottenham finished fourth in the Premier League in 2009-2010, much thanks to a dramatic victory over Challenge participants Manchester City FC in the penultimate match of the season. City finished fifth on the season, an excellent place after a slow start. Manager Roberto Mancini has some of world football’s greatest players to choose from when picking out an eleven, and many of them will go up against the Red Bulls on Sunday. Manchester City boasts the Toure brothers, defender Kolo and midfielder Yaya, who both represented Cote d’Ivoire at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Midfielder Patrick Vieira, who was a longtime teammate of Thierry Henry at Arsenal and with the French National Team, is also on the roster. City will look to score a lot of goals, and very well can with a strike force that includes the likes of Craig Bellamy, Emmanuel Adebayor and Jo. England World Cup selection Gareth Barry is likely to be the midfield general for Manchester City throughout the tournament.
Portugal’s Sporting Clube de Portugal will take on Manchester City on Friday night and Tottenham on Sunday, and the 18-time Portuguese champions can look to their own collection of stars, including three 2010 World Cup players. Sporting will be happy to look towards Portuguese World Cup forward Liédson, who has scored 111 goals for the club in over 200 appearances. One of Liédson’s World Cup teammates, Pedro Mendes, will go up against one of his former teams when Sporting play Tottenham on Sunday. Chilean midfielder Matias Fernandez is also making the trip, and if his exciting play in South Africa was any indication, Fernandez will be ready to entertain this week.
The Barclays New York Challenge is sure to be three days of excellent and exciting soccer, with some of the world’s great players facing one another. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by
CLICKING HERE
or by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER.
