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The symbolic trophy named after the founder of the Catalan club Joan Gamper was traditionally competed for between the hosts and the guests invited. This time - Genoa.
Before the match, all Barcelona football players were introduced to the fans gathered in the stadium stands. The first to appear on the field were both new players of the team - defender Jordi Alba and midfielder Alex Song.
Fans also saw Frenchman Eric Abidal wearing a jersey, but still unable to play due to a liver transplant operation, as well as defender Marc Muniesa, recovering from a serious knee ligament injury, who walked out onto the field leaning on crutches and surrounded by his teammates.
This year, the match date coincided with one of the most significant events in the history of Barcelona - exactly two decades ago at the old "Wembley" stadium, the Catalans became the champions of the most prestigious European club tournament for the first time by defeating the Genoa team in the final with a score of 1-0. This time, guests from Italy celebrated victory with the same result.
As expected, in such a match Tito Vilanova decided to rely on the academy graduates, alongside whom played Ibrahim Afellay, Jonathan dos Santos, and David Villa.
From the first moments, Sampdoria players scored a goal - defender Roberto Soriano sent the ball into Jose Manuel Pinto's goal with a header. Later it turned out to be the only goal of the evening.
Active in the game, Afellay, Sergi Roberto, and Gerard Deulofeu had several great opportunities to equalize the score, but the numbers on the scoreboard remained the same until the final whistle.
The young Barcelona defender Roberto was recognized as the best player of the match.
"Barcelona" 0 - 1 Genoa "Sampdoria".
