Come January 25 Baichung Bhutia will feature in a charity match for Zidane-Kaka XI side playing versus Benfica All Stars in Lisbon, Portugal
Baichung confirms to FPAI, “This is a great honour to be called up to play for the Zidane-Kaka XI. I have always tried to come to aid of the poor and the affected and being a part of the football match proceeds of which will go to the Haiti victims makes me feel proud. My heart goes out to the dead and their kins.”
Initially the team was called Zinedine-Ronaldo, but with Ronaldo not being able to come, it is Kaka who is coming in.
Baichung adds, “I am a great fan of Zinedine Zidane and it will be a pleasure to play alongside him. Kaka is also such a great player. The Benfica team will have some of its present and former stars. Louis Figo might feature for the All Star Team.”
The Benfica team may also feature the likes of Oscar Cardozo and Pablo Aimer.
So after rubbing shoulders with the best of the Allianz arena, it’s time for Baichung to charm the ball in Estadio da Luz. The stadium is officially called “Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica” or “stadium of Lights”
“When we went to Protugal for our practice tour, I saw this stadium and wondered what it would be like to play here. Now my dream is so close to be fulfilled,” he adds.
The United Nations is raising funds world over for the Haiti earthquake victims, the match being a part of it.
Baichung Bhutia had earlier played alongside the likes of Didier Drogba, Kaka and Steven Gerrard in an international exhibition match on July 12, 2008, in Munich to raise funds for African children. Baichung played in the Goal 4 Africa match that was kicked off by football legends Pele and Michael Platini. Goal 4 Africa ambassador and Dutch star Clearance Seedorf was a part of that team.
Source: FPAI
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Saturday 23 January 2010, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.