Lippi Announces his Squad for the EU Celebration Match

Former Italian world cup winning coach Marcello Lippi has announced his squad of players for the much anticipated UEFA celebration match at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The charity game is being supported by the EU and marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which laid the foundations of the current union, and also celebrates Manchester United’s involvement in Europe for half a century.

Over 70,000 of the total 72,000 tickets have now been sold for the match, proceeds from which will go to The Manchester United Foundation, setting an all-time record for a non-competition match at Old Trafford. Star turn David Beckham will be there, but not wearing his football boots because of an injury, to see his old team take on a gala lineup including Liverpool players Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, Barcelona captain Carles Puyol and many of the Italian World Cup-winning squad. The Europe team will also feature three guest players, the Brazilian trio of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Juninho.

Here is the squad for the Europe XI coached by Marcello Lippi:

Goalkeepers: Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich), Gregory Coupet (Lyon), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

Defenders: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Eric Abidal (AS Roma), Lilian Thuram (FC Barcelona), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan), Fabio Grosso (Inter Milan), Gianluca Zambrotta (FC Barcelona)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Juninho (Lyon), Florent Malouda (Lyon), Luis Miguel (Valencia), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

Forwards: Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona), Ronaldo (AC Milan), Alessandro Mancini (AS Roma), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Henrik Larsson (Helsingborgs)

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