Barça legends Gerard Piqué and Xavi to play for Catalonia in showpiece Venezuela friendly
The Catalan line-up will make their debut in a FIFA international window on Monday
Legendary Barcelona stars Gerard Piqué and Xavi Hernández are among the high-profile players who have been selected to represent the Catalonia national football team in their friendly match against Venezuela on Monday.
Head coach Gerard López had a wider range of personnel to choose from than for previous fixtures, as for the first time in their history, Catalonia have been granted permission to play during an official FIFA window.
Piqué, 32, who retired from his Spain commitments last summer but remains a first-choice center-back for Barça, will make a return to international football for the one-off game against the Copa América participants.
Meanwhile Xavi, 39, Barcelona's all-time top appearances-holder, will enjoy a rare outing back on the pitch in his native country, having spent the last four seasons playing in the Qatari league with Doha side Al Sadd SC.
Blaugrana greats
"Xavi and Piqué are two hugely important names for the success of the match and because of everything they represent," said López. "Their appearance is a big plus to help us fill the stadium and to put on a great show."
The Blaugrana greats will be joined at Girona FC's 14,000-seater Montilivi Stadium by a mixture of more global talent and local heroes, including a number of players who will be familiar to followers of English football.