FC Barcelona to hold pre-season tour in China, Thailand and Malaysia in August
The Blaugrana will play exhibition matches in Shanghai on the 4th of August, Bangkok on the 7th of August and Kuala Lumpur on the 10th of August. However, the names of the teams facing Barça have not been revealed yet. It will be the second FC Barcelona’s Asia Tour after that of summer 2010. Barça will firstly play against Guardiola’s Bayern Munich on the 24th of July, for charity purposes. Furthermore, the Catalan team might play on Tel Aviv on the 31st of July with a Israel and Palestine side in order to support peace and understanding, although this has not been confirmed yet.
Barcelona (FCB).- During this afternoon’s press conference, FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell confirmed that FC Barcelona will tour Asia this summer. Rosell didn’t reveal the teams Barça will face, but he did confirm the dates and locations of the Catalan team’s three exhibition matches. The first shall be played in Shanghai (China) on August 4, three days later, August 7, Barça will fly to Bangkok (Thailand) for the second match of the tour, and the third match will be held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on the 10th.
Fifth Asia Tour
This won’t be FC Barcelona’s first visit to the Far East. Barça had visited Asia in the 2004/05, 2005/06, 2007/08 and 2010/11seasons. In the summer of 2010, the Blaugrana played exhibition matches in Seoul (South Korea) and Beijing (China). In the first match of the tour, FC Barcelona defeated the K League All Stars by 2-5 thanks to goals from Ibrahimovic, Messi (2), Jonathan Soriano, and Víctor Sánchez. In Beijing, the Blaugrana took on Guoan FC at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as The Bird’s Nest, and won 0-3 thanks to strikes from Sergi Roberto, Nolito, and Ibrahimovic.
It should be noted that FC Barcelona’s first confirmed pre-season match will be against Josep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich on July 24, for charity purposes.