Hristo Stoichkov boasted that he gave a copy of the “Golden Ball” to Pope Francis before his participation in the Peace Match, which was organized precisely by the Argentine.
Kamata played as #9 for the “Whites” team alongside other great footballers such as Ronaldinho, Eric Abidal, Pablo Zabaleta, Ivan Rakitic, Shota Arveladze.
“With great joy, I gave Pope Francis a copy of my Golden Ball! We were with him, we played for world peace in the Eternal City! King Football is the best ambassador for a peaceful world,” Stoichkov wrote on social networks.
He faced the “blue” team, where the names of Italian legends like Antonio Di Natale, Vincenzo Iaquinta and others appeared.
WATCH REPORT OF THE DEMONSTRATION MATCH HERE >>>
The match was in honor of the legend Diego Armando Maradona, who left this world last November. Some of the children of the ten attended the event at the Stadio Olimpico, with two of them even taking part in the match.
Stoichkov impressed with his skills on the right wing, playing in the first half and providing two assists, and was also instrumental in another goal.
Photo: AP/BTA
The score was opened in the ninth minute when Hristo Stoichkov received a long pass and headed down Shota Arveladze for the Georgian to score from an easy position.
In the 14th minute, Antonio Di Natale equalized after Gokhan Inler took the ball from an opponent player and passed it to him.
In the 17th minute, Stoichkov again had a key role for his team’s goal, giving a back-heel pass to Mkhitaryan, who then passed it to Hugo Almeida, so that the Portuguese could score into an empty net – 2:1.
Kamata’s fantastic play continued and in the 21st minute he provided a second assist, slotting the ball between three opposition players for Arveladze’s second goal.
Photo: AP/BTA
The Blues reduced the score to 2:3 in the 24th minute, when after a cross from a corner, Iaquinta managed to overcome Roman Weidenfeller.
At the beginning of the second half, Andiy Voronin, who entered the game, scored two quick goals to turn the result – 4:3 for the blues.
Embed from Getty Images
){kind=link}