Former soccer stars such as the Dutch Clarence Seedorf or the Colombian Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama are part of the Monumental League. That is the name chosen for a veterans’ tournament that will be held until June 30 in Venezuela with atypical rules that mark the idea of spectacle that the organizers are looking for.
The matches are played on a reduced field, in teams made up of nine players each. The areas are not rectangular, but are a kind of octagon cut in half. Each goal is celebrated with a flare of fire that comes out from the sides of the goals.
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According to the rules, there are three periods of 20 minutes each. Goals do not accumulate, so the team that wins at least two of the three episodes will be the winner. There is also no offside and there is one minute in each round in which goals count double.
The teams have names like La Cosa Nostra, Los Extraterrestres or Vikingos del Caribe, and each team has “godmothers” who spin a roulette wheel that can award, for example, free kicks from goal to goal without goalkeepers. There are also no limits on the number of substitutions that can be made.
Among the players there are streamers and celebrities, as well as former stars such as the world champion with Italy in Germany 2006 Luca Toni and the Colombian Faustino Asprilla. There is also Venezuelan Luis Arango, a local in the tournament that takes place at the Monumental Stadium in Caracas, used mainly for baseball.
The organizers anticipated that Emerson, who played with Brazil in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups, as well as the 1999 and 2001 Copa América, will also participate. The midfielder, currently 48 years old, played professionally for Real Madrid, Roma, Juventus and Milan, among other teams.
CLARENCE SEEDORF 🔟 pic.twitter.com/MbHlf9VuZ3
— Liga Monumental (@LigaMonumental_) May 24, 2024
Likewise, they announced the presence of Ronaldinho, who this Sunday will also play a solidarity match to raise aid for the tragic floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
