India will be graced by another football legend when former Brazil international and World Cup winner Rivaldo will visit the country for the Subroto Cup in October. The 44-year-old is expected to make an appearance at the Grand Finale – the U-17 junior boys’ final.
The final will be held at the Dr. Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi on 22 October and Air Force officials confirmed that Rivaldo would be present.
“We are happy to announce that Brazilian football legend Rivaldo will be the guest of honour for the grand finale,” said an Air Force official. “It will be held at the Ambedkar Stadium.”
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Last year, Pele had graced the occasion with his presence at the closing ceremony. Arguably the greatest football player ever, Pele had visited the country to watch his former club Santos FC take part in the Subroto Cup.
The Subroto Cup is a football tournament held every year in India and it is easily one of the most famous inter-school football tournaments in India. It is so named after Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee and the first ever tournament was held in 1960.
Rivaldo is no stranger to football fans. Having played for a number of clubs in South America, Europe and even Africa, he shot to fame in the late ‘90s and even took home the 1999 Ballon d’Or, beating David Beckham and Andriy Shevchenko to the prize.
He has won the Spanish La Liga twice with Barcelona and the UEFA Champions League with AC Milan. With Brazil, he won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he won the silver boot behind compatriot Ronaldo. He also led Brazil to the 1999 Copa America crown, where he was the top goalscorer and most valuable player of the tournament.
More to follow.
Additional reporting done by Vikram Mahendra
