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July 20, 2012
IN THE FRIENDLY CONFINES
Soccer returns to Wrigley Sunday
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Soccer returns to Wrigley Field for the firt time since 1984.
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Soccer returns to the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley field on Sunday for the first time since 1984 when Italy’s AS Roma and Poland’s Zaglebie Lubin in an international friendly at 2:30 pm.
The last time a soccer game was played at Wrigley, the Chicago Sting beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in a North American Soccer League semi-final game, with the Sting eventually advancing to win the league title.
The match at Wrigley Field kicks off the first leg of AS Roma’s United States Tour, with additional stops scheduled for Boston at Fenway Park and New York at Red Bull Arena.
Each club will feature star players and representatives from their country’s national team. AS Roma’s squad, led by team captain and forward Francesco Totti, features forward Bojan Krkic Pérez and Italian national team forward Pablo Daniel Osvaldo. Recently acquired U.S. National Team midfielder Michael Bradley is also with the squad.
Zaglebie Lubin’s roster includes Polish national team forwards Szymon Pawlowski and Arkadiusz Wozniak, midfielder Maciej Malkowski and defender Marcin Kowalczyk.
The playing field will run from Wrigley Field’s third base dugout to right field, similar to the football field layout during the 2010 Allstate Wrigleyville Classic college football game between Northwestern University and the University of Illinois.
AS Roma of Italy’s legendary Serie A division and Zaglebie Lubin of Poland’s Ekstraklasa both have recently come under new ownership. AS Roma was purchased by a consortium led by Boston-based Raptor Group’s Jim Pallotta last year, while Zaglebie Lubin was purchased by KGHM, Poland’s largest company.
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