Previous Gampers at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium

It may seem like something unprecedented for the Joan Gamper Trophy to be played at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, but it's not. In fact, this will be the third time it has happened. In both 1990 and 1996, the venue was also switched due to work going on in the usual Barça stadium, although in those cases it was just the grass that was being changed, not the entire ground!

1990 against Russians and Belgians

The first instance was in 1990, two years before the stadium hosted the Olympic Games. That was back in the days when the tournament featured four teams. The home side beat Spartak Moscow 1-0 in the semi thanks to a solitary goal from Bakero, and then won the trophy by beating Anderlecht in the final, the goals scored by Koeman, Berigistain and Stoichkov.

1996 the last with four teams

The other time the Gamper was played at Montjuic was also the final edition before the switch to a single match, as is still the practice today.

Barça, managed by Bobby Robson, started by bearing Argentine side San Lorenzo 2-0 in the semifinals with goals from Giovanni Silva and Pizzi. And in the final, Guardiola and Pizzi scored in a 2--1 defeat of Inter Milan.

Curiously, that Barça side featured three players that would go on to coach the team: Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and (albeit only very briefly) Sergi Barjuan.

Now another Gamper veteran, Xavi Hernández, is about to coach his first game at the Olympic Stadium... This coming Tuesday, history is in the making against Tottenham Hotspur.