Photo by Hitchcock CreativeD.C. United today announced that it’s finalized plans for a friendly match July 28 at RFK Stadium against storied French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain.
“PSG is becoming one of the most exciting and news-making clubs in all of European soccer,” D.C. United President and CEO Kevin Payne said in a press release. “We are looking forward to hosting them and continuing our long tradition of playing matches against the world’s top clubs for the enjoyment of our supporters.”
United had previously been scheduled to play its annual summer friendly against Italian powerhouse Juventus. But Juventus cancelled its entire North American tour last week, citing “scheduling issues,” though it has have other issues to deal with as well. After guiding his side to a Serie A title this year—without losing a single game—Juventus head coach Antonio Conte has found himself embroiled in Italy’s most recent match-fixing scandal.
Paris Saint-Germain is coming off of a stellar season of its own, narrowly missing out on its third Ligue 1 title while setting a record for total points (79) by a second-place finisher and securing a Champions League berth. In addition to its two league titles, PSG has won eight French Cups, three League Cups and two Trophées des Champions.
Led by 23-year-old Argentine midfielder Javier Pastore (he’s no Dwayne De Rosario), PSG also features the likes of Brazilian winger Nenê (wannabe Chris Pontius, and not to be confused with the Wizards’ forward of the same name) and former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid midfielder Thiago “Not Andy Najar” Motta. While the team may lack the name recognition that Juventus had brought to the table, PSG was a joy to watch all year long. It’s a compelling matchup—hopefully United remains healthy between now and then and fields a fairly strong lineup for the game.
It may not be United’s last friendly of the season, as there was talk last month of scheduling a friendly against a Latin American team later in the season, possibly in October.
According to United’s press release, fans who’ve already purchased tickets for the Juventus game can either keep them and attend the PSG match, return them at the point of original purchase for new tickets bearing the correct opponent (you can do that if you’re one of those weird people who keeps month-old soccer tickets in some sort of scrapbook in your basement) or just get a refund for the full purchase price.
Additional tickets to the match are still available through the club’s website.
