The 11th Soccer Aid match for UNICEF took place yesterday at the London Stadium with the World XI team coming out victorious, for the fourth year in a row and two Manchester United heroes played key roles for the winning team.
The game ended in a 2-2 draw before the World XI pipped England on penalties to celebrate victory in the match.
In an evening of football that always provides bizarre matchups, like Jamie Carragher trying to mark Usain Bolt, the main purpose of this 90 minutes of action is to raise as much money for UNICEF And last night was no exception as a record-breaking £15.6 million was generously donated to the charity that helps children all over the world.
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A part of the beauty and appeal of Soccer Aid is the wackiness of it.
Ballon d'Or And World Cup winners on the same team as Love Island contestants and TikTokers is the norm.
So when the former Manchester United marksman, Dimitar Berbatov replaced Roberto Carlos in defence the confusion only lasted a second before people accepted it as fun and the Bulgarian blended into the back line.
Berbatov who scored 94 times in the Premier League with 56 of these goals coming whilst in the red of United, is one of the silkiest strikers that the league has ever seen.
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Renowned for his first touch It sometimes felt like he could stop a ball going as fast as the speed of light dead on his toe before coolly going about his business as usual.
The World XI manager, Arsène Wenger, planned to utilise the famed composure of Berbatov, not at striker where the 41-year-old made his name as the position was already occupied by the fastest man on the planet, Usain Bolt, but at the heart of defence instead.
Situated next to his former Manchester United teammate, Patrice Evra, Berbatov seemed to play the role of a sweeping centre-back and didn't look out of place during his spell on the pitch that lasted about an hour.
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United have had great centre back partnerships in the past like Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, or somewhat more recently Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand and perhaps if he wasn't so good at the other end of the pitch, Berbatov could've gave them a run for their money.
As previously mentioned, the Bulgarian wasn't the only United icon in the World XI back line, as Patrice Evra was alongside him and constantly bombed up and down the pitch like he had just retired yesterday.
The former France and Manchester United captain had an intriguing battle all night with the four-time gold-medal winning long-distance runner Mo Farah, which seemed to be a test for whose stamina could last the longest.
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Evra was influential in the World XI’s first goal as he was fouled inside the box by YouTube sensation Chunkz, resulting in a penalty being awarded which was then converted by TikTok’s Noah Beck.
Only an event like Soccer Aid can make that fever dream of a sentence an actual reality.
Watching Evra's performance on Sunday makes you think that he'd be a solid option at the Red Devils if he still had some of the pace and fitness that brought him to Old Trafford in the first place. That's the beauty of watching some of the ex-players, they might not have the stamina or turn of pace anymore, but the likes of Evra and Berba will never lose their class on the ball.
Mentally the Frenchman's positioning and communication were great, knowing that his speed was behind in his younger years, Evra sensed danger and silently ghosted into effective positions to snub it out before any attack materialised.
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Soccer Aid Shows two things that I think are embodied by Evra and Berbatov.
Firstly, that football can bring anyone and everyone together regardless of their background, and secondly, when it comes to ex-professional football players, form is temporary but class is often permanent.
Topics: Soccer Aid, Manchester United, Patrice Evra, Dimitar Berbatov, Football
Tom Horn