The International Champions Cup (ICC) is upon us! While the safe money is on Leicester City to win the competition which “revolutionized the international soccer landscape”, Australia’s Melbourne Victory and Italy’s Juventus took to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to stake their own claims on winning the competition’s historic fourth edition.
No one told Carlos Blanco that it was a meaningless preseason game — the guy apparently lives for the ICC.
The Barcelona youth academy product opened the scoring in the match’s 58th minute. Collecting the ball near the edge of the center circle, Blanco took a glance up to see the Melbourne keeper off of his line. That’s all the invitation the center half needed.
He deftly clipped the ball 50 yards, over the goalkeepers head and into the back of the net.
Given that Blanco typically plays center half, it’s safe to say that he’s wasted the greatest goal he’ll ever score in a preseason match.
Juventus will certainly want to view it as meaningless as they’d go on to lose to the Australian side in penalties, 4-3, after drawing 1-1 in regular time.
The 20-year-old Blanco is one positive to take from the match for Juventus supporters. Blanco moved from the Barcelona youth academy to Juventus in August of 2014, and he looks set to appear for the first team this season.
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