On the invitation of Lumbini peace foundation, the Spanish club CP Caserino has arrived in Nepal on Tuesday for two friendly matches. After spending Christmas, Casereno departed Spain for the New Year's break, and the Nepali ambassador to Spain, Dr. Sarmila Parajuli Dhakal, wished them farewell. After landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday with a team of more than 3 dozen members, the Casereno team reached Pokhara on Tuesday through an internal flight. The former captain of the Nepali National Football Squad, Anil Gurung, and other Gandaki Sports Council delegates greeted the Spanish team at the Pokhara airport.
On Wednesday, Paush 13, Caserno will play Gandaki 11 at Pokhara Stadium. Coach Prakash Tamang has been preparing the Gandaki team for the friendly match since last week. Anil Gurung will serve as the team's captain. The majority of the players who took part in the 9th national football competition in the Gandaki province have got chance to play. Rising goalkeeper Deep Karki will take over Gandaki's goal post, with Man Bahadur Tamang, Ashish Gurung, and other defenders at the back with Raja Babu Thapa Magar as backup goalkeeper.
After
playing Gandaki 11, the Spanish squad Caserino will head back to Kathmandu and
take against Kathmandu 11 on Poush 14/ December 29 at the Dasharath
International Stadium in Tripureshwar. The bulk of the players on the Nepali
national football team are on the Kathmandu 11 squad, who will play under the
leadership of Biraj Maharjan.Bikesh Kuthu will be Kathmandu's starting
goalkeeper, with Bishal Shrestha serving as his backup.
Similarly the players including Tej Tamang, Anant Tamang, Dinesh Rajbansi, Gautam Shrestha, Bikas Tamang, and Bikas Khawas will guard in the defense, while Suraj Jiu Thakuri, Prashant Laxam Limbu, and Aayush Ghalan will play in the midfield. However, the forward position has been filled by Bimal Gharti Magar, Navyug Shrestha, Bharat Khawas, and George Prince Karki, while Anjan Bista, the top scorer for the Nepali national football team, has been absent from the squad owing to personal health issues.
Casereno, a Spanish B Division team, saw the trip to Nepal as a warm-up for their match on January 4 against Champions League champion Real Madrid at Copa Del Rey Round of 32. The squad will play two different sets at Gandaki and Kathmandu .Rubin De la Red, Michel Challiero, and Julio Salinas, three former Spanish veteran players, have joined Caserino's squad who will only play for a short while.
The match between Gandaki 11 and Caserno at Pokhara Stadium will start at 2:30 PM Nepali time on Wednesday 13th Poush, while the match at Dasharath Stadium on 14th Poush will also start at 2:30 PM. The live broadcast of both games will be available through Nepal Television on TV and YouTube. On the other hand, the ticket price for watching the game is fixed at NRs.300 for the general side and NRs. 5000 Nepali rupees for the VIP side.