Thaindian News

Kolkata, Jan 6 (IANS) Legendary German rock band Scorpions’ bass guitarist Rudolf Schenker and world motorbike champion Tim Trenker will feature in the Superstars XI — including past soccer greats like Brazilian football king Pele — in an exhibition match Jan 23 against the “Indian Dream Team” to raise funds for the quake victims of Sikkim.

The Superstars will also have in their ranks Brazil’s World Cup winning skipper Cafu, free kick master Roberto Carlos, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Angsker Birkman, Winston Bogarde, Christian Karaembu, Ronald de Boer, Marcel Oerlemans. Netherlands’ talismanic medio Ruud Gullit will be the coach while Trenker is set to do his duty under the bar at the Salt Lake Stadium game.

The Indian Dream Team will be led by the country’s biggest soccer icon Bhaichung Bhutia and include the likes of I.M. Vijayan, Jo Paul Ancheri and Renedy Singh. Shyam Thapa will be the coach. A couple of Bollywood stars may also turn out for the Indian side to increase the glam quotient.

For Pele, who played stellar roles in Brazil’s three World Cup winning teams of 1958, 1962 and 1970, it will be his second trip to this football crazy city. He had earlier played for US club New York Cosmos in a one-off exhibition tie opposite city giants Mohun Bagan in 1977. The match at the Eden Gardens had ended 2-2.

Schenker is set to accompany the team which arrives here Jan 21 as part of a 20-country tour.

“They will visit two countries every month, starting with Nepal and India in January,” said event promoters JPR Events CEO Sunil Hamal.

The Superstars will hold a football clinic Jan 23 morning in which school sides from across India will take part. The match will be followed by charity auction dinner with the proceeds going to the Football Players’ Association of India and an NGO.

Efforts were on to rope in ex Brazil superstars Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and former Italian forward Roberto Baggio.

Bhutia said he considered himself fortunate to play against legends like Pele. “Never ever I thought I would be rubbing shoulders with these legends on my home ground. I grew up in a village where every kid wanted to wear Pele’s No 10 shirt in local matches.

“Besides, this is one occasion where we have a chance to beat these great players. The game might not be a competitive one in true sense of the term, but we would certainly want to be on the winning side,” Bhutia said.