It was at the Mecca of the watch-making world—where Hublot unveiled its Football watch dedicated to the 2018 FIFA World CupTM—that the Swiss watchmaker blew the whistle to start this special game held in this original location. The format for a legendary game bringing together stars from the world of football and Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, under coaches Diego Maradona and José Mourinho.
Everything was in place, from the 4th official’s panel to the official FIFA World CupTM mascot, Zabivaka and the recently unveiled Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM watch that gave a live demonstration of its functions. Hublot’s smart technology gave international referee Nicola Rizzoli notifications from Goal Line Technology live throughout this Match of Friendship, just as it will during the 2018 FIFA World CupTM. According to protocol, the two teams exchanged pennants at the start of the game. Going beyond pure ritual, this was a symbol of a friendly game held under the banner of friendship.
Maradona’s team : Tino Asprilla, Roberto Carlos, Hernan Crespo, Gianni Infantino, Christian Karembeu, Marco Materazzi, Gaizka Mendieta, Angelo Peruzzi, and David Trezeguet
José Mourinho’s team : Usain Bolt, Vitor Baía, Stéphane Chapuisat, Marcel Desailly, Damien Duff, Robbie Keane, Patrick Kluivert, Richard Orlinski and Alexei Smertin.
At half-time, a freestyle football demonstration confirmed that anything can be done with a football: a performance from the “Freestyle Football” group, made up of 5 Polish football free stylers with incredible skills, presented an extract from their show that has already toured the world. At the end of the game, the spirit and contagious energy of football was kept alive with the Cuban hip hop of the group Orishas who set the pitch alight, before DJ Teddy-O—another friend of the brand—spun the decks to produce his mix for the evening.
