ICC: Luisão in the United States

Benfica’s third participation (second in a row) in the International Champions Cup officially starts on July 20, against Chivas Guadalajara, but, a month and a half away, emotions are already palpitating around one of the most important pre-season tournaments in the world. Luisão, representing the Club, will be on the ground in the United States from June 6 to 12.

The former captain of the eagles, who, with the Benfica Family, celebrated the national title in 2018/19 (37^th of Benfica’s history), arrives in Boston on Thursday night (June 6) to start a tour through the cities where the fervor for the Club, namely in the Portuguese communities, is a universal reference.

On June 7, Luisão will be at the Boston Celtics Training Center for a meeting with the German Daniel Theis, one of the great figures of the famous basketball team from the state of Massachusetts, where, more specifically at the Gillette Stadium, Benfica will face AC Milan on July 28, in the third and last match in the 2019 ICC.

The former number 4 jersey of the reds, on the first full day of this trip to the United States, will visit the Casa do Benfica in New Bedford, in a context already marked by the celebration of Portugal Day.

On Saturday, June 8, the former Brazil international travels from Boston to Newark, the most densely populated city in the state of New Jersey, where Benfica, in the most important pre-season tournament, will face AS Roma, at the Red Bull Arena. Luisão will have the opportunity to visit the subsidiary Sport Newark e Benfica and be present at the Portugal Day Festival, which has been organized since 1979.

On June 9, the Benfica representative will be in the Portugal Day Parade in Newark, then heading to São Francisco, in the state of California, which host, at the Levi's Stadium, the last match of the eagles in the 2019 ICC, against Chivas Guadalajara, on July 20.

The gates of the Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, from the NFL, open to Luisão in the morning of June 11 for a meeting with American football players. In the afternoon/evening, at the event that closes this tour, the former player from the eagles will be the guest of honor in the baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. As the guest of honor, he will carry out the first pitch to mark the start of the game.

The return to Lisbon is scheduled for the 12^th of June.

MATCH CALENDAR IN THE ICC

SL Benfica-Chivas Guadalajara

Date and time of the match: July 20, 1:00 pm (9:00 pm in mainland Portugal)
Location: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
Sale of tickets: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/international-champions-cup-benfica-v-chivas-de-guadalajara/event/1C005675C1DF6B66

AS Roma-SL Benfica

Date and time of the match: July 24, 8:00 pm (July 25 at 1:00 am in mainland Portugal)
Location: Red Bull Arena (Harrison, New Jersey)
Sale of tickets: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/international-champions-cup-as-roma-v-benfica/event/0000567BC10157BC