Outlook Spotlight

OmegaPro Hosts Legends Cup: Ronaldinho, Kaká, Figo, Terry & Co. Renew Rivalries

What happens when you fuse a booming business with a beloved sport? What happens when you have the sharpest minds and the quickest feet under one roof? The short answer would be ‘Magic’ and the long: ‘OmegaPro Legends Cup’.

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Snapped: All is Fair in Love and Football - John Terry looks content as Ronaldinho and Casillas embrace each other after the first edition of the OmegaPro Legends Cup.
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OmegaPro Hosts Legends Cup: Ronaldinho, Kaká, Figo, Terry & Co. Renew Rivalries

Since 19th January, 2019 - OmegaPro has pinned a singular goal on the elusive mission and vision board - to elevate and transform every life in need. Ushering in more than 1,800,000 people away from the old-fashioned 9-to-5 lifestyle, this is the world of attaining true financial freedom. From Colombia to Cameroon, from Brazil to Belgium, from India to Italy - millions of dreams have now become millions of stories that inspire men and women to strive and thrive in the realms of motivation, growth and success. A keen belief in supplying its community with nothing less than the best of every tool - OmegaPro recently crafted a ginormous experience bundled in an evening of a lifetime. 

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The Debut Of A Legacy - OmegaPro Legends Cup 

Combining two of the community’s biggest passions - networking and football, OmegaPro organized the event of events - something that will go down in gold in the pages of history, in close cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council and the Department of Economy and Tourism. The OmegaPro Legends Cup (OLC) was the first ever game of football to be played under the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the World with 23 of football’s biggest and ‘baddest’. This sports extravaganza also served as a gentle reminder of the UAE's position in hosting and organizing leading sports tournaments and events. This once-in-a-lifetime spectacle materialized in the luxurious Armani Hotel in Downtown, Dubai, right in the shadow of the mighty Burj Khalifa, on May 12. The behemoths of the soccer realm, Brazil’s World Cup winners Ronaldinho and Kaka, Portuguese superstar Luis Figo, fellow World Cup winners Marco Materazzi (Italy), Youri Djorkaeff (France), Iker Casillas (Spain) and others took Dubai by storm, taking part in what culminated into an epic showdown. Other notable names to turn up for the event included ex-Colombia midfielder Carlos Valderrama, Holland great Wesley Sneijder and former England captain John Terry. With a dream line-up like this, The OmegaPro Legends Cup was THE EVENT to remember. To call it memorable will be an understatement. A cherry on top, to make it more grandeur, a barrage of celebrities, influencers, sports stars and internet heart-throbs were in-house to add more glitz and glam to the event – like it wasn’t enough already! The spectacle was graced by Bollywood superstars Suniel Shetty & Sonu Sood, former Indian cricketers & OmegaPro Brand Ambassador Suresh Raina, the prodigal Yuvraj Singh, Emirati Youtuber and Comedian Khalid Al Ameri, Turkish TikTok artist Ayda, Lebanese celebrity entrepreneur Joelle Mardinian, just to name a few. 

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Why is Everyone Talking About The OmegaPro Legends Cup? 

The Dubai breeze was extra hot, piping with the excitement of Brazilian star Ronaldinho confirming that he will be leading one of the teams, OmegaPro Stars. In a press conference before the festivities began, he said that he had played against all the legends participating in the OmegaPro Legends Cup, with the exception of the famous Colombian star Carlos Valderrama, a prominent player in the history of the Colombia national team during his participation in the World Cup Italy 1990. He added, “Dubai is one of the closest cities to my heart and I am happy to be here again. There is no doubt that it is great to play again with this group of players, especially in Dubai, which is impressive in everything and in front of the tallest tower in the world, as it is definitely an unforgettable experience.” Portuguese legend Luis Figo expressed a similar feeling about the event and the city of Dubai. He said, "I visited Dubai for the first time more than 20 years ago, specifically in 2001, and at that time, the Burj Khalifa had not yet been built. Over these years, Dubai has developed impressively, which makes him keen to visit it constantly, where he feels comfortable, safe and stable." 

The Hot Seat - Pre-Game Press Conference 

In an attempt to renew the bygone rivalries, there was a textbook, traditional football-style pre-game press conference organized by OmegaPro, in the luxurious Armani Ballroom of the Armani Hotel, to kick off the event. At 1600 hrs, GST, the brakes were lifted, no holds were barred - it was time for 20 of our beloved football’s biggest living luminaries to engage in a good ol’ never done before banter. And the verdict? It was delivered. The two captains took the floor and set it ablaze. Ronaldinho playing for and captaining OmegaPro Stars and his counterpart, fittingly the former Portuguese Winger Luis Figo were involved in a friendly, yet historic banter. The titans of the game engaged in an unforgettable verbal battle, which certainly took the audience back to the golden age of football, reminding us how brilliant press conferences were. It was utterly nostalgic – something true football fans will reminisce about for years to come. The incredibly kind Figo even played as Ronaldinho’s interpreter. After the breath-taking design of the OmegaPro Legends Cup, made out of pure gold, was revealed, the floor was opened for the media to interact with the players. 

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The Teams 

Here’s how the teams were split. Playing for the OmegaPro Stars team were: Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Brazil)(c), Kaká (Brazil), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Carlos Valderrama (Colombia), Javier Saviola 

(Argentina), Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina), Falcão (Brazil), Ricardo Osorio (Mexico), Kevin Kurányi (Germany), Faryd Mondragón (Colombia), Diego Lugano (Uruguay) and Jens Lehman (Germany). Playing for the OmegaPro Champions were: Luis Figo (Portugal)(c), Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), Iker Casillas (Spain), John Terry (England), Sami Al-Jaber (Saudi Arabia), Youri Djorkaeff (France), Mikaël Silvestre (France), Ibrahim Ba (France), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Marco Materazzi (Italy) and Jay Jay Okocha (Nigeria). 

The Epic Showdown - The Matches 

The legends of the game laced up their boots and were raring to go one more time to produce an exhilarating, nail-biting encounter. Here’s how it went down. Two teams – 5-a-side; the game was split into three halves, each lasting for 20 minutes. The atmosphere was thunderous! The aura was resplendent! The people in attendance were pumped! The players were raring to go! One could not tell if it was Dubai, Camp Nou or Old Trafford! 

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In Conclusion

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Framed: Ronaldinho, Kaka, Iker Casillas, John Terry, Luis Figo, Wesley Sneijder and many of football’s paramount legends seen posing before the OmegaPro Legends Cup at the Armani Hotel, Downtown Dubai.

The OmegaPro Stars took the lead in the first game, 7-5. OmegaPro Champions fought back in the second game, leading 5-3; equalling the score, 10-10. ‘Goals aplenty’ was the third and final face-off, as the Stars clawed their way back into the fixture, scoring 8 colossal goals, leaving the Champions astray. The Champions managed to score only 6 goals, taking the total tally to 18-16. OmegaPro Stars took home the gold. Pace, acceleration, athleticism, balance, ball control, dribbling, individual runs, tricks, feints, stepovers, nutmegs – it had it all. From banter to battle, out-and-out this event was enthralling. With reports stating that this event will be a yearly fixture, who knows what the next year’s event will have in store for us? Which legends are going to play? Which celebrities are we going to see? Only time will tell. Until then, let’s relive this Herculean celebration of our beloved game. 

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The OmegaPro Revolution 

Read more about The OmegaPro Legends Cup on their official website, networking website, official Instagram and official Facebook page.

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