The 2008 Emirates Cup was a pre-season football friendly tournament hosted by Arsenal at its home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London. It was the second

Emirates Cup The Emirates Cup is a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by English club Arsenal at their home ground, Emirates Stadium, in Highbury, London. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2007 and is named after Arsena ...

, an invitational competition inaugurated in 2007. Held on the weekend of 2–3 August 2008, the participants of the tournament were Arsenal, Real Madrid, Juventus, and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. An additional point is awarded for every goal scored. Arsenal did not face Hamburg, and Real Madrid did not play against Juventus. On the opening day of the tournament, Real Madrid beat Hamburg 2–1, while Arsenal lost to Juventus by a single goal. Although the hosts defeated Real on day two, Hamburg won the Emirates Cup as they recorded a 3–0 victory against Juventus.

Background

The

began in July 2007 once Arsenal finalised plans to stage a pre-season competition at its

home ground In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a team sport. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sch ...

. Named after Arsenal's main sponsor

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

, the competition's inaugural edition was attended by over 110,000 people across the two days.

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

champions Real Madrid, Italian outfit Juventus and German side

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

were confirmed as participants for the 2008 edition, alongside hosts Arsenal. Hamburg's inclusion came after their withdrawal a year earlier due to European commitments. Coverage of the two-day event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

Summary

Real Madrid took on Hamburg on the opening day of the tournament. There was a contingent of former

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

players and staff, as Real Madrid’s lineup featured

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

and Jerzy Dudek, while Hamburg was coached by former

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

manager Martin Jol. Van Nistelrooy almost scored inside three minutes of the first half when his teammate

Raúl Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

put him through on goal. Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost distracted the striker by rushing towards him.

Paolo Guerrero José Paolo Guerrero Gonzales (; born 1 January 1984), known as Paolo Guerrero, is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Brasileirão club Avaí and the Peru national team. Forging his career in Germany, Guerrero s ...

headed wide for Hamburg, before Real Madrid took the lead five minutes before the half-hour mark. Hamburg's

Nigel de Jong Nigel de Jong (born 30 November 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the technical director of the KNVB, the national Dutch soccer federation. he has also worked as an English lang ...

was beaten off the ball in his own

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. With ...

by right back

Míchel Salgado Miguel Ángel "Míchel" Salgado Fernández (born 22 October 1975) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right-back. Nicknamed ''Il Due'' ("two" in Italian), he was known for his combative tackling and attacking play. After excellent d ...

, who set Van Nistelrooy up for a straightforward tap in. Real Madrid dominated and were punished for missing multiple chances to extend their lead when Mohamed Zidan scored Hamburg's equaliser. Receiving the ball from the left-hand corner of Real Madrid's half, the striker curled the ball past goalkeeper Dudek which went in off the crossbar.

David Jarolím David Jarolím (; born 17 May 1979 in Čáslav) is a Czech former footballer and manager of Ústí nad Labem. A central midfielder by position, Jarolím was known for his stamina, passing and technical skill. Club career Born in Caslav, Czecho ...

and Guerrero came close to putting Hamburg 2–1 in front, but Dani Parejo five minutes from time sealed the win for Real Madrid, heading in

Juanmi Callejón Juan Miguel "Juanmi" Callejón Bueno (born 11 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for San Fernando CD. He amassed Segunda División totals of 88 games and five goals, representing four clubs in the com ...

's cross. Real Madrid lost to Arsenal on the second day of the Emirates Cup.

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Togolese Championnat National club Semassi. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Ho ...

scored the only goal of the match, converting a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

in the second half. The striker was booed throughout the tournament as he failed to clarify his plans for the future during pre-season, even though he had agreed a contract extension according to Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. "To my face he told me he wants to stay at the club and that is what happened," Wenger told reporters. Arsenal were defeated by Juventus the day before;

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth sys ...

's goal came after the hosts failed to deal with a free kick properly. Gaël Clichy,

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...

and

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Championship side Wigan Athletic. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory Co ...

were absent for Arsenal, though captain

William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glo ...

did feature in the second half. New signing

Samir Nasri Samir Nasri (born 26 June 1987) is a French former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder and a winger, although he had also been deployed in central midfield. Nasri was known for his dribbling, ball control ...

started the match against Real Madrid. Hamburg won the 2008 Emirates Cup after beating Juventus by three goals. Guerrero scored the first in the 19th minute and

Ivica Olić Ivica Olić (; born 14 September 1979) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is an assistant coach of the Croatia national team. During his career, he played for German Bundesliga clubs such as Hamburger SV, VfL Wolf ...

added two more in stoppage time.

Standings

Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for every goal scored.

Matches

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Goalscorers

References

General * Specific {{Friendly tournaments 2008 Emirates Cup