Napoli And Barcelona Schedule August Friendly In Switzerland

There's been a lot of talk of different things happening between Napoli and Barcelona over the past month or so, much of it annoying. There's the continuation and (hopeful) resolution of the tiresome Javier Mascherano saga, the endless flirtation with Camilo Zuniga, and now their incredibly irritating chase of Gonzalo Higuain. Before long, there's almost sure to be more.

Today, there's fresh news of something going on between the two clubs, and it's probably not something most of us expected.

Barcelona have announced on their website that there will be a friendly between the Catalan side and Napoli on August 6th, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland. Kickoff will be at 7pm BST, and tickets are already on sale starting at €40 for those interested.

The announcement includes a brief statement from Aurelio De Laurentiis:

"SSC Napoli is very happy to play in Geneva against one of the strongest and most prestigious teams in the world"

"SSC Napoli is very happy to play in Geneva against one of the strongest and most prestigious teams in the world to get ready for the next season. Besides, Geneva is a perfect place for such a match, and also due to the presence, in Switzerland, of many Italian supporters, many of them from Naples."

The friendly will be an excellent test as Napoli prepares for their Champions League Playoff tilt later in the month. They'll be playing on one of the scheduled dates of the final qualifying round before the Playoff draw later in the week, so that lets Napoli set themselves on a similar preparation schedule to whoever they'll be facing.

This will also be a very different Barcelona one from what we've grown used to. Gone will be Xavi, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, and likely one or two other names that have been strongly bonded with the Barcelona name in recent years. It'll be interesting to get an early look at just what exactly Luis Enrique's new Barcelona is going to be.

Also, for those in to random trivia: this will be the first time either side has played at the Stade de Geneve, which opened in 2003 and is home to second-division Servette FC. Last time Napoli and Barcelona played was at the Camp Nou in 2011 and ended a 5-0 win for the hosts; they also faced off in Naples in 1978, and drew 1-1.