“6 Ballon d’Or winners, Drogba & Berbatov in defense; Owen fouled by ex-Tottenham star.”

South Korean football fans were treated to one of the most unique matches there has surely ever been as a host of legends descended on the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sunday
The Nexon Icons Match pitted some of the greatest attacking players of all time against some of the best defensive talents the game to see who would come out on top.

The defensive team, managed by Fabio Cannavaro, was aptly named Shield FC and consisted of Rio Ferdinand, Carles Puyol, Nemanja Vidic, Andrea Pirlo, Javier Mascherano, Clarence Seedorf, Leonardo Bonucci, Edwin Van der Sar, Ricardo Carvalho, John Arne Riise, Adilson and Yaya Toure.
FC Spear, meanwhile, was player-coached by Thierry Henry and contained Kaka, Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard, Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez, Luis Figo, Michael Owen, Andriy Shevchenko, Marouane Fellaini, Alessandro Del Piero, Diego Forlan, and Rivaldo.

Naturally this made for interesting viewing when it came to the line-ups with one side having no recognised defenders and the other having no out-and-out forwards.

Ballon d’Or winners (left to right): Rivaldo, Michael Owen, Luis Figo, Fabio Cannavaro, Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko took part in the exhibition match in South Korea

Alessandro Del Piero shared this dressing room selfie with his team-mates from the Spear side

The exhibition match took place in South Korea at Seoul’s World Cup stadium on Sunday

Somewhat surprisingly, it was the team of defensive minded stars who had more impact going forward with Toure and Seedorf making it 2-0 in the first 18 minutes.

A crowd of 62,000 in attendance watched as Shield FC sat back and comfortably dealt with the threat posed by FC Spear for the remainder of the first half.

There was also an amusing moment when former Spurs full back Lee Young-pyo showed why Michael Owen spent his career on the other end of the pitch as he sent the backpedaling former Ballon d’Or winner tumbling with a series of stepovers on his way into the area.

Shield increased their lead through Park Joo-ho after the break with Mascherano making it 4-0 before a late consolation from South Korean legend Park Ji-sung.

Those taking part in the event clearly enjoyed their time in South Korea, particularly the five Man United legends involved.

Former Man United stars (left to right) Nemanja Vidic, Edwin van der Sar, Berbatov, Park Ji-sung and Ferdinand immersed themselves in the culture in Seoul

Speaking after the game, Seedorf said: ‘First of all, it was the most heartwarming feeling we could express,’ he said in the post-match press conference. ‘We enjoyed it of course. When we played together with all the fans. It was fun. Altogether, it was an amazing experience.

‘We enjoyed to be together, but just a lot of [jet lag] during dinner and lunch, and I have to say I enjoyed the local music this morning. [We] played local instruments, we had a taste of Korean food. It’s always nice to have a bit of a connection with the local culture as well. Besides being together, we also enjoyed that very much.’

Berbatov added: ‘First I want to thank everybody for their welcome the past two days. Everything was great and hospitality. And the people around us and everybody making this like home. And of course now entertaining playing, seeing old friends, trying to you know show what we can do.

‘And I think of course, defenders – they deserved to win. At the end of the day, it was entertaining and I hope everybody enjoyed it. It is always great to see old faces, old friends, people you played against, but when you step onto the pitch, you want to win, it’s a competition.’