This year's eighth charity match in the small village of Bilje has had the most famous lineup so far – led by Luis Figo and Alessandro Del Piero. The first among the players to arrive, on Friday afternoon, was the long-time captain of the Irish national team and its best goalkeeper Robbie Keane, followed by the Dutch Frank de Boer and Pierre van Hoijdoonk, and the best shooter of the 1990 world championship Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci...
Renowned football names also included former Serbian national team players Dejan Stanković and Nemanja Vidić, Frenchman Christian Karembeu, Spaniard Gaizka Mendieta, Portuguese Nuno Gomes, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira, Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov, and goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis.
Slovenian footballers who participated in the charity match mostly comprised members of the generation that played at the Euro in 2000 and the world championship two years later, including Miran Pavlin, Mile Aćimović, Milan Osterc, Sašo Udovič, Amir Karić and Džoni Novak. The generation from the 2010 world championship was represented by Milivoje Novaković.
The Blue and the Red teams were led by Portuguese coach Andre Villas Boas and Slovenian coach Tomaž Kavčič.
The referee was Damir Skomina, assisted by international judges Aleksandra Česen and Ljubomir Moravac, who lost the lower part of his left arm in a serious traffic accident and now continues his career as a judge.
The red team won the match with 6-1. Aleksander Čeferin and Sandi Valentinčič, coach of the local team ND Bilje, scored in the first half. In the second half, Milivoje Novaković scored twice, while Luis Figo and Pierre van Hooijdonk each tricked the goalkeeper once. Alessandro del Piero was the sole successful shooter for the blue team.
However, what mattered was not the result but charity. The collected funds will be distributed equally this year between the VOZIM Institute and the Common Goal international organization, which has convinced active footballers of the World Cup to donate part of their monthly income to third-world children. VOZIM Institute aims to prevent injuries in traffic accidents. It mainly carries out prevention programs related to road safety, including alcohol and psychoactive substances abuse prevention.
