International friendly: this season Rapid will continue the tradition of playing host to a top European club for a summer friendly. Following  the visits of clubs from England (Liverpool), Germany (Schalke), Spain (Valencia) and Italy (Roma) come France's new footballing powerhouse. Zoran Barisic's side will take on a star studded Paris St. Germain on Friday 12th July (kick off 18:30) in the Gerhard Hanappi Stadium.Despite David Beckham's retirement, the current French champion's line up reads like a who's who of football. With names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva (Brazilian centre back bought from AC Milan last season for 40 million Euros), Thiago Motta (formerly of Inter Milan), Javier Pastore, Lucas, Maxwell (formerly of FC Barcelona) and Ezequiel Lavezzi (formerly of Napoli) PSG's squad is one of the most formidable in world football. This year the men from the French capital reached the Champions League quarter final stage before eventually being knocked out by FC Barcelona.PSG represents a special opponent for Rapid. The Hütteldorfers last appearance in a major European final came against PSG in the 1996 Cup Winners' Cup final. Current Rapid trainer Barisic came on for the second half as Rapid went down to a narrow 0:1 defeat in Brussels. The teams met again in a UEFA Cup match in 2001, unfortunately Rapid missed the chance to gain revenge, going down 0:4 in the first leg. After 17 minutes of the return match it looked like a sensational comeback could be on the cards as Rapid raced into a two goal lead with Rene Wagner bagging a brace for then trainer Lothar Matthäus' side. The match finished 2:2 in the end and featured an appearance by Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho.In its relatively brief history (founded 1970) Paris St. Germain has won the French league title on three occasions, has lifted the French Cup eight times and tasted European glory at Rapid's expense, lifting the 1996 Cup Winners' Cup. A year later PSG again reached the CWC Final as they sought to defend their crown, but eventually lost against FC Barcelona. Current PSG coach is Laurent Blanc.It would however be of little surprise if the clubs owners, Qatar Sport Foundation, decided to bring one or two additions to the club before the match on the 12th of July, which then of course could be on show in the Gerhard Hanappi Stadium.Tickets for the PSG game go on sale on the 2nd of July 2013. Tickets are available in the Fan Corner (Mon-Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:00), online at www.skrapid.at or can also be booked on the phone on 01/544 544 0.General Sale Ticket Information:Price:North and South Stands:Adults € 20.00 / Children under 14 € 10.00West and East Stands:Adults € 15.00 / Children under 14 € 8.00VIP-Tickets:€ 120.00 / Children under 14 € 60.00We are already looking forward to the game against the superstars of Paris St. Germain – and we hope you are too. The game is an exciting start to what will hopefully be an excellent new season! The friendly match between SK Rapid and Paris St. Germain takes place with the co-operation of the IFCS GmbH.(gw)
24.06.2013