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Wenger, Rafa to reunite with former star players at Nexon Icons Match in Seoul

Published: 12 Sep. 2025, 10:46 Updated: 12 Sep. 2025, 14:26

JIM BULLEY
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Arsene Wenger, left, and Rafa Benítez [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Sunday’s Nexon Icons Match at Seoul World Cup Stadium will not only bring together some of the biggest names in global football of the 2000s and 2010s, it will also be a chance for some of those players to reconnect with the gaffers that led them to glory.

Nexon has recruited Rafa Benítez and Arsene Wenger to manage the defensive Shield United and offensive FC Spear, adding managers this year after leaving players to oversee themselves in the inaugural event last year.

Wenger, who led Arsenal to three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during his 22 years at the helm, will manage FC Spear, while Benítez brings his two La Liga, FA Cup, Champions League, Coppa Italia and Club World Cup titles to Shield United.

At their disposal, the two managers will have some of the greatest lineups the world has ever seen, albeit at least 15 years past their prime.

Wenger’s all-out offensive squad features Italian great Gianluigi Buffon and local legend Lee Bum-young in goal, the only real concession to formation before it breaks down into a free-for-all of: Steven Gerrard, Eden Hazard, Clarence Seedorf, Seol Ki-hyun, Ronaldinho, Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Gareth Bale, Park Ji-sung, Thierry Henry, Kaka, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Koo Ja-Cheol and Robert Pires.

Rafa has Iker Casillas, who captained Spain to 2010 World Cup glory, and Kim Young-kwang in goal, behind Ashley Cole, Claude Makélélé, Rio Ferdinand, Carles Puyol, John Arne Riise, Park Joo-ho, Claudio Marchisio, Lee Young-pyo, Maicon, Alessandro Nesta, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Gilberto Silva and Sol Campbell.

Those lineups reunite both managers with a player they know very well: Wenger and Henry won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups together, and Rafa and John Arne Riise won the Champions League and an FA Cup together.

Pires was also with Wenger and Henry at Arsenal, as were three players from the opposing team: Cole, Silva and Campbell.

From his own side, Rafa has previously also worked with Cole at Chelsea, as well as Maicon at Inter Milan. On the opposing side, he has a long history with Gerrard at Liverpool, as well as working with Hazard and Drogba at Chelsea and Gareth Bale at Real Madrid.

The Icons Match festivities kick off on Saturday with a series of press events and games at Seoul World Cup Stadium, before the actual fixture begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]