A duel between familiar faces
Barça and Real Sociedad will play one another this Saturday at the Camp Nou. They are two of the teams with the most history in the Spanish league, and players from both clubs have met before -either with their present teams or at other clubs. Here are some such examples:
De Jong - Ødegaard
The Eredivisie saw the first duel between these two talented midfielders, who both wear the number 21 shirt for their respective clubs. Whilst they coincided in the Dutch league over three seasons, De Jong and Ødegaard did not share a pitch until the 2018/19 campaign.
- Ajax 5 - Heerenveen 1. (Eredivise 2016/17). De Jong was on the bench for Ajax as an unused sub. Ødegaard came on in the 63rd minute for Heerenveen.
- Heerenveen 0 - Ajax 4. (Eredivise 2017/18). Ødegaard was a starter, with De Jong a substitute for the away team.
- Ajax 4 - Heerenveen 1. (Eredivise 2017/18). De Jong was once again a substitute, whilst Ødegaard was in the starting XI.
- Vitesse 0 - Ajax 4. (Eredivise 2018/19). Ødegaard joined Vitesse that season, and coincided with De Jong on the pitch for the first time in the game against Ajax.
- Ajax 4 - Vitesse 2 (Eredivise 2018/19). A second duel took place in the Dutch league on April 23, 2019, as both played the entire 90 minutes.
De Jong - Isak
The Eredivisie also hosted another clash between future Barça and Real Sociedad players: Frenkie de Jong, with Ajax, and Alexander Isak, with Willem II.
- Willem II 1 - Ajax 4. (Eredivise 2018/19). Isak's goal in this game was but a mere consolation against a dominant Ajax. Curiously, both De Jong and Isak were take off at almost the same time: In the 83rd and 84th minute, respectively.
Arturo Vidal - Januzaj
Arturo Vidal's time at Bayern Munich coincided with Januzaj's spell with Borussia Dortmund, as they met on a single occasion.
- Bayern Munich 5 - Borussia Dortmund 1. (Bundesliga 2015/16). Both players came on as substitutes.
Arturo Vidal - Mikel Merino
The Bundesliga also hosted a meeting between Vidal's Bayern Munich and Mikel Merino's Dortmund.
- Bayern 5 - Dortmund 1. The Chilean came on in the 68th minute, quarter of an hour after the Spaniard's introduction.
The Premier League gave an encounter between future Barça and Real Sociedad stars. Luis Suárez was at Liverpool in 2013/14, crossing paths with Januzaj (Manchester United) and Monreal (Arsenal).