Italy soccer great Del Piero to play friendly in Ecuador, says official

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador - Italy World Cup winner Alessandro del Piero will temporarily step out of retirement to play for Ecuador's Barcelona SC in a friendly this month, the club's president said on Thursday.

The match against a yet to be named opponent will take place on January 18 at Barcelona's 57,000-seat Estadio Monumental in the Pacific port city of Guayaquil.

"Thank you Alessandro del Piero for accepting our invitation," Barcelona president Carlos Alfaro said on Twitter. "At the Monumental, you will feel at home ... next to our fans. We are waiting for you."

Barcelona, one of Ecuador's most popular teams, have made a habit of luring high profile footballers out of retirement - if only briefly - to wear their all-yellow shirt.

Ronaldinho, Kaka, Diego Forlan and Andrea Pirlo have all played in the club's annual season-opening friendly over the past five years.

Del Piero earned 91 Italy caps and was a part of the Azzurri team that beat France on penalties in the 2006 World Cup final. The former Juventus forward retired from football in 2014 after a brief spell with Delhi Dynamos.