enter the dragon's den

Flavio Roma

Barcelona 1 Milan 1

A friendly at the Nou Camp, just days before the start of the new season would be absurdity. Especially not when the gaffer is young, relatively inexperienced and is asked to face arguably the world's best side with a bunch of kids and have-beens. But decisions like these aren't alien to the management at Milan.

Barcelona took the pitch like worthy champions. A video montage of Ronaldinho was displayed in tribute to the former Bluagrana hero. It was a touching moment for the star who then failed to touch the ball for the rest of the game. As the game started, Barcelona adopted their typical closing-down game when they didn't have the ball, giving Milan no time to think. The away team players were running around frantically losing the ball the moment they received it. They were clearly petrified. The difference in tempo between the two sides was alarming. AC Milan appeared to be playing in slow motion when compared to the home team. With Bonera being given the role of right back and Villa attacking from the left, I was expecting the world's best striker to score a hatrick, at least. I am not convinced by Kevin Prince Boatang and his performance gave me no reason to alter my thinking. He was atrocious, simply put. As expected Barcelona's attack showered from the left. New Milan superstar Zlatan scored with an acrobatic finish; this was to be his last goal for Barcelona and the goal was called offside as the defense were smart to play him offside. Milan's direct football strategy was painfully predictable as the defenders of Barcelona were reading the play comfortably. Huntelaar had the chance to redeem some pride on the counter, but he drifts into the centre allowing the ball to be stolen leaving him bracing his blushes.

Abate replaced Bonera at half time. If Bonera is a bad defender, Abate isn't even a defender. So the result was obvious. Abate gets skinned on his side and the ball is sent into the box with Villa recording the first goal of the game. The youth players of Barcelona were putting up a good show. They continued to steal the ball and constructed some meaningful attacking play. Coming back to Ronaldinho, his performance wouldn't have left any fan of the club wondering why they sold him. The Nou Camp haunts him, evidently. Guardiola brought in the heavy artillery in the second half with the big boys entering the field. Now, it became a question of how much Barcelona won by. As funny as the game can get, it was Milan who scored. Inzaghi, with an absolute beauty which silenced the crowd. The disbelief on his face showed how genuine the attempt to score the goal was. In Barcelona, against Barcelona, I'll take a goal, cometh in any form. Ronaldinho was eventually subbed and received a stupendous response from the crowd. Many reckon it was a mark of respect. I feel the crowd were cheering for the sorrow of watching him play had ended. Going by the performances, Kevin Prince also deserved a standing ovation. Flavio Roma put in a cameo in this game. To my surprise, he actually dedicated a merited performance. From pulling of a superb save of Messi from a free-kick to saving us from getting mauled at the hands of hungry Catalans, Roma did make the minds of the Milan fans tick. Is he worthy of donning the gloves if Abbiati is injured? The sun might not set one particular evening, but Christian Abbiati having an injury free season is completely beyond reality. Well, we shall see how high Allegri places him in the pecking order. Allegri then gave our kids a run-out. They were just getting into their groove when time ran out. Messi did little, but he didn't have too much riding on him anyway. The rest of his team also didn't put in a vintage performance. It gave me the idea that friendlies are globally understood to be a waste of time and a run in the park. The only difference is you run with the ball at your feet. This result disappointed me, but in a good way. I must mention that Barcelona won the game by beating us on penalties. Gamper trophy is yours boys. I'd gladly take Ibrahimovic instead.