Bi-polar Barca and the UEFA Celebrity League - After over 24 hours of tedious political agendas infecting our beautiful game in response to one managerial appointment, it was with a massive sigh of relief that I sat down in a comfortable chair for a mouth-watering double bill of high-end Champions League action.
Though both games delivered - especially PSG-Barcelona - there was nonetheless a touch of the 'Di Canios' about the Parc des Princes contest, or more specifically how it was generally portrayed.
The minute whispers escaped the stadium that a certain 38-year-old marketing powerhouse had been given the nod by Carlo Ancelotti to start the match, anticipation of a rare meeting between two of the world's most powerful clubs was masked by giddy yelps of "BECKHAM STARTS! BECKHAM STARTS!"
And as said contest fascinated purists for this much-maligned sport from start to finish, appreciation of the entertainment on offer became tellingly more difficult at the halfway stage amid widespread fears the world's best footballer had a boo-boo on his leg (Javier Mascherano was injured too, y'know).
Much like with Paolo Di Canio making tabloid front pages for eight-year-old news, the actual matter at hand found itself drowning in a sea of headline-grabbing 'celebrity' names that drummed up more mainstream attention than just trying to get a football over a goal line would do.
Don't get me wrong: I hope Lionel Messi is fine, and doesn't deprive any upcoming Barca fixtures of his brilliance. And I have always appreciated what Becks has brought to the pitch beyond his prime.
But there was so, so much to enjoy about this quarter-final first-leg outside of a lifestyle magazine-esque celebrity quest.
And when the Argentine performs well for approximately 10 minutes of a 45 minute display while the Englishman puts in nothing more than a passable 70-minute shift, do they really warrant the headlines coming out of such a game that they kinda-understandably do going into most matches?
Messi and Barcelona are of course no strangers to this shallow spotlight. Remember when their era was deemed 'over' because they dropped a first-leg 2-0 to Milan last time out?
Yeah. That came from the same Chinese whispers which declared them stronger than ever for beating a frankly poor and wasteful Rossoneri side 4-0 to advance, after all.
It is actually pretty amusing to hear declarations that 'naysayers have been proven wrong' - which are in fact the very same voices performing to a bathroom mirror.
And talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity, so I hear.
Forget their blissful possession, world class youth development and generation-defining approach to football, Barcelona's biggest asset in their golden era could well be their ability to ignore an endless stream of bi-polar hype from narrow-minded numpties who want glamour and gossip rather than great sporting action.
I do wonder how many times the consensus swayed from 'dominant' to 'doomed', as far as the Catalonians are concerned, as their back-and-forth opener against PSG went one way, then the other.
Meanwhile, those of us who did not have our view of the forest blocked by all those pesky trees enjoyed tidy possession, exhilarating counter-attacking, some superb point-blank goalkeeping, a few eye-catching errors, a monster performance from Thiago Silva and the very best (and very worst) of Dani Alves.
More often than not, second legs are even more gripping than the first. In that case, roll on April 10. Even if Paris Saint-Germain's chances of advancing are slim, evidence suggests they will go out with a bang if they fail to pull off a huge result.
Lionel Messi may not be fit to start. David Beckham may not get picked for the XI. Hopefully both feature, but if not... so what? It's not make or break for Barcelona. It's not the acid test of PSG's big spending. One team advances, the other will just have to try again next year. And they will.
It's one game of football. One that will (hopefully) keep all us sports freaks entertained. So sit back, relax, and try to appreciate it for what it is.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"There should be no law that says any particular player should play. No one should play for what they have won in the past." - Jose Mourinho lays down the law to Iker Casillas, who will not tend goal for Real Madrid against Galatasaray tonight.
COMING UP
Real-Gala is complemented by Borussia Dortmund v Malaga as the Champions League's last eight round out the first legs. Los Galacticos and the Bundesliga champions will look to join their compatriots in holding the advantage ahead of next week's return fixtures. Join us for LIVE text coverage from 18:45 GMT, with kick-offs at 19:45 GMT.
By Eurosport | Early Doors – 1 hour 35 minutes ago
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