Hype is a tough thing to manage when writing about a player, if you indugle in it - no matter how deserved - legions of people will come out crying about how you've been brainwashed by the press. That 17 year old Pato is far from the level of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yes, I think we get that. He's had now about a match and a half of professional football under his belt, most of which was in a tournament that arguably meant more to Internacional than any in their history (the Club World Cup is big in South America, you see). And if you compare him to other 17 year olds with similar match experience, he looks quite good. So forgive me if I'm not dragging his name through the dirt for misplacing a couple of passes, or saying his career is over just because he fell over the ball once or twice.

He's 17, and playing in his 3rd professional match ever and its the final of a major tournament against Barcelona. I think we can cut him some slack.

When talking about potential, you have to focus on the positives and assume the rest can be coached. And Pato again demonstrated his physical ability, strength and pace in abundance although his tendency to cramp up was worrying. Hopefully it's not indicative of career-stalling growing pains. He got on the ball infrequently, but on one occasion danced easily around the Barcelona defense, and another picked up the ball and turned so swiftly and acutely that it left Carlos Puyol on the floor. If Gio hadn't brought him down from behind the lad would have been away on goal, possibly about to write his name into history.

He was eventually subbed off, his impact on the game matched his current status - filled with potential but not yet the end product.