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.

The final is just half an hour away, and most a predicting a relatively easy task for Barcelona. Internacional will have to improve greatly on their previous performance and Barcelona will have to decline greatly from theirs if this is to be anything but a walk in the park.

But as usual I'm far more interested in how wunderkind Pato Alexandre is going to fair. He showed glimpses of his talent against Al Ahly but he failed to get on the ball as much as he really should have to do real damage. He showed intelligence in his running but was rarely picked up, and it'll be pretty important that this changes if the Brazilians have a hope. It's unlikely that Pato will find much joy against Marquez and Puyol, as it means that Inter have found their way through the centre of the park, so he's got to exploit the full backs. Both Gio and Zambrotta push up frequently and Pato has to slide into the gap and hope for a counter attack opportunity.

If Inter can defend well enough and get the ball to him quickly on the wings in the first 15-20 minutes, they've got a hope. If not, then Barca will adjust and probably thump them.

With just over 90 minutes of professional football under his belt, Alexandre is now expected to turn on the magic against the best team in Europe - you couldn't write a better story.

I love the sport of football, and I certainly love the atmosphere and emotion that comes with the sport. Having only gone to Premiership matches, the amusing songs and good natured (generally) insults are part and parcel of what makes the experience enjoyable.

But if the noises coming out of the small hordes of Internacional supporters here in Japan is anything to go by, I would like fear for my life and safety should I ever enjoy a match in South America. You see the Argentinian and Brazilian supporters going nuts on the telly all the time, setting fires, throwing chairs, climbing fences designed specifically to stop them from killing each other. It seems worrying, but at the same time kind of fun.

Maybe it's because I have no idea what they're saying, but the chants seem more akin to some kind of warcry of death than "Stand Up If You Hate Arsenal".

Internacional vs Al Ahly was the one we've been waiting for, putting two quality teams against each other that attracted journalists other than a bunch of bloggers. The atmosphere was easily the best of the tournament thus far, with both sets of supporters keeping the noise up all match. If this were a home fixture for either side, you could imagine that the noise would have been deafening.

But for me, all I wanted was a taste of The Duck. He was bigger than I expected and had a physique similar to Cristiano Ronaldo, but the babyface and yellow boots gave him away. He started the match and immediately impressed, showing fantastic chest control and deft touches that other players struggled to achieve in the wet conditions. He had pace and power, and inevitably opened the scoring with a fine finish. The best was yet to come as, early in the second half, Pato flipped the ball up in the air with his heel before running down the sideline juggling the ball on his shoulder. Bit fancy, but it brought the crowd to it's feet.

He eventually went off with what looked like severe cramps but the 17 year old, whose ability was still almost a legend prior to this tournament, had done plenty to add to his reputation. The tricks were the same as any you'd see on a playground, but the intelligent vision and movement he displayed were most impressive. He worked the defensive line like a seasoned pro, moving into the channels and running across the centre backs to give his midfield a pass (which failed to come). Internacional struggled to find any rhythm this match and Pato, along with Fernandao, were the only two who consistently kept the ball moving to the right areas in attack.

Hopefully weather conditions will be better in the final and young Alexandre Pato will really come to the fore. But we've been given a taste of The Duck and it was mighty delicious.

I hate football wordplay, but it's just too easy.