So much for my prediction that Barcelona would win. Maybe I jinxed them?

Barcelona started calmly, passing the ball around the way you know they always do, but Inter had a few decent early chances, and the first corner of the game fell to them. (Although they only had two in the whole match, versus Barca's 11 -- all of which were wasted in Arsenal-esque fashion.)

The Catalans then had a couple of decent shouts for a penalty, as first Eidur Gudjohnsen and then a minute later Ronaldinho were taken down in the box, but they got nothing from the ref.

Barcelona also had several good chances to score, for Gudjohnsen, Deco and Ronaldinho. Perhaps the best one came with a free kick on the edge of the box, which Ronaldinho sent low through the wall (I wonder if he was trying the same thing as he did against Werder Bremen), but it was easily saved by the keeper.

It was scoreless at halftime, as Internacional brought Fabian Vargas on for Alex, while for Barcelona Belleti replaced Gianluca Zambrotta, who'd picked up an injury at the end of the first half. I think this might have hurt Barça in the second half, because some of their most effective moves had been coming from Zambrotta bombing down the right wing in support of Ludivic Giuly, while Inter tried to stifle Ronaldinho on the left.

Barcelona had several more good chances, though -- trying to develop their play through the midfield, while Inter sat back and waited for a chance to break with a long ball or a diagonal pass out to the wings. From the 75th minute on, most of the pressure was coming from Barça -- perhaps realizing that they didn't want this to go to extra time.

But it was Internacional who eventually broke the deadlock. With Carles Puyoly backing off him, Iarley played Adriano through with only Marquez to beat. He skipped past the tackle and slotted the ball home. Cue the Inter bench erupting and a herd of players in neon orange jackets stampeding onto the field.

Then it was just a question of Inter protecting their lead for the last five minutes, although they didn't seem all that inclined to just sit back and soak up the pressure. First Deco almost equalized with another of his trademark shots from 30 yards out, but Clemer just got a hand to it, and then Ronaldinho was knocked over in the D to win a free kick in a dangerous position, which he curled barely inches wide.

Overall, it was a much more even game than I expected, and I suppose that Internacional deserved the win as much as anyone. Certainly Frank Rijkaard seemed to spend his whole post-match press conference talking about how Inter were so much better prepared and whatnot. (I've decided that's his whole role as a manager: being deprecating about the team in interviews. That and pacing around in front of the bench looking pensive. It's a tough job, really -- especially when you've got hair like that.)

And finally, some notes on a few of the other key figures tonight:

The fans
The other bloggers have already commented on this, but although the Barcelona fans definitely outnumbered the Internacional contingent, there were only one or two pockets of them that were actually making some noise. I suspect those were the travelling supporters rather than the local ones -- the rest of the crowd mostly restrained themselves to booing vociferously every time Ronaldinho was tackled or an Inter player went down injured. I was disappointed that there wasn't a bigger group of Inter fans, because the ones that I saw were all completely mental, and I think that would've improved the atmosphere a lot. (I was also disappointed that they didn't try to invade the pitch at the end of the game, but that's another story.)

Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho had quite a few good moments in the first half, but nothing to show for it. It seemed to me that he was trying to be too tricky -- maybe playing to the fans like he did in the semi-final -- rather than trying to just play. And he sort of vanished in the second half, as Inter got better at shutting him down.

Pato
Pato didn't look intimidated by the game, considering that this was only his third professional match. He was more than willing to shoot every chance he got -- although some of those chances, I think he would've been better to pass instead. There were also a few sloppy touches on the ball that looked to me like they came from a combination of inexperience and overconfidence. All in all, he wasn't as effective tonight, and it wasn't a complete surprised when he was subbed off in the 60th minute. I suppose you could say that the Duck had his wings clipped.

(Also, it has just occurred to me that his yellow boots sort of look like a duck's feet. I wonder if he does that on purpose.)

This is it: the one we've been waiting for since the beginning of the tournament.

I've heard quite a few people arguing that Internactional are going to pull off a surprise win tonight. But I think Barcelona should still be the favourites (although the team is still trying to play down their chances just in case they don't win).

Internacional, of course, aren't going to be pushovers the way Club America were on Thursday. And I'm sure the Brazilians will be determined to step up their game after they didn't exactly impress in their semi-final. But they had to rely on their young guns -- Pato and Luiz Adriano -- to win their last game, and somehow I doubt that they have the quality and experience to match Ronaldinho and co. tonight.

I've got a perfect record with my predictions so far, and I think Barcelona are going to win this one. In a couple of hours, we'll find out if I'm right.

In the meantime, we've got a performance from some J-pop group I've never heard of, and a bunch of giant balloons on the pitch that I'm guessing are meant to represent the six football confederations. God love FIFA.

A few lingering questions from yesterday's match:

1. Why do they play Seven Nation Army at halftime in all the games? The wise and wonderful Google tells me that it was apparently a popular chant with the Italian fans during the World Cup...but that doesn't answer the question of why FIFA has picked up on it. Anyone?

2. Why was Al Ahly keeper Essam El Hadary wearing long pants but short sleeves? I'm pretty sure he's got it backwards. (I should note here that he also went down with what looked like cramp in the 80th minute and had to be substituted. His replacement had proper shorts on; draw your own conclusions.)

3. What's up with the strange combination of food at the stalls around the stadium? Last night they were selling everything from nigiri to corn dogs.

4. Why wasn't Renteria even on the teamsheet for Internacional? After I went to all that effort on Youtube the other day! (Oh, never mind: I just looked it up and turns out he got knocked out with an ankle injury at the beginning of the month. No word on whether the injury was in any way related to his goal celebration.)

5. How long before Pato picks himself up an endorsement deal, a rumoured trade to Barcelona, and a WAG (not necessarily in that order)?

Internacional booked themselves a place in the final, where they'll face either Barcelona or Club America, with a 2-1 victory over Al Ahly. And despite my prediction yesterday, I think they were lucky to get the win.

Internacional started with a 4-3-3 formation, while Al Ahly were lined up 5-3-2 -- so you can judge for yourself which team was planning an attacking versus a defensive strategy. But the Brazilians seemed to be nervous from the kickoff, with both teams pinging the ball around in midfield but neither side able to hold onto possession for long.

Gradually Inter settled down, and they were rewarded with a goal from Alexandre Pato. Fernandao nearly put him through on goal, but Pato stumbled over the pass, and then as the defenders tried to play themselves out of trouble, Pato latched onto a loose ball and was free to slot it into the net. After that opening goal, however, Internacional slacked off a bit and their passing got sloppy. Al Ahly's best moves came from using their wingbacks and shifting the ball out wide, but they were let down by some terrible finishing, as they skied two or three chances over the crossbar and also hit the post.

Eventually, though, the Egyptians' persistence paid off. A mishit clearance from the Internacional keeper caromed off a defender and out for a throw. From the throw, the cross was played in quickly and Flavio -- who was probably their best player, as you could tell by the way the Inter fans kept swearing at him -- nodded it into the back of the net.

You might have expected the equalizer to galvanize the Brazilians, but Al Ahly continued to be the stronger team, whereas the Inter players persisted in shooting from 40 yards out to no apparent purpose. They were saved by substitute Luiz Adriano, who'd come on for Pato just a few minutes before after the Duck went down with cramp. The winning goal came from a corner, as Adriano connected with a header that just sneaked into the far corner. That seemed to sap the confidence from Al Ahly, and they never looked like taking the match to extra time (for which I was very grateful, since the cold had caught up with me once again).


Since everyone else is doing it, my thoughts on 17-year-old wunderkind Pato: My first impression was not positive, since he was wearing yellow boots (don't get me started on my beliefs about the proper colours for football boots) and what looked like a dicky under his jersey. But the kid is undeniably talented, although he needs to learn to cool it with some of his little tricks -- like juggling the ball on his shoulder, which as far as I can see serves no purpose other than to invite the defender to kick you in the head. He kind of reminded me of Cristiano Ronaldo, but without the unfortunate overbite.


And the moment you've all been waiting for, the Bad Hair of the Day Award: Today it goes to Internacional midfielder

We've been relegated from the press box to the main stand for tonight's game, but that's not such a bad thing, because we're going to be sitting right behind a big group of Internacional fans, whose spirits have certainly not been dampened by the rain. There are masses of them outside the stadium, singing, dancing and teaching Inter chants to groups of uncomprehending Japanese boys. They're all very enthusiastic -- and, I suspect, more than a little drunk.





Should be a cracking good atmosphere.

Having seen off Auckland City in the opening game of the tournament, Al Ahly take on Internacional tomorrow in the first of the semi-final matches. The Egyptians are the only one of the six teams to be appearing in the tournament for the second year in a row; last year they finished dead last, so they've already improved on their record. How will they fare against the Brazilians?

On paper, it looks as if they could give Internacional a real go. Al Ahly are possibly the most consistent team in Africa, having won the league 31 times and the Egyptian Soccer Cup 34 times, not to mention five CAF Champions League wins -- including the past two years running. In contrast, Internacional only won the Copa Libertadores for the first time last year (beating rivals Sao Paulo in the finals in the process). They've also won the state championship roughly a bazillion times, but that's about it -- at least recently. And they've lost some key players since their Copa Libertadores triumph.

Plus, Al Ahly are the home side, which means they'll be wearing their usual red kits -- which means, if you subscribe to my theory that the team with the better kits has an advantage, that they should win. (In this case, better = red. Blue, if you're wondering, is the colour of evil.)

In spite of all that, though, I'm going to pick Internacional as the winners. It's hard to really assess Al Ahly accurately after only seeing their mediocre play on Sunday, but I think it would take a vast improvement in their game for them to progress.

I'm also tipping an Internacional win in hopes of seeing a goal from Renteria, who apparently has become a fan favourite after his rather memorable goal celebration during the Copa Libertadores. You can see it here about one minute in.

For all those of you who are wondering why he's hopping around like a cracked-out Santa: he's imitating the club's mascot, Saci. A character from Brazilian folklore, Saci is a one-legged elf with holes in the palms of his hands, who smokes a pipe and wears a magical red cap that enables him to disappear and reappear wherever he wishes. (And Wikipedia informs me that Saci Pererê is also the name of a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça and honey, which is said to be good for the common cold. I could use one of those right now.)

Incidentally, while I was out sightseeing today, I ran across a group of Internacional supporters at Senso-ji temple, where you throw coins into the offering box and then pray or make a wish. We'll see if it'll bring their team luck tomorrow...