In the stands of Rome's Olympic Stadium, Barcelona president Rosell and vice president Bartomeu sat alongside King Juan Carlos, Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero, and a host of other political and business dignitaries.
This was a very contradictory combination.
Everyone in the world knew that King Juan Carlos was Real Madrid's most die-hard fan. He attended almost every important Real Madrid match in person to cheer them on. His appearance at the Olympic Stadium tonight was more out of a sense of duty to the Spanish royal family. He did not like Barcelona at all.
The Spanish prime minister beside him was the exact opposite.
From the very beginning, the Spanish prime minister had made it clear that he was a Barcelona fan.
He was not Catalan but came from Valladolid, north of Madrid. As he had put it back then, he had become a Barcelona fan because of a hometown player named Cesar, who was playing for Barcelona at the time.
At home, he was something of an odd one out, because his wife and two daughters all supported Real Madrid.
Some said Zapatero had declared himself a Barcelona fan mainly for the votes, but who knew?
As the saying went, if you were going to put on an act, you had to do it properly.
Now that Barcelona had reached the Champions League final, Zapatero had made a special trip to Rome to cheer them on.
Su Dong scored right after kickoff, giving Barcelona a rude awakening. But before long, Messi equalized with a spectacular long-range strike, allowing Rosell and Bartomeu in the stands to breathe a sigh of relief.
They were even more reassured when they saw Barcelona controlling possession on the pitch.
"Bayern are indeed very strong, but we've been extremely consistent this season."
"I chose Mourinho