Five Star Barça Pay Homage To Puerta And Casaus

FC Barcelona 5 - 0 Inter

FC Barcelona paid homage to Sevilla's Antonio Puerta and club legend Nicolau Casaus before the game and then on the pitch with a vintage performance of attacking football.

In the annual Trofeo Gamper both men who passed away recently were honoured by the clubs and the fans, who held placards of support and messages of condolence.

The Blaugrana players all donned Sevilla shirts with the number 16 and the name Puerta on the back before kick off and a banner that simply read 'We are playing for you' below Puerta's picture was laid on the pitch.

With the game originally scheduled to pay homage to Barça's historical former vice-president Casaus the game went ahead for that reason.

Puerta was also honoured as Barça cancelled all the planned pre-match festivites, but more importantly announced that 10 per cent of all the money from the night would be donated to research into cardiovascular illness.

A tearful minutes silence, that clearly affected the home team's players, was followed by a fiiting tribute to both Casaus and Puerta as Barça produced a stunning display.

After just six minutes Giovani Dos Santos forced Cristian Chivu into a clumsy tackle in the area and the referee pointed to the spot.

Ronaldinho did the honours and slotted the penalty past Francesco Toldo, but the Brazilian had no thoughts for celebrating as he pointed to the heavens and accepted the congratulations of his team-mates.

The second goal arrived in the 12th minute and it was a moment of magic from Giovani Dos Santos that produced it as he cut inside Chivu before hammering the ball inside the near post.

Toldo was to have a busy time, but his best save came when he dived low to turn away a powerful header by Touré Yaya, playing in his first home game since moving Monaco, in the 17th minute.

There was little that the Italian keeper could to stop Barça scoring a third as Touré took aim from 25 yards out and his shot flew through a crowd and into the right-hand side of the net with nine minutes to go before the break.

As Gianliuca Zambrotta and Deco went close before the break the tally of shots rose as Barça had registered ten on target and Inter just one.

The second period saw several changes, but worryingly for Frank Rijkaard, Samuel Eto'o's appearance lasted just four minutes as he was forced off after twisting his leg when shooting.

With 56 minutes on the clock, the Blaugrana capped a strong start to the second period by adding a fourth goal as Leo Messi rolled the ball through the Inter defence for Andrés Iniesta to press forward and dummy Toldo before firing into the top corner.

Thierry Henry had an impressive first game in Camp Nou, while Gaby Milito and Éric Abidal also had their first taste of his new club's home.

A fifth goal always looked on the cards even though the game slowed in pace towards the end and when it came it was Thiago Motta who headed home in, perhaps, his final game for the club.

It was an evening where the result was not important and both Barça and Inter should be praised for playing their part in paying tribute to two people that deserved such a game.