What were UEFA hoping for when they awarded tomorrow's Champions League final to Rome? Alfresco pasta and vino in the Italian sun, no doubt, as Puccini wafts through the ancient walls of the Centro Storico and evening strollers pause beside the Trevi Fountain to contemplate 'La Dolce Vita' over a gelato and espresso. UEFA cannot have forgotten the recent history of soccer violence in the Eternal City, so what excuse is there for brushing it under the carpet? Italy has the worst hooligan problem of any European country but domestic squabbles apart, Rome has been a danger zone in recent years for travelling fans, particularly English ones.

UEFA Champions League Final: Barcelona v Manchester United While not quite beauty v the beast, the intriguing contrast of Manchester United's organisation and Barcelona's beautiful game is the power v the glory. More than the billed clash of the two fantasistas - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Stadio Olimpico will host a battle of styles to decide the Emperor of Rome. Since Brazil won the 1994 World Cup with prosaic powerhouse midfielders, the accepted wisdom has been that top-level football is no place for dainty, pretty players and that a good muscular team will top a good technical one. After pocket battleships like Hagi and Diego Maradona in the 1980s, the winning formula had a nuance of percentage over artistry and along came the giants - Patrick Viera and Gilberto Silva, Zinedine Zidane, Steven Gerrard and Michael Ballack, not destroyers but mobile cruisers who rob and repel attacks, tackle, distribute and drive forward with the ball; Goliaths of all trades.