Pepsi starts to flex their muscle in the advertising campaign as we are 96 days away from the World Cup.
Reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi joins 2007 winner Kaká, Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin, and Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry in one of the first World Cup promotions around.
Speed. Skill. Power.
Those were the three things that hit both Real Madrid and Ricky Hatton on Saturday. There were three things that these two had in common- they did the lion's share of the talking, their dominance lasted very little, and the battle was done when they least expected it.
Ricky Hatton had no answers for the left hook, the speed, or the precision that Pacquiao brought to the MGM in Las Vegas. 
Barcelona had those same ingredients against Real Madrid. For Barcelona that left hook was undoubtedly Thierry Henry who torched Sergio Ramos on various occasions. It was like Ramos was always a step behind of the French international and was able to capitalize with the precision of Roubilliac, the symbolism of Moreau, the realism of Bonheur, and the short hook of Pacquiao. His first goal was symbolic of what was going to happen. His almost Picasso-like wayin which he received a millimetrically precise pass from Xavi and face the world's best goalkeeper with coldness when he went to the far post when his body went near. His second goal was classic and will remain etched in the minds of Blaugranas and Merengues. He caught Sergio Ramos-once again- sleeping in his laurels. He just scored a goal off a set piece and was pumping his team up to go for the draw. Madrid's backline pushed up too much and they paid for it much like Hatton did when he went after Pacquiao in uncontrolled fashion. Xavi went deep and Henry adjusted himself and waited for the right moment to strike the ball past Iker Casillas. The Madrid keeper scrambled 10-15 yards out of his box and found himself doing the only thing he could do- and it was not enough.
Barca's fourth goal was the deal-sealer. There was no more wind in the Madrid sails. There was no more water in the well. Barca controlled the ball and kept the ball away from the home side. The fans knew it. The press knew it. More importantly, the players knew it.
I always have a saying regarding big games- necessity always trumps history. But in both of these cases, the side that is on the verge of history comes in with a does of necessity. There were people coming in to Saturday knowing that it wasn't just their season that was on the line- it was their legacy. Players like Messi, Henry, Xavi, Puyol, and yes Pacquiao, knew that their legacies would become greater based on what they did on this May evening.
Last year, Barcelona were in one of the most embarrassing situations for a professional team that there could be.
To have to escort your arch-rival with an honor guard type of entrance onto their own pitch is beyond humiliation. They then stepped on to the pitch and received a sound thumping. For fans around the world it was anticlimactic. There was nothing being fought over at this stage of the season- only pride- and Barca had little of it by then. That little bit that remained never allowed them to forget that moment and that was part of the reason why it simmered in the minds of these players.
While the press in Madrid clamored for this match expecting the complete capitulation of a team that was no longer battling for first or second place- they were face-to-face with destiny. For Barcelona it was not just a match, it was a moment almost a year in the making for them. Everytime they stepped onto any pitch in the world, they saw the Merengues, they saw that bully and they were getting ready to take them on.
People outside of that intimate circle looked at the next match against Madrid and said, "this could be the one". We all wanted Málaga, Deportivo, Espanyol, Atlético, then Sevilla to knock them off of their torrid win streak so Barcelona could look at bigger things. That was not to happen, and to be honest, that was the way they wanted it. If you want things done right... you have to do them yourself.
The panic lasted three minutes for any Barcelona fan. Gonzalo Higuaín's goal made people uncomfortable; but that was all gone when Thierry Henry answered in almost clinical fashion in front of Iker Casillas. Carles Puyol would then put them ahead, and it was a release of pent up anger that he had. It was a release of pent up anger that all Barcelona fans had. In the 35th minute, Xavi would literally pickpocket Lass Diarra (one of the "promised ones" alongside Julien Faubert and Jan-Klaas Huntelaar that would lead Madrid to the title) and Messi would get the ball and slot it past Iker Casillas.
The rest of the match was a concerto. It was a combination of skill and desire. There was no doubt who wanted it more. If there was one goal that displayed that it was Gerard Piqué's. He was rejected by Casillas, but still had the will to chase the ball down and contort his body so he could shoot the ball and beat an already broken Fabio Cannavaro. It shut people's mouths in the Spanish press that were starting to use terms like "chorreo" (getting the shits), "Villarato" (reference to RFEF president José María Villar and his relationship with Joan Laporta). All of those suppositions of Barca en route to winning the title due to "decree" were silenced. All of those statements and blazing headlines that pointed out preferential treatment by referees because, of course, Fernando Hierro wants Barcelona to win.
All of that was extinguished. All of that ended.
Is payback a bitch? Well ask Real Madrid. They will let you know.
I guess that was the source of inspiration that Manny Pacquiao received on Saturday night when he knocked out Ricky Hatton. Could it symbolic?
