What a treat it was this week to salivate over the striking contribution of continental stars who are now as much a part of the domestic game as Bovril and meat 'n' potato pies. The three I am referring to here - Robert Pires, Thierry Henry and Ruud Van Nistelrooy - all made telling contributions to their clubs not only reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, but doing so as group winners, along with Chelsea.
Manchester United duly completed a professional job in dispatching VFB Stuttgart 2-0 with van Nistelrooy integral to that victory. I go as far as to say that only he, in the modern game, could have put the header away that gave United a timely interval lead, just seconds before the break on Tuesday night.
Nothing was going for the United striker as he rose to meet Ryan Giggs cross. I say nothing but the major factor Ruud DID have is his athleticism and that allowed him to adjust to hinge at the hips to direct his header back across goal and it was that which saw the ball beat the keeper.
'Back across goal' is what the coaches preach, back the way it came, and if contact is correct then a keeper will be wrong footed and guidance will negate the need for a 'bullet header'. And thus it was with Ruud, but if the goal was excellent what price his reciprocation in setting up Giggs for the second, and clinching, goal.
The United striker was penned in on the left touchline and the ball got caught between his feet. He won the ball back from a defender with strength and tenacity, remember he was more than 60 metres from the opposition goal so another goal for his impressive Euro tally couldn't have been further away. His strength and determination took the ball away from a second defender before a wiggle of the hips lost defender number three.
Did the Dutchman then slip a short, easy ball to a waiting midfielder to progress the move? Did he heck as like. With the perception and precision of a top flight midfielder van Nistelrooy split the Stuttgart team with a pin-point pass that all Giggs had to do was dribble a few yards before slotting home.
Sir Alex Ferguson calls van Nistelrooy 'the complete player'. Not for the first time this season, who am I to argue with Fergie?
On Wednesday night, Thierry Henry did not score as Arsenal beat Lokomotiv Moscow (indeed, incredibly, he has yet to score a Champions League goal at home for the Gunners!) but he added two more assists to his growing tally for the campaign and it was the first one, to set up Robert Pires, that not only had me admiring Henry's repertoire that seems to grow by the game, but open-mouthed at the way Pires finished to put Arsenal 1-0 up.
As I saw it, following Henry's alertness to win the ball and pass as sublime as they come, Pires killed the ball perfectly into his path with his first touch and effortlessly struck it sweetly, dead centre, with his second touch. Such ferocity that saw the right foot hit through the ball and defy the laws of physics to swerve outside the keeper's hand before swerving back into the goal.
There, that's that done justice and wasn't it pleasing that all three players I have written about today did as much working back in their final third as they did in the other areas of the pitch. Especially Henry, who at one point in the first half covered acres of ground like a lunatic, within seconds, to close down a variety of opponents in Arsenal's defensive third. Much to the appreciation of the home fans, I might add.
Surely only a matter of time before the PFA's current Players' Player of the Year is crowned FIFA's World Player of the Year.
