The Milan derby was televised live in England, the broadcast rights to the match purchased by the BBC and transmitted on a Sunday night when almost all the English domestic football, FA Cup games, lay in the hands of rival commercial stations.
So the timing was good for the BBC for this one-off adventure in Serie A. They had been attracted by David Beckham's presence, of course, and by a hint of nostalgia for the 1990s, when terrestrial, free-to-air TV in England, in the shape of Channel 4, showed Italian games each Sunday.
That was the era when Italian football was the most glamorous in the world, had English players like Paul Gascoigne, David Platt and Paul Ince at its clubs and the football looked more sophisticated than the blood-and-thunder of the Premier League. The gap has certainly narrowed since then. But British viewers tuning in to the Milan derby saw something that challenged their notion of why Serie A's international audiences have declined. What they saw was neither cagey nor dull. It was terrific entertainment, like the best sort of Premier League for its end-to-end energy, its speed and its drama.
The Premier League calls itself the most glamorous in the world, and gets the best offers from overseas broadcasters. It is where Italy's top division used to be. Is the Premier League now much better?
We will soon have an answer. Next week, English and Italian football go head-to-head in concentrated fashion in the Champions League: Chelsea versus Juventus, Inter Milan against Manchester United and Arsenal play Roma.
There is the Italian league leaders and champions, Inter, against the Premier League leaders and champions, United; the most watchable Serie A team of recent seasons, Roma, taking on their equivalents, Arsenal. And there is Claudio Ranieri, head coach of Juve, going back to the Stamford Bridge, where he used to work.
Ranieri was popular at Chelsea because he is a likeable man. Hindsight - and the fact that four different managers have been in charge of Chelsea in the four and half years since Ranieri was sacked there - now leads fans in London to appreciate what Ranieri achieved there.
They will notice that his galvanising of Juventus, who had been relegated to the Serie B as a result of the refereeing scandal of 2006, has been impressive, particularly when you remember that for much of the season he has worked without Gianluigi Buffon, the goalkeeper; David Trezeguet, the prolific goalscorer; Christian Poulson, bought to anchor midfield; and the busy Hasan Salihamidzic.
What conclusions will we draw this time in a week when all three Anglo-Italian first legs have been completed? If the form of the last five years continues we could see an English whitewash. Italy's clubs - with the exception of Milan - have had a poor record against English teams recently. But that could work to the Italians' advantage.
Inter have such a cushion at the top they can afford to rest players at Bologna on Saturday to be ready for United. They can devote training sessions this week to strategies for beating United.
Juventus can hardly believe they will catch Inter now and so Ranieri can use the weekend to test the fitness of the senior players coming back from injury, while Chelsea meanwhile need to get used to a new manager, Guus Hiddink, who will take charge of the team for only his second match when they meet Juve.
Roma urgently do need Serie A points, but then so do Arsenal in the Premiership. Freshness will be key, and the matches fascinating.
@Email:ihawkey@thenational.ae
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')
Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')
Brief scores:
Southampton 2
Armstrong 13', Soares 20'
Manchester United 2
Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'
Sunday's games
All times UAE:
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm
Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm
Everton v Watford, 8.30pm
Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
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- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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