Chelsea and Real Madrid are set to entertain the stateside masses tonight in the finale of the inaugural Guinness International Champions Cup. South Beach is the setting - and a fairly sexy one at that - for this clash, one that, in addition to being Chelsea v. Real Madrid (a massive draw, friendly or no) has the added flavor of pitting a former Chelsea boss against a former Real Madrid boss.
No one on the planet can puff a loosie with quite as much class and panache as Carlo Ancelotti (well, maybe Dimitar Berbatov), and he's sure to receive a warm reception from the Chelsea support. We do, after all, still like the man. A lot, actually.
Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, can probably expect a much less favorable response from the Madridistas. Old chum Iker Casillas says he'll say "hello" to Mou, but the rest of the mutinous lot - Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular - are likely to, as Dionne Warwick would say, walk on by.
In fact, I encourage you to post your version of just how conversation between these four may actually go tonight. As for the match, there's not much more to say other than this is must-see television however you slice it.
Chelsea starting XI (4-3-3)
Petr Cech; Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole; Marco Van Ginkel, Frank Lampard, Ramires; Eden Hazard, Oscar; Romelu Lukaku.
Bench: Mark Schwarzer, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ryan Bertrand, Michael Essien, Victor Moses, Kevin De Bruyne, Demba Ba, Fernando Torres.
Los Galacticos starting XI (4-2-3-1)
Iker Casillas; Alvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Sami Khedira, Luka Modric; Isco, Mesui Özil, Cristiano Ronaldo; Karim Benzema.
Bench: Lopez, Jesus, Mejias, Carvajal, Nacho, Kaká, Alonso, Di Maria, Illarramendi, Cheryshev, Morata, Jese, Casemiro.