FCBARCELONA.CAT

15.08.2007 20:40

Milito, Márquez and Messi debut

Anna Segura

Gabriel Milito, Rafael Márquez and Lionel Messi all played their first games for FC Barcelona of the new season in the Franz Beckenbauer Cup against Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening.

Frank Rijkaard opted to introduce all three players in the friendly encounter in Germany after they had all enjoyed an extended break after appearing the Copa América at the end of last season.

Debut date

Milito was the fourth and final signing of the club and he came on to his enjoy his debut after moving from Real Zaragoza earlier this summer. In the 61st minute, the Argentinian international replaced Lilian Thuram and he looked confident and fit as he took over at the centre of defence alongside Márquez. The Mexican was also playing for the first time in this pre-season.

Messi back in style

One of the most eagerly awaited comebacks was that of Messi and the Argentinian forward did not disappoint after being introduced at half-time. The 20-year-old came on with Giovani Dos Santos to replace Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o at the start of the second half to play with Thierry Henry. All three switched positions across the front line throughout and looked lively as they set about Bayern's defence with gusto.

Messi could not have asked for a better start to the campaign as he scored the only goal of the game in the 84th minute, firing home a stunning volley to give Barça victory in the game.

Deco and Belletti

Deco also appeared for the first time after returning from paternity leave. The Portuguese player came on in the second half after he had left the Far East tour to fly to Brazil following the birth of his fourth child. Juliano Belletti, who picked up an injury on the Asian trip, was also introduced in the final minutes of the encounter in the Allianz Arena.