Rather big is it not?

It may have been called the Dubai Challenge and Massimo Ambrosini may have receive a rather extravagant trophy relative to the significance of the whole affair, but, there is no denying that the match played between Milan and Paris Saint-Germain was played more in the spirit of a friendly.

Carlo Ancelotti, who took to the bench for the first time as PSG coach, would have been more interested in learning about his new players and what they can do rather than focusing on winning what, in truth, is just an overhyped corporate spectacle.

The significance Max Allegri tied to the game was made clear at half time when he brought on an entire new team. Our stylish young tactician, though he would have been happy to win on the night, was clearly more concerned about giving some of his fringe players are chance to prove themselves. Finally.

A friendly corporate exhibition it may only have been, yet, its significance was heightened by some of the interesting subplots that underlined the match in the Emirates and which, in my view, yielded strong signals about the changing face of our beloved game and the changing places of those figures, clubs and leagues that are involved.

First and foremost, there was Ancelotti, our former and most adored tactician, the man who took us to three Champions League finals in five seasons (winning two and charitably giving one away) and who sat on the opposite dugout with his new club, PSG.

It was his first match as boss of the French capital outfit and how ironic it was that Milan would be the opposition.

Ironic, yet, not entirely coincidental. Ancelotti’s defection to Ligue 1 was partly engineered by another Rossonero, Leonardo. Now sporting director for the Parisian side, Leonardo worked with Ancelotti for years at Milan as a scout before, eventually, taking his job when the former opted for a move to Chelsea.

Much despised by many Milanisti, including yours truly, for his move to Inter after being shown the door by Silvio Berlusconi, Leonardo’s two brief spells with the two city rivals coach exposed his many flaws as a coach and he, very smartly, decided to try something else.

Once a player at the Parc de Princes, Leonardo was lured back to his former side by its cash-rich Qatari owners to be part of a project that will oversee, perhaps, the rise of the French club to the higher echelons of European football in what would be similar to what we have seen happened at Manchester City; you know? Sheikhs, football and money.

While PSG are gearing for a bright future, fuelled by money drawn from the oil reserves of the Middle East, Milan and many Italian clubs are just trying to maintain the status quo as much as possible.

But, the rumours that surrounded this match tell that traditional powers like Milan will struggle to hold on to their dominant positions in the world game. This could not be any clearer in the two parallel yet contrasting pursuits for new players currently being undertaking by both clubs.

With cash to splash, PSG’s Qatari’s owners have promised their fans three high profile signings in this January transfer window. Former Milan player Kaka along with current Milan player Pato are reportedly being targeted by the French club who are willing to offer over €60 million for the pair.

Contrast this with Milan’s chase for Carlos Tevez and here you will see my point. While PSG are posing for one of the brightest young talents in the game, yes I am referring to Pato, in addition to beating Italy’s big three to Javier Pastore last summer – arguably the best young player to emerge in Serie A in recent seasons – the Rossoneri are desperately trying to sign City outcast Tevez on a loan deal as they cannot go around even considering spending such sums of money.

Rewind to 1995, when calcio was number one and it was PSG that were threatened with losing one of their best and lose him they did. His name? George Weah. To who? He came to Milan of course.  Football is changing, at least the powers at be that shape it from the inside out.

Leonardo, Ancelotti and oil money were the key figures in the subplot of this most interesting yet meaningless fixture. Meaningless, yet, we still learned a few things about our champions on the pitch.

Allegri finally fielded our two Brazilian stars alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic whom he finally gave a chance as the deep-lying centre forward. The false number 9 as it is called. Of the three, in my opinion, Ibra is the most technically gifted player with the vision and passing range required for the role. There was only one goal on the night and Pato may have scored it, but, all the hard work was done by Ibra. Hopefully, Allegri was convinced so that we will see our star Swede in this role again which enables us to play both Pato and Robinho.

Another thing we learned from this match is that Taye Taiwo is hopeless. Hesitant, lacking confidence and not comfortable in defence, if Arsenal want him I say let them have him.

The out casted Filippo Inzaghi was given a full 45 minutes to play and during it we saw why he is such a genius yet at the same time why he no longer is cutting the mustard at the San Siro. Few, if any, players have the nous of our number 9 to get into scoring positions as he showed yet again, however, Super Pippo fell short where it matters the most. He could not finish, nor beat his man and when he tried to one could not help wonder what is age was again. That is right, he’s touching 40. No wonder. The end is near, or here for our hero from Athens, as sad as it may sound.

Mark van Bommel. Recently claimed by Kris Voakes on goal.com to be one of the key reasons why Milan secured the Scudetto in the second half of last season – this is debateable – the Dutchman is a different player this term. He is a much poorer player. Talk of a return to Holland may have him distracted. But, whatever the case may be, the former Barca man is not performing at all. We are trying to bring in another striker this January, but, we desperately need another holding midfielder to replace the man who forced Andrea Pirlo out of the side last summer.

Why Stephen El Sharaawy has not been given more of a chance to play especially following the absence of Antonio Cassano is mystifying. He may not be the strongest player, but, he is brave, is willing to take on the opposition and has a fine touch.

To finish on a positive note, it was heart-warming to see the return of Gennaro Gattuso. He may not be the same player of yesteryear and after the health scare that has kept him sidelined since round 2 of the Serie A, it remains to be seen if he is even half the player he once was. Nonetheless, his tenacity, experience and determination can only be a good thing if it rubs off on a few of his peers.