The recent spectacle at Stamford Bridge, which saw Chelsea and Liverpool share eight goals, was certainly different to famous classics of yesteryear. UEFA was quick to include it as one of the best ever top-ten matches of the Champions League.
It was a match which will have a special chapter in the annals of the game of the English FA. Just a few details prove how much the game has changed mainly because of the Bosman rule and TV contracts.
The super show was provided by two sides that had no fewer than 19 foreign players under the guidance of a Dutchman and a Spaniard, all on the payroll of a Russian oligarch and two American partners who own Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.
The only three Englishmen in the starting line-ups were Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, for Chelsea, and Jamie Carragher on the opposite side.
The four Champions League semi-finalists, Man. United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona, confirm the dominance of English and Spanish clubs with a total no fewer than 28 last four appearances out of a total of 40 since the introduction of the Champions League 17 years ago. The current UEFA ranking (England 78.5, Spain 73.6) says it all.
The foreign infiltration is not restricted to the Champions League. During the five-a-side World Championship staged recently in Rio de Janeiro, Italy's squad was made up of 14 Brazilians who had an Italian citizenship!
FIFA was not pleased and a serious inquiry is still on-going. Not surprising really, when one notes that the places of birth of the whole 'Italian' side ranged from Sao Paolo, Maringa, Panana, Curitibanos and Belo Horizonte! Not even one player in the list was born in Italy. In the 2004 edition there were 12 foreigners out of 14. Shocking.
Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, keeps insisting that teams should have at least five homegrown players in the starting 11. So far he has met with little or no success.
But the question of the invasion of foreign players, mostly African and South American registered in European leagues, is not the only problem facing the future of football.
As clubs are obliged to organise exhibition matches or tournaments during the summer break, mainly to recover the costs of the players' wages during the off season, UEFA is thinking about yet another way to increase its income, namely by adding eight more finalists to its present 16 for Euro 2016. The Beautiful Game is becoming a very big business and will continue to change to meet these targets.
Can football sustain the excessive number of matches played by clubs and countries? Are players capable of maintaining the supersonic speed which is seen during competitive matches?
What about the ever increasing number of injuries? Are these related to the close fixtures without any rest periods?
Considering the fact that footballers suffer a number of head injuries and are involved in 150-1,500 heading duels per season, should they wear protective headgear as advocated by the American federation (USSF) since August 2005?
Would it surprise anyone that most times players head a ball which is travelling at an average of 65km an hour?
Will clubs be able to afford the existing inflated salaries? Should referees undergo anti-doping tests considering that they are athletes and have to maintain the type of fitness expected from professionals when one considers that they cover an average distance of 12km and more during a match?
These are the questions that are currently facing the Game. There are certainly more questions than easy answers.