The two days leading up to the Real Madrid friendly were a strange, electric dream.
The world's media had descended upon Pasadena, California, transforming a pre-season kickabout into a full-blown Hollywood blockbuster.
The storylines were too juicy to ignore: The newly-crowned Premier League champions against the Galacticos of Madrid. The debut of Liverpool's world-record signing.
And, most tantalizingly of all, the master versus the apprentice:
Cristian Chivu against his star pupil, Leon.
At seven o'clock, the locker room at the Rose Bowl was a surprisingly calm oasis in a hurricane of hype.
The players were in their iconic red kits, the low hum of pre-match music a steadying rhythm in the air.
Leon stood in front of his locker, looking at the fresh, new jersey hanging there.
The number 30.
It felt like a lifetime ago that he was holding his Inter shirt, dreaming of winning the Scudetto.
