Messi spoils Scholl farewell

Argentina forward Lionel Messi spoiled Bayern Munich's party for retired star Mehmet Scholl with a late strike to seal Barcelona's 1-0 win at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
Messi rifled home his shot from the edge of the penalty area six minutes from time and in the end that proved enough to hand Barcelona the inaugural Franz Beckenbauer Cup.
The match was both a testimonial for midfielder Scholl as well as an official farewell to Dutch striker Roy Makaay, who joined Feyenoord in the summer, as Bayern waved goodbye to two of their stalwarts.
"A small comfort for me is that the goal was conceded when I was off the pitch," Scholl told German broadcaster ARD after his final appearance in the famous red shirt.
"It's not easy to walk away from something which has been a huge part of my life, but these 50 minutes gave me so much.
"Now, I have to start a new chapter in my life."
Scholl, 36, retired in May after 15 years at Bayern, making more than 300 appearances for the German giants and winning 36 caps for Germany.
"Such a player will be missed by the Bundesliga, no question about it," said Bayern president Beckenbauer after Scholl became only the second player, after Brazilian Giovane Elber, to be given Bayern's Player of Honour award.
Bayern rested their top stars Franck Ribery and Miroslav Klose for the first half, but played Mark van Bommel, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and Italian World Cup winner Luca Toni.
The Spaniards, who beat Bayern 4-0 in a similar pre-season warm-up at the Nou Camp stadium, brought many of their top stars including Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Messi and Samuel Eto'o.
While Barcelona are preparing for the new season, Bayern began their Bundesliga campaign with a 3-0 win over Hansa Rostock last Saturday and are away to their deadly rivals Werder Bremen this weekend.
The first half was a high-tempo affair with both sides showing plenty in attack, but there was little in the way of finishing with several chances squandered.
Every time Henry and Ronaldinho moved into a threatening position, Bayern's defence were quick to close them down, while Schweinsteiger and Toni went close at the other end.
At half time Ronaldinho was rested, while Klose joined the action and the biggest cheer was saved for the 54th minute when Scholl left the Allianz Arena for the final time, being replaced by Ribery.
There were a host of changes in the second half with both sides taking the opportunity to use their squads.
Messi finally broke the deadlock on 84 minutes when the 20-year-old hit his ferocious shot from the edge of the penalty area which gave Bayern's replacement goalkeeper Michael Rensing no chance.