There was a surprise shoutout for Scott Brown during an epic Supercoppa Italiana final between Inter and AC.
The Milan giants went head-to-head for the trophy, naturally these days, in Saudi Arabia and produced a classic, with AC coming back to win 3-2 after trailing their city rivals 2-0, only for Tammy Abraham to seal a stunning comeback with a stoppage time winner. Kilmarnock Hall of Famer Manuel Pascali was on co-commentary duty for Premier Sport and attention turned to his time in the Scottish Premiership.
Patrick Kendrick was keen to learn who the Italian relished coming up against, although clearly expected him to go with a more traditional striker vs defender contest. But Pascali immediately name checked Brown, seeing a kindred spirit in the then-shaven headed Hoops enforcer and admitted he couldn’t get enough of taking him on when the Ayrshire club took on Celtic, despite playing in different areas of the pitch.
Kendrick: “Did you have anyone in your career, that you came up against and you looked forward to playing against them? Those 1v1 battles, you as a centre half, maybe there was a forward that you thought?”
Pascali: “In my seven years in Scotland, Scott Brown is one. I remember him about, his character.”
Kendrick: “Broony! There you have it, Scott Brown if you’re listening, Manuel Pascali still has your number.’
Pascali: “You know, there was always respect, by the way. We loved to play each other, against each other, because we know we are kind of old school players, loved a tackle, loved the banter, but there was always, always respect.”