When Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola boldly went public with his desire to be reunited with former Barcelona protege Thiago Alcantara, he justified the seemingly superfluous addition to an already stellar midfield cast by declaring: "We have many players, but we need the special quality that he brings."
There were still many sceptics. But probably not anymore; not after Thiago's first two appearances for Bayern in last weekend's Telekom Cup, as the Spain international oozed class during every second of his 98 minutes of action.
Thiago laid the foundations for a quite brilliant goal against Hamburg that even former Barcelona boss Guardiola couldn't help but marvel at, the 22-year-old picking out a clever run from Franck Ribery with a wonderfully-measured ball into the area that the Frenchman deftly cushioned into the path of the supporting Mario Mandzukic, leaving the Croat with a tap-in.
And in the 5-1 demolition of Borussia Monchengladbach in the 'Grand Final', Thiago ingeniously chested home a cross from Jerome Boateng to net his first goal in a Roten shirt.
As Goal Germany's John Brandi underlines, the midfielder has already demonstrated just why Bayern moved so quickly to sign him, and why Manchester United are privately do disappointed at having been beaten to his signature.
"Thiago was the midfield anchor in a very attacking 4-1-4-1 formation against Hamburg," he explained. "He was strong at winning the ball and showed his excellent passing skills.
"It was no surprise that he was one of the few players who were allowed to start again in the final and he capped another very strong performance with his first goal for the club.
"Consequently, the question mark over Thiago's signing has already begun to fade."
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