The first half saw the Dundee fans applaud every skillful move made by the Italians and there was plenty to see. Dundee played a lot of good passing movements as well at this stage without ever looking like threatening them at the back.
Beto Carranza, in particular, was delightful to watch and his repertoire of tricks was seen in all it's glories during the first half hour. Giorgi Nemsadze, too, excelled with some neat touches and vision.
Surprisingly, when Chievo took the lead it was from a poor pass from Giorgi which allowed Marrazzina to send Simone Barone in on goal. The former Parma star was left with only Speroni to beat and his finish is perfection itself, lashing the ball hard and low into the corner of the net.
Kiko Torres should have equalised when left in with only the keeper to beat but he dallies, perhaps thinking he was offsides, and the chance is wasted.
The first half perhaps saw a lack of tackling and grit, though both teams played a lot of good passing. Chievo were not averse to the odd jersey pull as well.
The second half saw a much more competitive game and the Italian shock troops showed much more of their cynical side with a lot of snidy trips, some of which were out of context in an exhibition match.
Chievo's second goal was a work of art when, from outside the box Simone Parratta, and English born Italian curled a peach of a shot around a wall of players and inside the post for a most spectacular effort which was warmly applauded around the stadium.
Dundee had their chances, Dave Mackay, Stevie Milne, Romano, all had good opportunities to cut the deficit but missed when a goal looked on.
The game took on a more frightening look when Lee Wilkie beat two Chievo players and was hacked to the ground and when he got up a fracas developed in which the Referee lost the plot completely and failed to show a yellow card. Italian players followed Lee deep into the box as he tried to get away from the situation, only to have his jersey pulled, was elbowed and pushed while the Ref made sure the wall was back instead of protecting the Dundee player.
Lee was taken off soon after to ensure he didn't get in any bother with his certain Scotland cap to come soon.
The Dundee fans lost any respect for the Chievo team after this and the applause withered to booing their unsporting behaviour. This was a pity as they had shown glimpses of why they finished so high in the top Italian league and they certainly are a quality side. They were strong, skillful in every position and move off the ball at lightning pace.
Dundee had began with Speroni in goal, a back 4 of Smith, Del Rio, Wilkie and Marocco; midfield Torres, Nemsadze, Rae and Carranza; Caballero and Milne up front. In the second half they introduced Mackay, Beith, Kemes, Forbes, Garrido, Romano, Traverso, Langfield, Mair and Beghetto. Only skipper Barry Smith played a full game.
As a chance to see the Italians play, this was entertainment, though they let themselves down by showing too much of their cynical side in the second half.
For Dundee it gave us the chance to see some of our heroes, perhaps for the last time. I give Ivano thanks for this as like a lot of fans I can't make the Motherwell game on Sunday with commitments to my kids team on that day.
I and several others still applauded Chievo off the pitch at the end, with a misty eye towards several Dees that we might not see again in Dark Blue.
Despite the cut prices if the final crowd was 4,000 I'd be surprised. I suspect it was a good bit below that, and mostly made up of Under-12's who got in free. Perhaps a show of apathy from fans who feel the number of players rumoured to be moving on is at this present moment, a bit too much to handle.
It will take time for all fans to come to terms with this, and some I met are most upset and distraught, almost, at this time, especially at the rumours about Giorgi Nemsadze.
The youngsters who came on in the second half did well, Forbes, Mackay and Beith did their chances next season no harm at all with some studied play and delightful skills. They need more games to bring them on even more, but they look like class players for the future.