Thierry Henry, center in blue jacket, and other teammates watch as defender Gerard Pique plays with Microsoft Surface on the Microsoft campus Tuesday.

The world's biggest soccer club arrived on the campus of the world's biggest software company this afternoon. And egos collided -- or at least a language barrier meant things didn't follow the script.  FC Barcelona --  in town to face the Seattle Sounders in a friendly match tomorrow at Qwest Field -- got to check out product demos at Microsoft as well as tour the company's Home of the Future.

I chose the plum reporting assignment in part due to my love of soccer. But also because of the promise of catching some choice video of Thierry Henry or Zlatan Ibrahimovic testing their skills on Project Natal, the company's full-body, motion-sensing video game control system.

But that didn't happen -- at least not in the view of the media. Turns out that European sports dynasties are just as concerned about what products their star players are seen next to as American teams.

FC Barcelona leaves Microsoft

After several minutes of confusion, members of the media were ushered out of the Microsoft conference room so that players could have a private demo of Project Natal. The reason?

Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said that the team was concerned about creating the impression that they endorsed the game controller, which is months away from its public debut. (Maybe Barcelona is working some secret deal with Nintendo while they are here).

I was told that there really wasn't much else to cover, and considered just heading home. But frustrated about a needless trip to Redmond, I decided to hang around a bit. I chatted up some of the Spanish media with my rusty Spanish (I lived in Sevilla, Spain for six months in college) and charged my camera battery in case something happened. 

When I noticed some of the Spanish journalists going into the private demo room, I followed. The Project Natal demo was just finishing up, but I was able to get a few photos of Henry, defender Gerard Pique and others checking out Microsoft Surface.

Later, I was also able to don my sports reporter hat in a quick chat with Henry -- the team's superstar striker.

Henry signs autographs for fans

I asked the Frenchman -- who last year was rumored to be pursued by the Sounders  -- whether he'd ever been to Seattle before. (He has not). Asked whether he'd ever consider playing here, Henry replied that Seattle's already "got Freddy" -- referring to Swedish superstar Freddy Ljungberg.

Of course, Ljungberg and Henry were teammates at Arsenal in the English Premier League. That prompted a follow-up that it could be like a reunion for the two players, which prompted a laugh from Henry.

The best part of the night was watching the two dozen or so crazed Microsoft employees knock over a restraining rope as they attempted to get autographs from the superstars before they boarded the team bus.

Rod Lopez, a 5-year-veteran of Microsoft, was able to score autographs on a FC Barcelona/Seattle Sounders scarf from Henry and Mexican star Rafael Marquez. A native of Mexico himself who plans on attending tomorrow's game, Lopez said he was "star struck" when the players from the "best team in the world" passed by.

"It is the most surreal thing in the world," he said. "Barcelona at Microsoft in Seattle."