Deportivo 1, Get Eto’o the Pichichi 1, a.k.a. “A waste of a perfectly good Xavi.”

By: Kevin | May 31st, 2009

Oh. Yeah. Another weekend, another meaningless match against a side with something to actually play for. This week it was Deportivo, formerly Super Depor, playing for its European life, with some help (that wasn’t forthcoming, as it turned out) from Bilbao.

We, on the other hand, were trying to run off a hangover, and looked it. And it wasn’t as much from booze as from sensory overload from celebration after celebration after celebration, like a kid whose parents are getting married on Christmas, a day that is also his birthday. “More? My brain hurts.”

Depor laid on a very lovely pasillo as we rolled out in the new away strip. The fine mood that mostly prevailed in the match, which was a honorable and good-natured affair.

Guardiola rolled out a starting lineup of Pinto, Caceres, Pique, The Yaya, Sylvinho, Keita, Gudjohnsen, Xavi, Hleb, Krkic and Eto’o. The thinking was clearly, let’s give the lads a nice runout and see if Depor is feeling up to giving Eto’o a bunch of goals.

They weren’t.

So rather than deal with a traditional review of a meaningless encounter, I’d like to discuss things that we might have learned from this match, some fact-based, some speculation. Ready? Let’s go.

–Eto’o is a hell of a striker when he wants to be. I know. Duh, right? But that goal he scored was vintage Samu, demonstrating great movement, impressive control and deadly finishing.

–Gudjohnsen is ready to leave. He didn’t look his usual involved, engaged self out there, and I think he now realizes that Guardiola talked him into staying last season because continuity was more important than anything else. A consummate pro, let’s wish Monument all the best.

–We’ve seen the next Pique, and his name is Botia. Giving the kids some love is one thing. Giving the kids some love and having them pay it back is something else. Pique was off, and Botia was almost like for like. That young man’s got something.

–Hleb has to go. This is a painful admission from me, the man who welcomed Hleb with open arms, who predicted that we would all love him eventually, who said that his ball control and possession skills would work well in the side. Man, was I wrong. It isn’t that he isn’t skilled. Arsenal’s possession game is different from ours, in that we rely on pace: with the ball, of thinking, of passing, of movement. A player moving to a spot is expecting the ball to be there, not a midfielder circling about, playing keepaway with a defender, only to lose the ball.

–Guardiola is smarter than the rest of us put together. Man, did we all grouse about his making The Yaya a center back, thinking that he was so much better in the midfield. Then we saw the value of having a mid as a center back, of having a guy who can play the ball out to start an attack and suddenly, it all made sense. Yes, it was an interim move, but it worked so well.

–If we do anything with Krkic except give him more pitch time, we’re crazy. Pass after pass, effort after effort, The Kid is the real deal. Is he ever going to be that goal-scoring striker that he was in the youth ranks? Probably not, unless he sees a growth spurt in the off-season. But what a second-striker/winger he makes. His feeds to Eto’o were brilliant.

–Yes, Keita is for real. We saw signs of it for a while but now, during this run to the end of the season, we can see the gifts that the Malian bring to the side. He’s also the real reason Monument has become expendable.

–We have one hell of a team. They didn’t want to end the season with a loss, and pulled out one brilliant attack from their hangover-hampered legs and minds. Given more time, we might have even pulled out the match.

–Abraham is for real. Guardiola brought him on for Xavi once it was clear that it just wasn’t going to happen for Eto’o, and he responded with a spark of life and talent. I just can’t believe the stuff that we have growing in the hothouse.

–Ray Hudson made me cry. It’s worth watching the match again for the tribute that he offers to the side that we all love so much. We’ve all accused him of being a Madridista, and he is. But his words of respect and honor encapsulated what I think we all feel about this side. He starts at about the 2:00 mark and goes until almost the 4:00 mark of the match. It’s worth finding if you don’t have it on your DVRs already. Some highlights:

“In my time, in all of my life, I have never, ever witnessed a magisterial footballing outfit like this Barcelona team.”

“Under Guardiola, it came together like a divine, heaven-sent footballing team.”

“[They] did it with a style that I have never seen anybody come close.”

“They did it like no other team has ever done it.”

And with that, for posterity and ballbeav’s season-long match ratings aggregate….

Team: 5 Solid and competent, trying not to work too hard or pick up a silly injury, they did what they had to do. Anyone who doubts the quality of this side had to only watch them, playing at about 50 or 60 percent throttle, against a side with everything (for them) to play for.

Guardiola: 6 He looked good sitting up there in the stands, didn’t he? His hands were all over the match, probably right down to the subs, as our look at the future of the side continues. We’ve seen Muniesa, Thiago, Abraham and Botia. All look the business.

Pinto: 9 What a match. He couldn’t do anything about the goal, which the defense didn’t seem to have a lot of interest in, but command and control were his watchwords, along with a few great, goal-stopping saves.

Caceres: 5 Hmmm. Still one for the future. When he gets the ball, he almost seems to panic. He does well up until then, though he was caught out of position quite a few times by Depor attacks. Loan?

Pique: 5 Took a number of steps down from his exceptional play of the back half of the season, but can you blame him, really? Some very nice outlet passes, but he just wasn’t there today, caught out of position on the Depor goal alongside Sylvinho.

The Yaya: 6 I know that The Great Yaya Experiment will end when Marquez, Milito, and Henrique come on line, but he impresses the hell out of me. He wasn’t as good as he was in the CL Final, but man, his ball skills just knock me out. Anyone recall the way he shrugged off two Depor attackers to bring the ball out of the back? Awesomeness.

Sylvinho: 6 Comported himself with honor and professionalism in what was almost certainly his last match for the side. Got forward on runs like a crazy man, and got caught out by his lack of pace a few times, as well, including being left for dead on that goal. But Pique had some fault in that one, too.

Keita: 7 Dynamic and effective, he is fast improving and becoming an important part of the side. His pace and physical skills are not to be argued with. I’d like to see some ball skills improvements over the off season. He needs to get some slickness to play in our midfield. And I love his shot from distance.

Gudjohnsen: 4 Solid, but he is always, always slow to the ball, almost like the man in the middle in one of the practice keepaway drills. Had some very heavy touches, and the Depor goal came about as a direct result of the Monument not bothering to contest a 50/50 ball that wound up at the feet of Guardado. No way Iniesta, Xavi or Messi let that ball go by. An early giveaway led to another great chance for Deportivo. And could he have been offside more often?

Xavi: 6 Ah, little Xavi, midfield maestro capering about in a meaningless match, solely out there to feed a striker in his pichichi effort. You’ve been better, but even not at your best, you’re still pretty damned good.

Hleb: 2 That’s one point for each good pass that he made, including one that Eto’o should have done a lot more with. The sequence in which he got the ball in the box, with just a one-touch shot needed to score a goal, and the resultant, goggle-eyed cockup epitomizes a season that I’m sure he wants to see far, far in his rear-view mirror.

Krkic: 7 Once again, our best player on the pitch, all energy and effervesence. There was a little too much Henry in the weak shots he was scuffing toward the keeper, but that’s something to work on in the off-season. His passing is improving by leaps and bounds, as he seems to be understanding the role he will have to play to make a consistent part of this side.

Eto’o: 4 Samu, Samu. Thankfully you shook off your lethargy for about 40 glorious minutes on Wednesday. Not so good to have you back, sir, as you move late to balls, stone-foot others and are generally lethargic. Then it all comes together and you spank a lovely goal. Dude! But what’s up with the way you’re looking at your love child, here?

Substitutes

Botia: 6 Hell, yeah! Not bad at all during his first shot with the A Team. “When I came on, I had goosebumps,” Botia said. “Playing with this squad, with these players is a joy for me.” He added some stability as he replaced a gimpy Pique (who is out for three weeks with a torn thigh adductor, the injury we should call The Iniesta).

Abraham: 6 Dynamic, good with the ball, guilty of a bit of excess exuberance. Created a real chance, as well.

And that’s it, everyone, the last review of what has been a magical, glorious season in which this blog has come together like no space I have ever seen before. It’s a true penya, a proud and strong group that I am so thrilled to be a part of. Thanks to everyone for questioning, analyzing, amplifying and not being afraid to tell Isaiah or I that you think we suck, when applicable.

The players are disbanding for the summer, but we shouldn’t. Guardiola wants a bigger squad and new players. That means buying, selling, rumors and gossip. I’d say that we don’t truck in that stuff, but it does give us much to have fun with, doesn’t it? So stay tuned. We’re going to be more active than a Txiki in a transfer market. Upcoming posts will include a season wrap-up, moments that made a championship, whom we should buy/sell and almost certainly some new voices providing content. Hope everyone else is as excited as I am.

P.S. Phil Schoen almost made me throw a shoe at the screen when he started getting on Valdes for the same old crap, in pimping for Pinto getting a look as first-choice keeper. VV is Zamora, and we wouldn’t have won shit on a stick without him. Argh!