Mallorca 2, Barca 1, a.k.a. “Give the young’uns some.”

By: Kevin | May 17th, 2009

This one won’t take long. It was a meaningless match that was mostly played like one. Guardiola took the opportunity to rest every potential Champions League starter except for the man you see here, Samuel Eto’o.

This picture sums things up quite well for some. As we all know, Eto’o missed about 4 gilt-edged chances to knock in goals against the side that he has said he wants to retire with, Mallorca. Some suggest that those chances went begging because of his tortured soul, and a body that just couldn’t score against his beloved.

I’m calling bullshit on that one.

The starting lineup was pretty crazy: Oier, Alves, Caceres, Abidal, Sylvinho, Xavi (but the other one, Torres), Hleb, Gudjohnsen, Pedro!!!, Krkic, Eto’o.

Obviously, Guardiola wants Eto’o to go pichichi, and figured that this would be an excellent opportunity, as the match would be as wide open as day. And it was. So 10 minutes in, when Eto’o knocked in a header (a bit lucky?) off an excellent pass from Krkic, we all thought that it was off to the races, right?

Wrong. We squandered chances, missed passes, and generally played like a makeshift side of substitutes and B teamers.

Which was what we were. 2-1 isn’t a bad result against a team that was playing for real. Anyone who doubts that Mallorca would not have been in for a right smart clubbing had our real starting XI rolled out, is kidding themselves.

There were bright spots, such as the energetic, aggressive play of Krkic, who is saying every time he steps onto the pitch, “Don’t loan me or sell me. I got something fo’ yo’ ass.” He might never be a straight-up “9,” but he’s probably going to make one hell of a winger/secondary striker, and I don’t mean years from now.

Eto’o was right there time and time again, only to be let down by his touch or finishing. He even missed a penalty that could have tied the match, striking the post and saving the keeper who guessed right, but moved a bit too late.

When Mallorca started pressing, it was only a matter of time, as we didn’t really have midfield control, which makes our back line so vulnerable. The tying goal came off one hell of a free kick, after Abidal gave up a foul in a dangerous position. Not sure if Valdes or Casillas would have stopped that one. Maybe they would have set the wall differently, or shaded in that direction. But simple reality is that Oier wasn’t going to stop that one. The B Boys don’t see kicks like that one. He’s probably still wondering where the hell that one came from.

The second goal was a bit lucky, a directed strike at an angle off the back of the attacker’s head. Hell of a goal to make it 2-1. Was the marking a little funky? Sure. But if it takes a goal such as that one to beat you, hats off.

Some would even argue that justice was served, that the penalty really shouldn’t have been. I agree that the penalty shouldn’t have been, but Eto’o still should have converted it.

But that’s life for a side that is playing out the string and doesn’t really have that much to play for, except a few statistics.

Team: 4 Not surprisingly, it was a mess, with guys all over the place, passes either too hard or too soft, no support at key times and a general “Hey, who are you” kind of feel.

Guardiola: 5 Rolled the dice and came up snake eyes. Got some pitch time for people such as Sylvinho and Caceres, who might figure in the Champions League final. Nice gray suit.

Oier Olazabal: 5 He made one hell of a save, but dropped a lot of balls. A work in progress.

Alves: 7 A defensive demon today, though his offense is still suffering. Perhaps he isn’t to blame this time out, with nobody really to play with.

Caceres: 5 Some good, and some bad. He has the pace to make up for positional flaws, but he definitely has positional flaws that lead to attackers getting into places they shouldn’t be. Then he has to take a risk with a tackle or stop.

Abidal: 6 Very solid until Mallorca got serious about trying to score, then he showed why he’s a left back. Silly foul to give up that led to the tying free kick, and was scrambling about in general. He gets a look of panic in his eyes that I don’t like when he’s stressed, because it usually leads to him doing something unfortunate.

Sylvinho: 6 He was Sylvinho. Very solid and calm, smart with the ball and his positioning on the pitch. Man, I like him so much, even if he isn’t anything approaching the man he once was.

Xavi Torres: 5 Not the real Xavi. He was also a foul machine, which was to be expected, given the pace and movement differences in the top flight. But he shows much promise.

Hleb: 3 Once Isaiah and I asked, “Is Hleb still on?” Then we saw him milling about at the bottom of the telly screen. This should have been a match where he took off like a rocket. But I’m afraid he might be too damaged at this point, which bums me out. A few bright moments do not a good match make.

Gudjohnsen: 5 Good Monument today. He keeps the ball and facilitates ball control. Now, he lacks ultimate pace and doesn’t have that knack that great players have for being where the ball is but all in all, a very solid effort sullied by some “bear with the car keys” moments.

Krkic: 8 I like, I like! His passing and movement were exceptional. He was the best player for us on the pitch today. His confidence seems to be returning. He’s not as fast as he is very, very quick. He’s much better in space than in the confines of the box, as we saw today.

Pedro!!!: 6 Really nice effort, but he needs to learn to be more decisive with the ball, as he was during pre-season and during his star turn against Juventus, again during pre-season. I like his attacks, and he plays better with a better surrounding cast. Takes chances with passes, which can be good and bad.

Eto’o: 1 The goal was lucky, more a result of the pass, and after that he was just terrible at his main job, that of striker. Here’s a question: If you do 90% of a job, should you get credit for that portion? Let’s say you’re building a chair. You get the back, the seat and three of the legs right, but that fourth leg just won’t stay on. That was Eto’o. He got into the positions, made the moves, took the passes, but either stone-footed it or shot it right at the keeper. If he chips or bends a shot it’s in and done. But he doesn’t/didn’t, and that’s life.

Substitutes

Thiago (for Gudjohnsen): incomplete Welcome to the future, everyone, in which you might see Assulin passing to Thiago, as the side rushes up the pitch.

Jeffren (for Pedro): incomplete I liked seeing him, but he didn’t really have much effect.

I’m brewing up a post on player fairness regarding the matter of Eto’o, from some thoughts that have been kicking around in my head. Expect it in a day or two.

And that’s what I know.