Sporting Gijon 1-Barca 6, a.k.a. “A night in the box”

By: Kevin | September 21st, 2008

SPF 45. Blows by you like a cool Caribbean breeze, lasts all day, to make sure that it stays put for long-lasting effect.

No, this isn’t a real ad for Andres Iniesta, but it could be. He was man of today’s match by a long shot, just as he was my man of the match against Sporting Lisbon. He is mining an excellent vein of form right now that is making him essentially unplayable. His play is also giving us the width on the left that has been so necessary.

Now, people are probably thinking “Yeah, it was just Gijon. Do that against a real side.” I won’t argue with those people, but I will point to a series of exceedingly positive signs:

–Ball pressure. It was almost constant and unrelenting. We wanted the ball, and were prepared to do anything to get it. Everywhere the ball went, we had two players there.

–Attacking the box. Movement, passing and attacks are what score goals. Even if a ball bounces off someone, if you have players in the box, good things happen.

–Energy. Lots of it, for the bulk of the match. There were a couple of lulls, but the players got right back into it, because of….

–Guardiola. He was up coaching, ranting and yelling more than 80 minutes deep into what was at that moment a 5-1 scoreline. Why? Because he knows the value of finishing a match well and having that carry over into the next.

This match was a time bomb that frankly, I didn’t have a good feeling about. Maybe some of that was from watching the dog-ass Chicago Bears snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for a second week in a row, but I fired up the DVR with trepidation. Last season, this would have been a draw. Gijon would have made some attacks, we would have made some attacks. We get a goal, they get a goal, we shrug our shoulders and go home.

This year, we got elbows deep in that ass. This was one of the best examples of team football that I have seen in a long time from the lads, and it warmed my heart, because we have the talent to do that against any team on the planet.

We rolled out a very safe starting XI: Valdes, Alves, Marquez, Puyol, Abidal, Busquets, Keita, Iniesta, Xavi, Eto’o, Messi.

There were only two new faces in the side, Keita and Busquets. But the players played like a completely different group. The announcers were idiots, the ref seemed to be in the way a lot, and the Gijon players decided at some point that jersey grabbing and fouls were legitimate defense.

And give Gijon credit for not parking the bus in front of goal and trying to get out with a dignified draw. They came out to play. Also give their crazy fans credit, who are probably still singing and beating drums. They are a plucky side. They won’t stay up, but long will be remembered the day they got a goal on the mighty FC Barcelona.

Now, things started out a little slowly for everyone except Iniesta. My notes say “Possession is 9/10ths of the law, but put the damn ball in the net.” Twelve (count ‘em) first-half corners pointed to the intense pressure that began once the lads woke up and decided it was time to stop mucking about.

And what you saw on the players’ faces after that first goal was more relief than joy. A big, giant monkey was lifted off their backs. And the glancing header from Xavi was pretty comprehensive sweetness. He’s scoring more, as he’s finally figured out, whether with Guardiola’s help or not, that he is most effective in and around the box, rather than farting around out near midfield, playing setup man.

It’s about time those balls started going in. Even in the first two league matches, there were chances galore, with as much bad luck as chances. Hitting the woodwork, keepers standing on their heads, all kinds of madness. Today was redemption.

And with that, player ratings:

Valdes: 7. Wasn’t called on a lot, but he made the fire happen when called upon. That charge out of the nets to snuff out the one-on-one was very impressive. Body be damned, stop that ball!

Marquez: 6. Again, strong match. I wonder what the hell he and Puyol were thinking about on that goal as the ball wafted in and both just kind of seemed to not know what to do. But strong tackles and good outlet passes were his calling card. I’d still rather have seen Pique in there, because that ball would never have reached the attacker. You can’t coach height.

Puyol: 4. Yes, he gave the deflection that set up a goal, but crikey! He touched the ball three times and had: bad control and subsequent pass, then not just one, but two giveaways. Against a better side, we pay for those errors. He gets caught out of position, and it’s chaos behind him as he tries to get back, and his rushing back leaves his back line mates not knowing what to do. Yes, he works hard. Yes, he made some good plays. Nobody can take that away from him. And no matter what, he’s always El Capitan. But my sad prediction is that this is his last season in the automatic starting XI. And I hate to say it. One more thing: If Abidal has a match like this, people are chartering a plane to Barcelona, and a hit man.

Abidal: 8. Our best defender. In addition to being a stable, solid passing safety valve, he snuffed out attack after attack by either running the ball down, or dashing over to head it away. He didn’t make a bad pass the entire match. Gijon tried going over the top of him a couple of times, to no avail. This might be my highest rating ever for Abidal, and he deserved it.

Alves: 5. Came down a little bit from the Sporting Lisbon match, and he’s looking like he’s going to be a defensive liability. I counted 2 or 3 nutmegs, and Gijon were making every serious attack against his side of the pitch. Making a strong offensive force play defense is always the rule, in any sport. We have to solve that problem, and I don’t mean tomorrow.

Busquets: 7. Wow. He isn’t as flashy and dominating as Yaya, but so far, he’s every bit as effective, freeing up Keita to raise hell on offense. Pass after pass, giving up his body, doing the right thing with the ball almost every time. How did we suddenly get so deep at DM? Last season we had Yaya, Edmilson and a jar of hope and prayer. And just think….he’s only going to get better.

Keita: 5. Kind of there. Not ineffective, but certainly not as effective as he’s been in the past, nor as effective as he will be. He does take up space in the box, and is always a pressure presence on set pieces, which causes panic. And man, does he need shooting practice. If he keeps launching those Sputniks from long range, they could contribute to global climate change.

Xavi: 8. Exquisite. The principal value of the Euro championships has been its demonstration to Xavi that yes, he can take over a match. He’s been a for-real stud for us, with new attacking verve. And he is the smartest player on the pitch with the ball. He rarely goes for the dazzling pass, but he always completes them. I could watch him all day.

Iniesta: 10. That’s right, a 10. First one of the season, and if he keeps having matches like this one, it won’t be the last. Movement, energy, passing brilliance and great balance and footwork. He always has his head up (unlike one diminutive Argentine), and is always ready to deliver the killer ball. Because of our new attitude, there’s always somebody on the end of it, too. For a while in the second half, he was playing defense like crazy, making tackles and breaking up attacks, too. He was a complete player and the most critical reason for the on-pitch excellence today.

Eto’o: 6. He sometimes develops a case of Rooney-itis where, like the Manchester United striker, he is doing things that you don’t need your striker to do. I love his energy, I love that he wants to be everywhere on the pitch, but running around after opposition attackers steals energy from what he should be doing: scoring goals such as the one he tossed in today. A couple of times, he also didn’t make supporting runs as he should have, to take advantage of the chaos sown by Messi. In his defense, maybe if Messi passes more, guys start to think that those runs are going to be rewarded. Very fine match, and his work rate was off the chart. I love how he pressures opposing keepers, often forcing them into bad passes. Oh, and I know that some strikers do the “rock the baby” thing after a goal, but using the ball as a tummy? That’s a new one. He’s having fun again, which is a great, great sign.

Messi: 7. Two goals, strong match. I still want to see him passing more. On two occasions, he kept his head down and went dribbling right into every defender on the damn pitch. He’s a time bomb that scatters defenders and makes them unsure of what to do. Develop passing to match his dribbling and shooting, and he is far and away the best player on the planet. His second goal was a brilliant finish that he made look a lot easier than it was. He is thisclose to being an absolutely dominant player. Guardiola might be the one to bring it out of him. His energy and overall joy of play are infectious. He, like Xavi and Puyol, elevate the side. Is his new nickname “Red Card?”

Substitutes.

Krkic: 6. Very solid, lots of energy, a great setup on a goal, as well. He still seems directionless at times, as if he’s just running around hoping something good will happen. But he made the most of his time on the pitch.

Gudjohnsen: 4. I’ll be brief. He’s not a player for La Liga, or our side. He wasn’t as awful as he often is, but he wasn’t very good, either.

Caceres: Incomplete. He came in late, but by then we were playing keepaway. Oh. Those weren’t blue tights he was rocking. It was just high socks, coupled with low-riding shorts.