Barca 1, Getafe 1, a.k.a. “Vindication.”

By: Kevin | November 23rd, 2008

This was a very, very frustrating match. The early shots of the very concerned faces of Marquez and Iniesta, sitting in the stands, said a lot. It was clear from the beginning that this was going to be a messy one.

But first, have a look at our man of the match, Dani Alves. And not just because of the amazing ball that resulted in our only goal. He worked like a dog the whole match, retaining possession, fouling when he had to, and generally excelling all over the pitch. This was, frankly, an easy one to call.

He is really beginning to answer his critics.

Also, I know that Henry detractors are going to continue because it’s the easy way, but how can anyone doubt his value to the side now? He came in, and movement and danger started. We had just as much possession, with about 413,000,000 times more intent. If people weren’t so busy ignoring him out there by himself, we would have had even more. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: His value to the side runs deep, far, far deeper than goals scored. Yes, he’s a goal scorer. But give the man some slack.

And Yaya? Man crush is in full effect. If Busquets supplants anyone, it will be Keita.

Now, I knew this was going to be a draw when I saw the starting lineup: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Sylvinho, Yaya, Keita, Hleb, Xavi, Krkic, Eto’o.

Why?

Who makes the runs? What makes our offense go is the runs that split open a defense. Sometimes they come from Messi, sometimes they come from Iniesta. But without those runs, and players moving into them, it makes the lads much easier to defend. Getafe must have noted the lineup and started thinking of a point, as well.

It was a laconic start, with lots of passing the ball around but little real intent, as if everyone was trying to figure out how to play with each other. An early bad sign was an attack from Getafe that found Puyol outpaced. The alarm bells should have been ringing at that time, and things should have tightened up. They didn’t.

And when Pique slammed a pass directly to a Getafe player, you could see it coming. The Getafe player gets the ball and essentially, their attack is a 1 on 3 situation. Puyol missed a chance to clear, and Pique just sticks a leg out, deflecting the ball right back to the attacker who lines up a shot and beats a leaning Valdes. Just like that it was 0-1, and a loooong road back because Getafe defends like crazy, and with their world-class keeper between the pipes, that it was going to be a long afternoon was abundantly clear.

Our attacks were either stupid or nonexistent. In the former case, with 8 men in the box, those little stabbed balls just aren’t going to get through, because there is nobody available to create the space necessary to open the gaps. So the Getafe lads just stuck the foot out and killed the attack. Or Eto’o would float out into space, with no help at all, thus becoming very easy to defend.

So we got aimless long balls and intercepted passes near the box. Life was looking good for Getafe, who became increasingly defense-minded as the match progressed. They might give up one, but they sure as hell weren’t going to give up two.

But the real problem was movement. Hleb was terrible. Yes, he kept possession and completed the short pass, but he might as well have been a defensive mid for his real contribution to the attack.

Worse was Krkic. I know that some felt bad for the kid, sitting on the bench in tears because of his woeful display out there. I kind of didn’t, I hate to say. I know it makes me heartless, but he was absolutely killing us out there, and made no real effort to do anything different, better or anything except to kill attack after attack.

Yes, you can fault Guardiola for sticking with him too long. It should have been very clear to him as it was to me, that Krkic was just terrible today, not only with play but for the very physical way that Getafe were playing the match. As you watched him get the ball and drift out toward the end line as Henry does, but with dramatically different results, it got to be painful. And the worse he played, the worse he played, finally culminating in missing the goal from about six inches outside it, even though the play was offside. Staggering.

Xavi was also curiously sleepy, in part because he had no support. If Xavi is in there, why is Hleb in there. They’re the same kind of player. So the first half ended rather drably, no runs, no through balls, no real chances on goal except for an exceptional effort from Eto’o that slammed off the crossbar.

It was to be that kind of a day.

The second half started a bit more brightly, still with lots of possession for us, but slightly more intent. The same problems were there, with attackers being stranded in the box without assistance, then came the subs that changed the match: Henry came in for Krkic, and Pedro was in for Hleb.

And suddenly there was movement. The left wing became a viable attacking option, and Pedro brought energy and movement. Passing lanes opened up, and the bulk of the match began to be played in the Getafe end. From then on, the goal was just a matter of time, after chances began to present themselves: a Puyol header just missed, a few wrong bounces of the ball found Barca players on the wrong side of things.

Then it happened. After another attack was broken up, Yaya worked the ball….okay, he gangstered the ball from a Getafe player, fed Xavi who fed Alves, who lofted a ball into the box that was a thing of beauty. All Keita had to do was stick his head out. He did, and suddenly it was 1-1, and we were rampant.

Attack after attack battered their defense, as Pique’s header was just saved off the line by Abbondanzieri. And Getafe began subbing, falling down, getting cramps, wasting time. Gudjohnsen came in for Sylvinho and made a very nice difference. I will go to sleep tonight wishing his chip had been better, for what surely would have been 2-1, but it was just over the head of Eto’o.

But we tried. We tried right up until the very end, to keep from dropping two points. To no avail. Hats off to Getafe. They took the one chance that they had. A more on-form Valdes probably makes that save, but he should never have had to. They defended with vigor and passion, and even if some say they got help from the officiating, the lads should have won that match. Sometimes the bounces go your way and sometimes they don’t, but I was figuring that this match, before Big December, would be a potential slip-up.

I’m bummed that I was right.

I know that a lot of people were clamoring for Messi. He was available, but his insertion would have been a mistake. A draw is okay right now. We’re still two points up on second place, and with a head-to-head month, better to have the difference maker for the real matches. Getafe got lucky, and we were guilty of looking ahead. That’s life in the big city.

And now….

Valdes: 4. He was off today, caught leaning the wrong way on the goal, and dropping a pass that with a more committed attack from Getafe, would have been a second goal for sure.

Alves: 8. Strong defense, stronger offense. He really is shaping into the player that we signed. What I don’t like is his sideline plays. Twice, once off Krkic and one with Yaya, he did a little interplay thing that resulted in a stolen ball. he has to realize that not everybody is Brazilian, with the attendant ball skills.

Pique: 5. He came back from his awful, awful mistake with some very strong defensive play, including a full-length slide to stop a Getafe attack. But he’s lazy. Or laid-back. Whichever it is, he has to stop doing things such as letting an attacker get to a ball that he has a clear path to, because he’d rather let it roll out of bounds rather than playing it. He dribbles too much, and doesn’t seem to know how to make the attack-starting pass out of the back. Too often he gets the ball at a critical time, and one good ball could open up the defense. Today, he never made that pass.

Puyol: 6. He gave his heart and soul out there, even diving face-first at an attacking player’s boot to take the foul. Wow. He was a little off today, but made up for it with effort. He got caught out a few times with pace or positioning as well. I wish he hadn’t missed the clearance effort on the lone Getafe goal. Again, a sharper Capitan makes that stop.

Sylvinho: 3. Mostly terrible, except for a couple of good plays. Whether it’s age or lack of playing time, he really seems off song this year. A left back has to be a priority for January or the summer. We’ve been lucky with Abidal’s health. That luck has run out and exposed a real weakness.

Yaya: 7. Awesome match, stealing ball after ball, making pass after pass, even making runs when nobody else would in the first half. How anyone could think that Busquets could displace such a player is beyond me. His work and work rate enabled the goal.

Keita: 4. Scoring the goal doesn’t absolve him of general mediocrity. He was horrific in the first half, but better in the second. But as an offensive-minded DM, he has to show better. He can’t seem to retain possession of the ball, or make the necessary movements to make himself a viable part of the attack. That has to change.

Hleb: 1. Simply put, a waste of space. He’s only had one good showing this season. I’m starting to wonder if those Arsenal fans weren’t right about him, and how sorry we’d be for the signing.

Xavi: 5. Quiet match from our engine, with solid distribution and good energy, but he wasn’t his usual decisive self. He seems to need a strong, movement-based player out there, which was why he began to look better when Henry and Pedro came in.

Krkic: 1. He absolutely killed us today. Between slowing play down, missing shots and being way too late moving for passes, he was just awful. He was crying on the bench and frankly, he should have been.

Eto’o: 6. Invisible for long periods. When he showed up, he was full of energy and intent. But he would consistently go one dribble too far and again, he didn’t seem to be able to control the ball with his usual style. This was helped by being, too often, the lone attacking option, which makes him very, very easy to defend.

Substitutes

Henry: 7. Came in and right away began making a difference with his energy, pace and possession control

Pedro: 6. Captain Chaos was in the house. He’s going to develop into a fine attacking mid//winger. Very good ball skills, and constantly made himself available for the pass that kept attacks moving.

Gudjohnsen: 6. Strong play and good possession football. Good at making the most of an opportunity.

Guardiola: 5. Good subs, but waited WAY too long to make them.