Barca 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1, a.k.a. “Them kids ain’t half bad.”

By: Kevin | July 24th, 2009

Yes, like the cat that swallowed the canary, goeth the face of The Yaya, who said “My, my, but these kids aren’t quite with my grownup program. Let me showeth the way.”

And off he went, from deep midfield, on a run that would be Messi-like, were our little Argentine the size of Jupiter. Instead, it was just Yaya-like, shambling, fleet-footed, Tottenham players saying “I ain’t getting in front of that” until in the box he was, falling prey to a last-ditch foot stab that shook the ball loose for one Bojan Krkic, who turned the trick.

And dare I say it, the goal was positively Eto’o-like with its movement, opportunism and clinical finishing. Krkic leapt into the arms of The Yaya, and it was like a man holding a doll. And that was that, really.

Yes, Spurs grabbed a late equalizer off a center that really, Pinto should have cleared easily, but he looked a little sluggish. And that back line was a mess, running around like a fire drill with all the exits barred.

But the simple reality was that our kids outplayed a Top 10 Premiership side, that seemed to take things quite a bit more seriously that we did.

No points for this one, which should make Martin Caceres and the Monument rather happy, since the latter seemed to be plagued with a color-blindness that mistook blaugrana stripes for white, and the other still didn’t seem to know what to do with the ball, or where it was going. It’s a tune we’ve sung before, and I really can’t see it helping us move him to a new club. Gack.

The starting XI looked like this:

——————————–”What? You still here?” Jorquera———————————-
Abidal————-Fontas————————————Caceres————-Montoya——
Gudjohnsen———————–VicSan———————The Yaya——————-Pedro!-
—————————-Krkic——————————–Assulin————————-

But let’s talk about the kids, shall we?

Pedro!! gets an extra exclamation point, because he is ready, people. I’d say full-on promotion, with more regular playing time. That move he pulled off to force the save was a Messi/Iniesta combo platter. What close control and what a quick shot.

Assulin came and went in spurts, but seemed to be trying too hard. Had a few flashes, and his pace with the ball is pretty astounding. Great first touch, as well.

VicSan So, the midfield is his place. D-oh! Why didn’t we think of that. Now you can kind of see why Hleb is stuffed in the bag with a pile of Euros, headed for Milan. Some more showings like today, and he gets promoted, as well.

Fontas is a strong back line player for the future. You know that sense for where the ball is going that Monument doesn’t have? Fontas does.

Muniesa makes the Caceres deal make sense. Between he, Botia and Fontas, we’re set on the back line for a looong time. Caceres can go to Italy, and my guess is Juventus have a purchase option if they want. Muniesa is a strong positional defender with good pace. Love. 17, eh?

Jonathan Dos Santos was rather Xavi-like in his simple, direct game. Keep the ball moving, don’t screw around. He’s going to be a good one.

Rocina gets lots of love from Baby Kxevin. His aggression and constant effort were a continual delight. He seemed to live in the box.

EsplandinorsomesuchIprobablymesseditup came in fits and starts, but he’s also one for the future.

Henrique He needs time, but the skills are there.

Note in every player, the system. Keeping the ball moving, and moving to meet the ball. They seemed to lose interest when Tottenham started fouling, almost as if it wasn’t fun any more.

As for the starters, were I to be awarding a Man of the Match in pre-season, it would the The Yaya, all day and all night. And damn, Abidal is fast. He looks healthy again, which is good to see.

Oh, yeah. Pinto should have cleared that ball. Very slow off the line. In October, he isn’t that slow off the line. No worries.

I am so excited about our future. So. Excited.

And oh, yeah. “Hey coach! This one’s cute. Can I keep him?”