Barca 6-Valencia 0 or “Like unto a peacock.”

By: Kevin | May 4th, 2008

That’s right. Just like a peacock. You heard me. Beautiful plumage, lovely to look at, and what does it mean? Is there satisfaction in having beaten Valencia, the team that took our most realistic chance at silver this season, like a gong? Dunno, but note the “celebration” after Thierry Henry’s second goal, then ask the question again.

Wait. I’ll answer. No.

This match shows the value of attacking versatility. Note that with every serious attack, it was a jailbreak running at Hildebrand. If Messi has the ball, and Henry, Eto’o and Xavi (or Iniesta) are running into the box, even with nine men back it’s tough to cover everyone. More options mean more space mean better passes. That’s what happened today, too freakin’ late to mean anything at all.

Now, that’s not to say that this wasn’t a cool match to watch for so many reasons. But to begin with, the starting lineup: Valdes, Puyol, Thuram (yay!), Abidal, Zambrotta, Marquez, Xavi, Deco, Messi, Eto’o, Henry. Or as I call it, “The Professionals.”

Was this a bit of nostalgia from Rijkaard, giving the vets a last run-out before they are gift-wrapped and shipped off to various places? Dunno, but it sure had that feeling. As one of the match commentators said, there are so many questions coming into the off-season, and that we should “expect this Barcelona squad to answer them with their professionalism in this match.”

And so they did.

Messi was a bright, shining deity who, I think, was reading the comparisons to Ronaldinho and deciding that he would show us. Taking on three defenders, that amazing toe poke that tested Hildebrand, the passes that found teammates and the amazing control. Spectacular. He let it be known, right away, that he was there to play, taking on three Valencia defenders with a lion-like run directly at them. He scored the penalty and I’m sure that you all, like me, were thinking “Okay, here’s where we fall apart.”

But there was something different about this Barca side. Note the purpose to almost every pass, the chasing down on defense, the pressure on Valencia players, the incessant need for the ball, dammit, we want the ball! This was serious stuff. And the purpose in the last third of the pitch was very different, with multiple runners at the goal, so that the attacking player had options.

And look at the attacks and goals. First Messi, then the pass from Henry to Eto’o back to Henry. Last week Eto’o would have tried to beat all four defenders to take the shot himself (as he did in the second half). This time, he laced a fine pass back to Henry. Xavi drills one. The two from Krkic (who also showed why the team should sell Eto’o and not look back) and that second, majestic goal from Henry. That ball must have bent about 90 degrees in the air. Hildebrand was completely fooled, and he’s a really good keeper. Note as well, who the first player was that Krkic hugged after his first goal. It wasn’t only because Henry did the work to prise the ball loose, then set up the attack. There’s something special between those two that almost single-handedly argues for Henry’s continued place on the side next season.

Other players tried to make arguments for their continued place in the side as well. Others seemed resigned to leaving, and just not getting hurt. Henry, with his passes, pace and movement, showed why he should be blaugrana next season. Too bad Thuram has decided to move on, because today was the precise kind of match in which he excels. He and Puyol were shutting down counters all by their lonesome with great position defense.

But make no mistake, we were greatly helped by a Valencia team that didn’t have a ton of interest in this match once they got down 2-0. So we laid on a month’s worth of goals in 90 minutes, for pretty much nothing, unless Villarreal lose. And they didn’t, so we’re just as third place as we were before the day started. Even more so, still four points back with three matches left.

And where was all this movement, this aggression, this purpose all season? It’s easy to play well when nothing is on the line, to ruffle and display the feathers in fine style. Last Wednesday nobody was making those same runs or passing with the same purpose, except for Messi. If we play with the same style and effort against Man U, we’re wondering about the visa complexities of getting to Moscow, and Chelsea is saying “Uh, oh….”

Instead, we’ll be saluting the Evil Empire on Wednesday, before kicking the shit out of them.

And could there have been a more disgusting note when, having stopped the DVR recording of this match to return to live TV, there was Ray Hudson having modifier-drenched orgasms over the Evil Empire, and how great they are. Does he forget that had we played with an ounce of common sense, things would be very different? Yes, they won The Championship Nobody Wanted. And congratulations to them. But still….

And now, player ratings:

Valdes: 4. Didn’t do much, didn’t have to. He almost screwed up the save on that blistering shot from David Villa, though. Whew! If that shot goes in, we see a very different match.
Puyol: 10. Lord, I love this man. He was Messi on defense, omnipresent, with one of those telepathic games he has where he knows the flight of every ball, the planned move of every opposing attacker. He was astounding. Yes, it’s his second 10 of the season, and well-earned.
Thuram: 8. A solid, exquisite professional. Recall the one attack he broke up, then hurdled a player to clear the lines. It’s too bad we couldn’t have gotten our hands on him before he was in ebb tide. What a pro.
Zambrotta: 4. Played reasonably well, but his habit of serving up hospital balls is getting distressing. You can’t serve your best player to the wolves as he did Messi.
Abidal: 6. Man, he’s getting better and better. NOW we’re all starting to see why we signed him. Great pace, and suddenly he’s unruffled when he has the ball. Good foot skills, too, and a nice rapport with Henry.
Marquez: 3. Pretty much invisible. When he tried to insert himself into the match, it didn’t work. Pack your shit, Kaiser. Lucky for you Valencia didn’t make us miss Yaya at all.
Xavi: 7. A very strong match from Xavi. Unspectacular except for the goal, but if you watched him, he was hardly ever in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ve had bad things to say about him and certainly will again, but man, he is a true professional.
Deco: 5. A lot of good, just as much bad. For every great pass, there was a giveaway or bit of petulance. But damn, the great passes were unreal. The ball to Krkic, the long ball to Messi in the first half. It might almost be worth keeping him around to see how he plays healthy, with a replacement ready if we have to sell him in the winter transfer season. I would argue that we missed a healthy Deco more than that partying Brazilian dude.
Messi: 10. Yes, his first of the season. Has he been better this year? He was everywhere, tracking back on defense, lacing passes, making runs, batting for possession. Don’t worry, everyone. Chelsea would have to offer ownership of the entire club to prise Messi away from us, and even then we’d probably say “Um….that’s okay. But thanks for the offer.” Nobody on the side has a better first touch.
Henry: 8. Yee fuggin’ ha! This is what I’m talking about. He had passes, moves, aggression, defense and style that made it clear why we signed him. But his very subdued reaction to what was a spectacular goal said volumes. Unfortunately, I think he’s outta here. But man, what a goal. He also showed that his whining about being “out of position” is so much festering bullshit. Just move and play, ya wuss.
Eto’o: 3. Lots of running around, a nice rallying point for the team when the ball got bounced off his head. But he consistently flailed, held the ball too long and was too selfish. The announcer noted that a cross (from Henry?) was a bit too long for Eto’o, but he was late with the run. If he’s paying full attention and moves with the strike, he has a free header. I’m done with him.

Substitutes:

Krkic: 7. Tell me the Kid didn’t show why Eto’o is expendable. Note, if you still have the match on a DVR, that when Deco hits the pass, Krkic is watching him, and moves at the footstrike of Deco. It’s a perfect play, and a perfect goal. Same with the Gudjohnsen pass. Granted, not many strikers in the world wouldn’t have buried that one, but the Kid’s movement creates space with its slickness and precision. Yes, Valencia were waving the white flag at that point, but still.
Gudjohnsen: 5. Made one great pass to Krkic, then slipped on the cloak of invisibility. There’s a seat on the plane outta town already reserved for you, sucka.
Edmilson: incomplete. I could have sworn that I saw him come onto the pitch.