Wisla Cracow 1, Barca 0, a.k.a. “You left food on your plate, young man!”

By: Kevin | August 27th, 2008

An unfinished meal. That’s what this match was, the away leg of a two-legged tie that saw Barca roll into Wisla’s home with an insurmountable 4-0 lead. And in the first half, they played like it. It’s really difficult to spot guys a 4-0 lead and expect them to play with the same intensity and drive that they did in the acquisition of that lead. The look on Guardiola’s face seemed to acknowledge this very thing. So did the footy on display.

I’m going to be brief with this one, and get right to the ratings, which is where I will do most of my damage. The starting lineup was Valdes, Abidal, Puyol, Pique, Alves, Xavi, Keita, Yaya, Eto’o, Henry. Very impressive starting XI, right? Alves was on, Henry was ready, Yaya was loaded for bear. Everyone else was a step slow. But why not, right? There’s a Liga-opening match this weekend, and short of laying down on the pitch and sending Valdes to the team bus, there’s no way Wisla was going to lay four goals on the lads. So why not play like it?

Wisla’s goal, by the by, came from a corner that should never have been given. It was a simple consequence of laziness. Valdes’ head shaking after the goal spoke volumes. Guys were dithering around with the ball too much, and playing like a side with a 4-0 lead.

After the goal, we pretty much set up shop in Wisla’s end, to no avail. Chance after glorious chance went begging. Pique alone could have had a hat trick. Two headers and a snatched-at shot. Krkic had a great chance, Eto’o had two, Henry had one, Gudjohnsen….well, never mind him.

What did we learn from this match? That the undefeated dreams are over early. Nice to have gotten it out of the way. Spot guys a 4-0 lead and it’s difficult for them to play as if it were 0-0. Henry and Alves are going to be hell raisers this season.

Oh, and Yaya is a deity. I know, right? Duh!

And with that….

Valdes: 7. He couldn’t have done a damned thing about the goal, but he made some great reflex stops, including the point-blank header, and the shot off the excellent Wisla counter. Yes, he could have not played around with the frickin’ ball so much. One way around that is a 1,000 Euro fine for every unnecessary dribble a player takes.

Abidal: 6. The Spanish press and many cules love to hate this dude, and I don’t know why. All he does is run his heart out, and put himself in the right place at the right time about 98% of the time. It’s that 2% that people damn him for, and they shouldn’t. He worked like a dog.

Pique: 5. This was a tough one. He had three great chances, and he should have finished them all. I know he’s a defender, but damn, bro. Make some shit happen, yo! The header off the woodwork was just mistimed. Another header he pushed wide, and I don’t know what the hell he was thinking when he kicked at that ball in front of essentially an open net. Giving the folks in the 20th row a souvenir, perhaps. Strong on defense, great pace, a little too casual at times, but he’s going to be a good one.

Puyol: 5. I see this as El Capitan’s last season in the automatic starting XI. It pains me to say it. You can see the pace diminishment as his ambitions often get the better of him, and he can’t chase back to quash the counters like he could. Hey, it happens. None of us are the men (or women) we once were. You can never fault him for work rate and dogged determination. A solid match for him.

Alves: 6. Once he got over just throwing the ball into the box for the sheer hell of it, man was he dangerous. Pass after pass, corners and free kicks found our players, who proceeded to hose off the chances. He should have been marking Kleber on the goal, but when a guy ghosts in from midfield, that’s a tough one. I like this player a lot.

Iniesta: 4. He played too damn slow in the first half, just flailing around and not being where he should. In the second half he was better, but still running at three defenders and being surprised when he didn’t come out with the ball. Vexing match from SPF 45. Did some great things, including a setup that Eto’o should have finished, sure as I’m pecking away on this keyboard. But ultimately, unimpressive match.

Xavi: 4. High work rate, didn’t do all that much. Seemed kind of not into it, as if his team had a 4-0 lead on aggregate, or something.

Keita: 4. Still a work in progress. Space that he is used to occupying is filled by the likes of Xavi and Eto’o, which is very different than what he was seeing at Sevilla. He’ll have to learn to deal with that, and how to deal with the ball. I recommend DVDs of Yaya as study aids.

Yaya: 8. Not a bad pass, not a bad move the whole match. His exquisite ball from the back to free up Eto’o, was full-on monster. That Eto’o then shot right at the keeper was nobody’s fault. Then he got the ball, made the run and freed up Gudjohnsen directly in front of the keeper. This, however, is tantamount to giving a bear the car keys. “Grrrrraugh! What this? Grrrraugh!” You could see him trying to get the guys fired up in the first half.

Eto’o: 4. A step slow and a little off. He has to finish those chances. That’s why he’s being paid the big bucks. Henry set him up with a lovely cross in the first half, but he punts it off the top of his head. Another shot right at the keeper, another one farted away. If your job is to finish, do that.

Henry: 6. To see the panic that he set off in the Wisla side was almost funny. He would do that drag and run right past the defenders every time. He should have scored that first-half chance, and usually does. Bad miss. But the energy, pace and creativity he brought to his side of the pitch was remarkable. He was getting fouled all day, and only a few of them were called. Very strong match. He looks ready to deliver this season.

Subs:

Gudjohnsen (for Xavi): 4. Gudjohnsen for Xavi is sort of like subbing melted Ex-Lax for hot fudge in an ice cream sundae. Sure, it sort of does the same thing, but whoa! He has a marvelous knack for almost never being where the ball is. So he’s always running around chasing it, wondering why it’s being so uncooperative. And he’s always in motion, and sweating, so people think he’s doing something good. How he cocked up that Yaya setup is beyond me.

Hleb: 3. Didn’t do much. And I have to say that I was defending him against the accusations that he doesn’t shoot. He made me out to be a sucka. Shoot the damn ball, Aleksandr. All it can do is go into the net!

Krkic: 4. Okay. Can somebody explain to me how he messed up that scoring chance? Please?