I have to admit that I didn’t expect much from today’s game, but the worst thing was the performance of some players who did not play in the Champions League game against Manchester. One would have expected that some players would have given their all in the hope of earning themselves a place in the team at Old Trafford. However, what began as an uninspiring first half ended with a diabolical second half where we saw the worst Barça of a pretty disappointing season.
Frank Rijkaard rested many players for the game including Victor Valdés which meant a long awaited debut for Juan Manuel Pinto in goal. In the first half Pinto looked nervous every time he was involved but Barça rode their luck to reach half time without conceding a goal. Deportivo missed two great consecutive chances in the 26th minute after Pinto, who may have been fouled, dropped a cross from the left, a shot came in which Xisco from close range deflected onto the bar and as the ball came out another shot came in which Juan Rodriguez failed to turn into an open goal.
Depor had other chances but at least Barça also had theirs. Bojan sent in Gudjohnsen in the 13th minute but despite a good first control Gudjohnsen shot wide under pressure from Coloccini. In the 32nd minute Bojan played a one-two with Toure and let fly from outside the area forcing Aouate into a good diving save. Then puyol sent Henry into the area and he cut the ball back to Bojan who took too long in deciding what to do and in the end his shot was closed down by Coloccini.
Just before half time Giovani was clobbered by Aouate when jumping for a cross from the right and play continued as the Mexican lay on the floor, the referee, Delgado Ferreiro, inexplicably allowed play to continue for 30 seconds before decidind to blow his whistle. Carles Puyol quite correctly showed his anger at the referee for putting a player at risk, and Giovani was stretchered off at half time. I often find that games are stopped too quickly when a player goes down injured, but when it is a possible injury to the head, neck or back it really is the referee’s responsibility to stop play. In this case I feel the ref should be suspended for his failure to act quickly. Fortunately Giovani was able to continue in the second half.
Whatever the case the performance from Barça in the second half might have made one think the entire team was suffering from concussion. In 45 minutes Barça managed only one poor shot from Deco which went way over. Depor scored twice but could easily have got more. In the 54th minute Manuel Pablo found Lafita inside the area, Puyol failed to stop him crossing and the ball found Rodriguez six yards out to stab the ball under Pinto as Marquez and Thuram failed to react.
Barça surrendered completely and the forwards did not have a sniff of goal. Then in the 76th minute a free kick from the left found Pablo Amo unmarked at the far post to head past Pinto for Depor’s second. Poor defending at free kicks has been a constant worry for Barça this season but this was just about the worst example. Depor came close to making it three in the dying minutes but Sylvinho managed to get back to clear Christian’s effort off the line.
The only players who spared themselves from the pathetic display were those that had played on Wednesday. Puyol, Zambrotta and Toure all showed a decent spirit. Others, however, did little to improve their chances of starting at Old Trafford. One might have expected a fighting performance from Thierry Henry but he once again demonstrated that he is not willing to chase defenders, while others such as Gudjohnsen and Marquez at times seem to have forgotten how to play. We can only hope that the players who were rested for Old Trafford will not be infected but such a poor performance.
Barça: Pinto 5, Zambrotta 6 (m68 Edmilson, 5.5) Thuram 5.5, Puyol 6, Sylvinho 5, Marquez 4.5, Toure 6 (m56 Deco 4), Gudjohnsen 4; Giovani 5 (m76 Ezquerro, 5.5), Bojan 4.5, Henry 4.
Goals: m54 Rodriguez 1-0, m76 Pablo Amo 2-0
Barça Yellow Cards: m62 Sylvinho, m84 Marquez, m87 Edmilson, m88 Deco.
25 responses so far ↓
El // Apr 26, 2008 at 21:54
No comments.. Really don’t know what to say after this comedy performance, it seemed to me that they have forgotten that they are players of a grand club such as Barcelona! shame on you.
P.S I hate Henry starting from today.
GolesTV // Apr 26, 2008 at 21:55
Goals of the match
http://www.golestv.com/982/2_deportivo_VS_barcelona_0
BARCA 4 LYF // Apr 26, 2008 at 21:56
SHIT PERFORMANCE!!!
robert // Apr 26, 2008 at 21:59
hahahaha thats all i can say rafa what have u become after i had so much trust in you…..
Taras // Apr 26, 2008 at 22:00
That was shitty performance. I remember Rijkaard saying “we will never give up”. Now look at tonight’s starting line up. That means he gave up. When will this damn season end?
Hilal // Apr 26, 2008 at 22:03
Unsurprisingly pathetic, what a disgusting display of football all over the pitch. I feel ashamed. So much for gaining a bit of confidence ahead of the game on Tuesday. This is what I mean when i say the players are playing for themselves and not for their manager. Obviously we cannot win the league, but Rijkaard should still be able to motivate the players enough that they want to play the game. It looked like they were only out there cos they had to be. They didn’t really seem to care about winning the game, conceding a goal or losing points.
Nolan // Apr 26, 2008 at 22:07
The sooner we get rid of Henry, the better.
Saud // Apr 26, 2008 at 22:27
well, not know what too say,, im really warried about next match against Man U,, it gonna the season match,, “to be or not to be” u know that many players wasnt playing this night,, but this is not a excuse of losing,, HENRY….. Uhmm i dont think that he’s really bad i think no body suppored him,, i think he should play the next game in the champions
Shahenshah // Apr 26, 2008 at 23:54
Forgive me for being honest here but its not very surprising we didnt win that game. Iniesta, Messi and Eto’o were absent so basically Barcelona had no attack. Hell Xavi wasnt even playing either. I see the other fellow in the three man midfield with Toure and Gudjohnsen and wondered why the hell is Xavi alot taller? And why is he playing all the way back? It was then I realized Xavi is not playing at all. It was Marquez.
Rijkaard was basically playing a 5-1-4.
Marquez played horrendously today. Both the goals were caused due to mistakes by him with the second one being totally his fault. How do you think Pablo was so open? Marquez basically saw him right beside him and said “hey buddy why dont I just push you away from everyone so you can be completely open?”. He didnt even try chasing Pablo, just pushed him and raised his hands up for an offside call. Absolutely stupid. Thankfully Puyol is playing in his place.
I was under the impression Henry was going to work his ass off today but he still sulked around like he lost his lollipop.
Toure was amazing in the first half. Granted he cant really run around alot but even then he still controls the ball with ease. Made absolutely sure that barcelona held on to posession.
After watching the performances from forwards I think the front three will still be Iniesta-Eto’o-Messi
Joe Henry // Apr 26, 2008 at 23:58
I didn’t see the second half but getting ride of Henry would be a mistake. He was a star in Arsenal he just needs time to fit in. I did not always like Eto’o. But today a game without Eto’o is a game without Barca. GIVE IT TIME ! It’s hard for a star of his own team to be nothing in another team. As for the team performance which I’m sure was a joke in the second half. Expected 100%. Frank Said Congrats to Madrid a week ago. what did you think, if the manager lost hope how could the players gain. If we should go out of the CL next Wednesday. Laporta should fire Frank the next morning if not the same night.
layi // Apr 27, 2008 at 0:22
Nic : you said ”but the worst thing was the performance of some players who did not play in the Champions League game against Manchester”
thats d supposed work of the manger to instill a certain mentality in the team from the best player to the worst….this is a lack of total discipline…i dont want to belief our philosophy lacks total discipline cos this is not our philosophy…even after conceding, there was no fight, willingness or eagerness to try and equalise…they were just passing the ball around till they lost it…and the supposed manager continued lookin at them…i just hope eto, messi, xavi, iniesta didnt watch the match b4 it spoils their spirit
bobkat // Apr 27, 2008 at 2:14
completely expected result, sadly. the lowest point of this match was henry. how useless he has shown himself to be, how little passion, how little drive. he wasn’t even willing to fight for a spot on tuesday (god forbid frank selects him). also i would have liked to see oleguer start instead of zambo, ezquerro start instead of bojan, and edmilson instead of toure. both toure and zambo had run a lot against united and deserved rest, bojan is always an injury liability at this stage of his career and we were never going to win this game … as for never giving up, the league was over two weeks ago for us, the staff and players have to be realistic and put effort into endeavors that mean the most for the team. a tired zambo/toure does not bode well for tuesday in my opinion.
NateW // Apr 27, 2008 at 3:55
Shahenshah i agree .. marquez was back defending and gudjohnsen was all the way up .. prob trying to get a goal and maybee get some playing time in england on tuesday.
there was no one in midfield today .. i guess that is why they couldn’t create anything purposeful.
i can’t remember well but was rijkaard always so quiet on the sidelines ? in alot of games they show managers up trying to get something going with their team .. most of the time rijkaard is on the bench .. or u see him whisper something in a players ear .. maybee the team’s “attitude” stems from him?
layi // Apr 27, 2008 at 4:06
it is not maybe, natew, it definitely steps up from him
NateW // Apr 27, 2008 at 4:36
but the way laporta supports him, i was thinking more of the team’s dysfunction rested on players like deco, ronaldinho and abidal ..
BorisHenry // Apr 27, 2008 at 7:08
I agree with this http://www.goal.com/en/Partita.aspx?IdPartita=15905
BorisHenry // Apr 27, 2008 at 7:09
Thierry Henry will play better VS Manchester
Joe Henry // Apr 27, 2008 at 7:13
A Dream come true or our worst nightmare ! http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=674116. Please come to Barca
John // Apr 27, 2008 at 7:51
To see how far the club has fallen in the last 2 years was made plain for all to see…. This was a disgrace! A shameful gutless display! The players, the managers should hold their heads in shame! everything that has made us so poor was on show last night…
Forget Old Trafford… and the champions league… it is merely diverting attention from the real issue as to how far the club has fallen. Laporta can still claim that the season is a success as long as we are in the Champions League.
Perhaps the best medicine for the club would two good maulings at the hands of Man Utd and Mardrid in the next ten days to finally show the scale of the teams demise! It will be painful to watch… but perhaps in the longer run it maybe better for Barca! Rijkaard and and the boards lack of leadership has become the main problem…. two seasons ago how far were we in front of Madrid? ten points..? last years the same number of points as them, this season over ten points behind……… This is what Barca has become! the players are not interesterd look at how they played last night compared to the game against Man Utd. A whole sale clear out is required and Jose…. but Laporta will not do that as he not got the guts!
We need leadership, we need hard work, we need teamwork, we need passion, we need aggression, we need organisation, we need tactical flexibility, we need a desire to win, above all we need professionalism all sadly lacking under Rijkaard and Laporta.
Jay // Apr 27, 2008 at 10:15
Shahenshah is right.
The defeat wasn’t unexpected. Only Bojan wanted something out of the match. La Liga is now definitely lost.
And Thierry Henry. For the time being, all I’d say is that he should NOT start against Man United despite all his experience. Bojan should start, if Rijkaard wants Iniesta in midfield.
blaugranaboy // Apr 27, 2008 at 10:27
i dont have to say much, everyone has got it spot in. it was disgusting. ive never seen more of a lack of effort. attackign was a joke. and henry, well since im his longest critic, its been said, he was a disgrace. i dont recall hating a player at barca more in my life. what a miserable, embarrassing match. i expected to lose, but really, this was inexcusable.
Jay // Apr 27, 2008 at 12:34
I’d say that it is the fault of the team in general. Lack of passion. You can’t blame it on Rijkaard because winning this match and losing against Man United is what is actually unacceptable.
layi // Apr 27, 2008 at 23:19
did nybody see casillas tonite
Morzzan // Apr 28, 2008 at 15:49
Yeah, Casillas was brilliant today!!! Penalty saved, some amazing diving saves, he was awesome……
Hilal // Apr 28, 2008 at 15:58
He is always awesome. Its nice to see we can spot a good keeper (Pinto anyone!?!?!?)
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