Copa Del Rey: Barça 2 Atletico Madrid 1 (5-2 on aggregate)
Wednesday, 14 January 09, 02:44 PM · Comments (36)
Once again Barça came back from behind to win. Goals from Bojan Krkic and Eidur Gudjohnsen replied to Sinama Pongolle's early goal to give us a 2-1 win on the night and a 5-2 win overall taking us into the quarter finals where we will play local rivals Espanyol over the next two weeks. As expecterd Pep Guardiola made a lot of changes to the team that beat Osasuna on Sunday with only Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets repeating in the starting line up.
The early play all came from Barça and we had the ball in the net in the sixth minute but Rafa Marquez was given offside after following up on Busquets' header. Hleb was looking good on the right with the tireless Alves in support, and in the 20th minute Hleb robbed the ball in attack and squared to Bojan who perhaps took a moment too long before shooting powerfully straight at the goalkeeper.
Atletico took the lead in the 23rd minute when Pinto failed to meet Simao's free kick and Sinama-Pongolle nipped in to head home into the empty net. This was the third goal in three games that we have conceded from a dead ball situation, I hope Guardiola has taken note of this as we need to work to improve this situation.
Fortunately, we bounced straight back when Sylvinho's excellent cross from the left allowed Bojan to get in front of the defence to head firmly past Coupet. However, we almost went behind again after two poor mistakes from Caceres: the first time Kun Agüero was so surprised to be gifted the ball that he messed up his control, and four minutes later Caceres missed the ball allowing Simao a run at goal, his shot was half stopped by Pinto and Marquez got back in time to clear off the line.
Alves once again gave a splendid display of attack and defence, just before half time he steamed forward to receive Gudjohnsen's pass in front of the astonished Hleb, before shooting at Coupet from an angle, and then a minute later he was chasing down Agüero to win the ball back in defence.
Early in the second half Caceres made up for his earlier mistakes with a fine tackle to prevent Agüero a clear run at goal. Bojan then missed from close in after Hleb's cross found him free at the far post. Our control in the second half was much better and Atletico drifted out of the game as they began to realise that the tie was lost. Leo Messi came on with 18 minutes to go and rewarded the crowd with a couple of moments which brought roars of approval. However, the best moment of the game was Iniesta's run to set up the second goal. Iniesta had not had one of his best games, but in the 76th minute he dribbled in from the left past three defenders before pulling the ball back to Busquets whose shot was blocked but Gudjohnsen was on hand to fire home the rebound.
In the last minute Sinama had the ball in the net again but this time he was given offside. A goal would have given me a correct prediction but I prefer to take the win which is our fourth in four games in 2009 and extends the winning run to six games in total.
Barça: Pinto 6, Alves 8 (Abidal m83, --), Marquez 6.5 (Puyol m66, 6.5), Caceres 5.5, Sylvinho 7; Busquets 7.5, Toure 7.5, Gudjohnsen 6.5; Hleb 7 (Messi m72, 7), Bojan 6.5, Iniesta 6.5.
Goals: m23 Sinama Pongolle 0-1, m29 Bojan 1-1, m76 Gudjohnsen
Barça yellows: m64 Toure
Attendance: 46,482
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36 Comments · Add yours
what a pleasure listening to the culés at camp nou. it says it all. we are feeling kind of a euphoria, and i have to admit it's pretty damn hard not to do go with the flow.
what a game from Yaya once again. he is simply brilliant.
I can't remember the last time I was this upset after a win but I hope I will get through this without blowing my top.
1)The Martin Caceres Issue:
I have been called ridiculous, even comical for arguing the obvious on his positional assignment during our Xmas break exchanges (Layi,FCB Holland,Blaugranaboy,Hilal) and I think that my point from those exchanges was proven today in a horrific display as a Center Back. To be honest, I think had Diego Forlan been playing for Atletico Madrid today, they could have easily been up 3-1 by half-time. Caceres truly showed his reactional deficiencies and obvious flaws in reading the game coming out of the middle. He was uncertain, lacked confidence, tottered under assault and defended poorly in the air. He was outmatched and showed his inadequacy as a CB for all to see. So, I am going to blow my own horn:I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I do not believe that anyone who saw today's game and the one from last week can be honest and argue for the opposing view on him. Caceres is a right/Left back not a centerback and Pep might have realized it today, which brings me to me second point.
2)Pep's coaching:Genius or just good coach(I will refrain from using the word lucky)!!!?
Today's game has left me with mixed feelings, just as I stated last week:
a) Pep is doing a disservice to Caceres and the team by playing him as a Center Back. while I understand a coaches desire to please his players, he should fail to LEAD them to the right place. In this case, it would be to have a "reality check" one on one with the player and clearly explain to him that find playing time, he would have to compete for it in his NATURAL POSITION: that of R/L back. If the player refuses to comply then he should no longer count on him in the future since doing so would be to the detriment of the team and the player.
It is to the detriment of the player because his confidence as a professional will decline, the team's confidence in the player in that misassigned position will also falter thus the team dynamic will effectively be affected negatively.In addition, the player will be hard to sell or will be sold at bargain, which always ends up being a loss to the club. We can realize Caceres' true potential but only if we play him in his nabtural position.This could have been a great pitfall for Barcelona today and I am forced to further question Pep's logic on our defensive situation. Call me a traditionalist on this one but for those of you who have read my post in the beginning of the season, I called for patience with the coach and asked the we not REQUEST a STARTING eleven.WEll, I think that we've FORMED as a team,we've STORMED as a team and we are EXECUTING as a team now.Thus we should settle on a starting line. I am willing to be flexible on this issue and insist on this issue only for the defense. I hate to see subs wasted on defenders. Some will argue that they are just like any other player on the pitch but I disagree and I am forced to look back to all that I know of football and my playing days (college, international,etc.). I am insisting on this issue because this could end up being fatal, especially in the champions' league. I am not arguing against all and any defensive changes.Remember, when a mismatch is observed, well it should be solutioned by switching players around or making a sub.
b)I will go back to the center back issue again because I saw Marquez being substituted today for tactical reason (well he was injured!). I remember also, arguing about his age and propensity for injury and getting very surprised looks from some. Again, I was right about his status and propensity for that type of thing. This leads me to one and only one point:WE NEED A NEW CENTERBACK!!!Some will say that I am bit too quick to panic but I am simply stating the obvious.
I meant he shoult NOT fail to LEAD!!!
thank god we won...well, it was kinda ugly, but win is a win...I felt really bad for Caceres...i hope he doesn't loose his confidence...Bojan is still lookin shaky...I hope he rediscovers his true form soon...Hleb looked good in the first half, but in the second he was invisible...Marquez was a rock...Busquets and Toure were very good...Iniesta was kinda disappointin, but he more than made up for it with that tremendous run...Guddy was good...and finally, Leo made his presence felt even tho he was there for barely 15 mins...
Viva Barca..
omg...forgive me for the sin that i committed..how could i forget abt the indefatigable Alves?? damn..He was super solid down the right...I m amazed at the stamina this guy has...At one moment he is on the offensive box, and just a moment later, he would be back at the defense...damn...I wish I had that kind of stamina...I'd say he has been the top 3 player for us this season along with Messi and Xavi...He is the best signing we have made since Ronaldinho...and I hope he stays with us for years to come...
Mav, I agree on Dani Alves, even the commentator said that at this rythm he should seriously be considered for player of the year!!!
thank God we still won is all i can say, the players lacked rhythm and precision despite the fans urging them on...
i felt gudjohnsen was poor(wonder why i'm the only one that feels that way), iniesta might still need to gain more match fitness, alves-monster, caceres, marquez and sylvinho- all good. toure wasn't his usual adventurous self which is understandable, busquets keeps improving and bojan had a very good game, just needs to be deadlier.
i also feel with the way teams defend against us, hleb would find it very hard to be effective from that position since he has different xteristics from messi. it might be good to give him more tries in the center or he can always tilt a lot towards the center.
diatus, i keep wondering how come you are the only person that knows caceres natural position. . . . you've TOTALLY become POSSESSIVE in this caceres issue, so i won't contend with you, another person can pick it up.
we can only wait and see how it all plays out
And my bets were wrong again
At least I won $ on the multi bet I put down
No, com'on man talk to me, why so short? we can disagree but we have to be honest when the other party is right and concede.After all the reasons I have given and the evidence before us ...this is all you have to say Layi...I am disappointed.I thought you would be a bit more forthcoming since you objected quite strongly to my views at the time.
stop betting
unless you confirm your scores with me!!!!!!
Gambling is bad for you Darren!!!
diatus, replying all your points would just imply re-posting what i've posted before. if u don't get that, there's not much i can say again to convince you.
but can you tell me how you know he's not a natural centerback
Only like $10-$20 a weekend game guys.
I put a multibet on today on 5 games. Barca, Man Utd, Valencia, Betis, Chelsea to win. Put down $15 & got over $100 back
I'll be happy to listen to any predicted scores for the clash against Deportivo...I'm 0/2!
Nic - you should reserve a spot in your blog for me to recieve advice on the scores
ok...i see your point but am i still not making any sense at ALL to youon this issue? no, seriously, if you think so then i will just not push this any further. we can move on to something else. I guess I am just looking for someone to respect that point of view that I had and for someone to acknowledge that I was right. I will not answer that ridiculous question you are posing now (how come you are the only one who knows his natural position?)...that's ridiculous considering that you were the one went as far out as putting up A VIDEO LINK TRYING TO DISPROVE my argument! Man up and acknowledge the fact that this one you and Blaugranaboy LOST!!!
is that what this is about???? u just want me to admit you were always right even if you are not????
i'm sorry, in MY opinion you were always wrong and still VERY WRONG.
thats MY opinion
good night
Chillout guys, cmon.
Let's celebrate another win - regardless of who plays where, our record so far this season is amazing!
haha...bad losers!!!
i agree Darren but the "prophets" on here know very little about football yet they don't even have the honesty to acknowledge their mistakes even in the face of defeat!
At least, I accept it when I am wrong. The best they can do is to be short and say good night. WOOOWW amazing to see such intellectual dishonesty!!!
hurm...caceres is good..he just needs time..give him time...then we shall talk about him..!
diatus -
i agree with you: caceres did not have a great game.
what disturbs me is how pleased you are with yourself about this fact. i've never seen someone celebrate a player on our team having a bad day quite this hard.
you could learn something from watching fc barcelona "win" games — they do so humbly. you should take note.
Caceres is way too weak to play CB for a team like Barca, however he plays LB for his national team and could possibly play as backup for Abidal there, or maybe for Dani Alves as i dont think Barca have a 2nd RB (besides Puyol maybe) which is why Alves has played the most minutes of any outfield player. I've been trying to follow Henrique at Leverkusen and he's been very solid at CB which pleases me alot and I hope Barca do bring him back end of season. I dislike Hleb though and I'm still perturbed that Barca turned down van der Vaart in favour of Hleb but I guess they knew what they were doing
Patrice,
I watched Henrique for the first time this week. I'm impressed with his tackling; he seems to be hard to beat in one on one situations . He played LB,CB and even RB. He is tall , good ball header and technically ok. Let's hope we get him back soon either at LB or CB !!
i'm a bit on the fence about Cáceres. he obviously lacked confidence throughout the game and made some defensive blows, that wouldn't even belong in segunda division.
but on the other hand he had as many magnificent tackles...? am i totally wrong on this one?
fcb-California
Pleased? No, I said in my introductory line that "I can't remember the last time I was this upset after a win". Please? no trust me I am not pleased at all.
You probabbly missed the background to this argument over Xmas break. I was ridiculed very badly for suggesting that the lad be placed on the right or left intead of at CB. This is a continuation of that argument not a celebration of anything. People get on here and pretend to know everything and anything about our team and seize every opportunity to attack every point of view without really thinking about it. So I am not happy just vindicated!!!
Frede,
you are not wrong about this. I think that the guy is great as a footballer. He was fantastic at huelva as a right back and he would have to compete for his playing time in the flanks. He is simply not a Center Back!!!
No your not wrong Frede. While i can see some of the points Diatus is trying to make I still think Caceres has a lot of potential and he will be a good defender for us in the future, both as a centre back and a full back. Most of the mistakes he made yesterday were positioning/awareness and passing errors. These are due to inexperience and not enough time to adapt to our style of play. I think sometime people forget how hard it is to be a defender for Barcelona. Our attack starts with the defenders, that means they are not only under pressure to defend but to pass the ball out of defence and to do so effectively. This is something Pique also struggles a little bit with but of course he has a much better understanding of this since he is a product of our youth system. Caceres is very new and he has barely played, he will need time to adapt to our very unique style of play. It is quite clear that he has the raw talent and the pace to be a great defender one day so lets all just be a little patient. Its not like he starts every game and he is a such a big risk. Also he was marking one of the best attacking players in the world yesterday, he did half decent considering.
Hilal,
I hope you're right my friend.I think that I am starting to come across as a Caceres "hater" and that couldn't be further from the truth, so I hereby pledge to not say another word about this issue until at the earliest April or May. Again, I think the guy has great potential!!!
Like every good fan Diatus you are passionate about your team and you have stong opinions....both good things
Last year i was an Abidal hater....this year I am a convert and i have to say i am very happy with him. We all have our point of views and I can certainly respect yours. I too think Caceres is more suited to the full back position but i see potential for a future CB in the lad as well. Clearly Pep has a plan for the guy, whether or not that is a CB or a LB/RB we do not know right now. What i do know is that so far everytime I have doubted Mr Guardiola, whether it be rotations, substitutions or starting lineups, he has proved me wrong. SO I am going to trust that he knows what he is doing and where he wants this guy to play eventually. Was it worth the risk playing him as a CB last night? It certainly was considering we ended up winning, and even if we didnt win we probably still would have gone through. It gave him a tremendous amount of experience being played against the likes of Aguero.
Mostly i am happy that we are all quibbling over the 4rth choice centrebacks since there is nothing else to quibble about
Btw is it just me or does Alves literally get better each and every game he plays. He is unreal sometimes. Boy am i glad we spent the big bucks on him!!
wow, i cannot believe the center back discussion is back. i dont get coverage of the game was i cannot comment on it fairly. i must say im unhappy to read caceres seemed to have another poor game, because that really is not encouraging for the money we spent. i always thought it was risky, but the future can only tell.
diatus, im not going to try and get emotions flowing again, but i was not wrong about caceres. i never said he was better at center back or worse at it. all i said was that HE personally in an interview said it was his prefered position, and i said that pep has used him there more often than on the sides. thats all i said. i never ever debated his talents and where they should be best used. i simply argued he was another center back, in my response to the quantity argument.
personally, i agree with u and believe caceres would make a better right back overall. he isnt too big, not very strong, and seems to lack the awareness and concentration needed. his agility and speed would probably be best used on the sides.
so no i didnt lose any argument, certainly not about caceres anyway.
I think as Barça fans , we are getting too spoiled ! The club advanced with a 5-2 aggregate despite playing FOUR starters in the first game and THREE starters in the second game with some late substitutions. I agree it was NOT vintage Barça but good enough to get us through to the next round. We still have to compete in La Liga and the CL too.True,the defence is not great and can be improved. I just hope we can keep things in perspective. Many clubs could only dream of emulating some of Barça's performances this year !!
@ blaugranaboy.
It sux not being able to watch the copa matches.
I hate Supersport, they can show all other cup competitions but they cannot show the Copa Del Rey.
Azul Ibarçawin ( hi Barça fans)
but we gotta know that he's still new and he didn't play in most of Barça games this season .He still need more time and more mns in the playground to get enough selfesteem.
congrats for an other qualification that was really hard .
Caceres was great ;even though he made me upset ; last match .He made two fatal mistakes
We ,Barça fans, gotta be patient and get a supportin spirit toward our fotty players .We gotta know that they are stressed . but I really don't wanna witness wot happened last season again .
I also admit that we got a prob in defence .
Itri
We miss Dutch players in Barça
after long time , Dutch players were loyal to Barça . Now things are upside down . R. Madrid got them and the changed the direction from Barcelona to Madrid. 
Where are u Johan Cruijff ???????????????????????
wow after this remark about Dutch players , i came a cross some news syin that some Barça responsibles are in Holland to have a look at Swares and other players there such as the Moroccan "Elhamdaoui" ..... since dutch players have made a great part of Barça history .
Itri83,
One Dutch player I would like to see come to Barça is Ibrahim Affalay. He is a young midfielder with a great future !!