Mallorca 2 Barça 1
Sunday, 17 May 09, 11:58 AM · Comments (18)
Samuel Eto'o missed a penalty with the last kick of the game which meant that Barça 2-1 lost tonight at Mallorca. Having won the league last night Pep Guardiola fielded a weakened team, so perhaps a defeat was to be expected. However, Barça had plenty of chances to win the game, nearly all of them for Eto'o, but it was not the Cameroonian's day. He took his first chance well to put Barça ahead after ten minutes but second half goals from Arengo and Cleber Santana turned the game in Mallorca's favour.
As neither team had anything to play for it was to be expected that the intensity of the game was not high. Barça seemed concerned with simply trying to help Eto'o, who was captain today, in his effort to finish the season as top scorer. In the tenth minute Gudjohnsen and Sylvinho combined well on the left, Gudjohnsen played the ball back to Bojan who spotted Eto'o and sent in a perfectly weighted cross which Eto'o headed over Moya and the ball went in off the crossbar for Eto'o's 29th league goal of the season.
Hleb had a chance to add another a minute later but his shot was weak, then in the 15th minute Pedro nearly found Eto'o at the far post but Josemi just got a touch to send the ball for a corner. Barça were dominating and Mallorca were getting nowhere, in the 20th minute Gudjohnsen sent a superb throughball to Eto'o but as he got close to the area his final touch was not good allowing Moya the chance to come out and close the angle. Eto'o had another chance in the 28th minute after a great run and pass from Dani Alves, Eto'o went into the area onn the left and fired a powerful shot that hit Moya in the face and as the ball came back to Eto'o a defender managed to dive in to block Eto'o's attempt from the rebound. Mallorca didn't have a shot until the 34th minute which went well over, and then two minutes later they forced the first save for our young goalkeeper Oier Olazabal. The first half finished with another chance each for Hleb and Eto'o but Moyawas in the right place on both occasions.
Eto'o had two more chances in the first fifteen minutes of the second half but our attack began to look too obvious as every time we were looking for Eto'o. The game seemed to be falling asleep until Mallorca decided to wake up with twenty minutes to go. First Ayoze sent in an awkward shot that bounced just in front of Oier, the keeper failed to hold the ball and was fortunate to get in the way of Arengo's effort with the rebound.
Two minuteslater Arengo made up for his error firing in a free kick from the right which Oier should have done more to keep out. Mallorca sensed blood, in the 77th minute they took a short corner on the left and when the cross came over nobody was picking up Santana who headed out of reach of Oier's despairing dive.
The game came to life as Barça searched for an equalizer, Alves and Jeffren both forcedsaves from Moya and then in the 90th minute Hleb sent over a good cross from the left and Eto'o rose magnificently above Moya at the near post but his flicked header came out off the crossbar. It was not to be Eto'o's day, in the 93rd minute Jeffren crossed from the right and Eto'o was fouled as he went for the ball. The ref blew for a penalty, up stepped Eto'o but he fluffed his best chance of the day shooting against the base of the post from twelve yards.
No doubt the main talking point today will be Eto'o's misses, after the recent debate on this blog about Eto'o, his detractors will have more arguments after today's performance. He had up to nine goal chances today and only managed to take one but that does not take away from him the fact that he has now scored 29 league goals this season. There were some positives to be taken today: first there were chances for Oier, Xavi Torres, Jeffren and Thiago Alcantara to make their league debuts, Jeffren was particularly impressive in the ten minutes that he played. There were also good performances from young forwards Bojan and Pedro though it was a shame that none of the chances came their way. Also at the back Martin Caceres will have done his options of playing in Rome with a strong performance in the centre of defence.
Barça: Oier 5.5; Alves 6.5, Caceres 7.5, Abidal 7, Sylvinho 6.5; Hleb 6, Xavi Torres 6, Gudjohnsen 6.5 (Thiago m74, 6); Pedro 6.5 (Jeffren m83, 6.5), Eto'o 4.5, Bojan 7.
Goals: m10 Eto'o 0-1, m73 Arengo 1-1, m77 Santana 2-1
Barça yellow cards: m45 Bojan, m75 Xavi Torres
Like this blog? Help spread the word: 
18 Comments · Add yours
what a game....with so many young stars...we lost the game though ..its fine to give them some match experiences....
but abidal....i think he forgot defending......i also din like the keeper...there was only one shot at our goal...which he failed to grip ..luckily it was safe then. he saved one well though.the freekick was extremely good....but i din like keeper's reflection on any of the two goals...
Eto was not given rest so that he can get some moral booster by scoring some...that worked in a worst manner....now he will feel responsible for the loss....he would better be given rest......he din get any benifit from the match other than making the tally 29 at the cost 5/6 miss....so i m afraid of his performance in CL final when we will not have plenty of chances.....
Hope he will be get back his form soon....
It's a pity we could'nt of won this game but with so many young players on the pitch it was'nt too bad of a performance although none of them really impressed me that much. I thought Hleb played pretty well along with Bojan, I think the team are putting too much emphasis on trying to find Etoo everytime and this is putting pressure on him to finish but some of his attempts were poor by his standards, he does a lot better when he can just pop up and score from a quick pass in the box with a one touch finish. I'm sure he'll be able to step up in the CL final and make the most of his chances because hopefully he'll have Henry, Iniesta and Messi cutting the MU defence to pieces for him.
) where their weakness is so obvious. Every time a team plays Barca they know that if they put some high balls into the box they will create at least two or three clear cut chances. I know it was not our strongest back line tonight but the marking for Mallorcas second goal was none existant.
I really hope that all this talk of Ribery, Villa and Silva are put on the back burner untill after he sign some top class defenders. That's the one are on the pitch we need to strengthen, I can't believe that a team like Barca have such an obvious weakness for everybody to see. Maybe I'm wrong but can anyone think of any other major team barring Real ( can they be called a major team
I've read a few articles lately saying that Barca are trying to sign Vidic, hopefully this is true because he is one of the best defenders in Europe and he would deffinitely shore up our defence.
The result of this match did'nt matter and I really should'nt criticise since we are champions but I suppose there is nothing wrong with constructive criticism
Barca Barca BARCAAAAA!!!
I'm really impressed by the youngsters. I can't say I'm impressed by the way they where playing. They where playing just like it was a training match . But I think that the 19 year old goalkeeper got some talent, I really think he could be a good asset in the future. Eto'o should really do better. I mean where going to the Champions League Final Next week I expected better !
This very poor ability in defending free kicks and crooses has really become a pain in the arse, even with the presence of tall players like Pique and Busquets we still seem so hopeless ............ Lyon ,Valencia ,Madrid, Bilbao and tonight against Mallorca...... OMG sometimes it seems like we dont know the basics about stoping a dead ball from going in...... Pep has to make this issue his major concern for next seasen,I know we are the best in the world when it comes to maintain possession and score but on the other hand we are just as good as a serie B team when it comes to high balls and set pics .....I would not be surprised if we lose the final in Rome thanks to poor set pics defending,and believe me our weakest link is just United's strongest one .
and ya ........ I know it is not the right time to start bashing players ,but I hope all Etoo's die hard fans on this blog had a chance to watch the game .
Barça forever and ever .
ya....i strongly believe MAN U can defeat us only set pieces.....the defense should be of highest concern when issue of buy and sell comes next season.....a team of this standard deserve more better quality in defense.
Right, wasn't Sam's day...
At least the match showed where the team needs improvement, so Pep can work on it during summer.
there isnt a heck of a lot to get from this game. frankly from the youngsters, none of them seem to have IT, that special x factor u get from very special players. when xavi, iniesta, and messi first took the pitch u could see there was greatness in them, with these guys u def dont. oier is a big lad and u could tell he was nervous so with him there is def so hope, and pedro is quick and can dribble but he will soon be on a path like sergio garcia or so, he isnt our quality. strange how the talk is always ASSULIN, ASSUNLIN, and he never plays, very odd.
on the main guys, i thought HLEB tried damn hard at first, but you can see he is very disheartened being here. either guardiola needs to convince him he is sitll important and just needed a yr to adapt, or its time to sell him on to germany.
ETOO, well, i wont say a word wrong, but tonight was def counter productive for him. he was selfish, the players were only passing him to him even if a better option existed, and all his misses are gonna anger him. its just bad timing. i mean he even conned his way into a pk, but i knew he would miss it.
lastly, CACERES. i think he can be summed up in one action of the game. mallorca (aduriz i think) had a bit of a break away on the left, caceres raced back, showed excellent speed and strength to get him off the ball, but then slipped or something and gave it away. thats him. young, fast, strong, agile, but composure lacks and will make the mistake. id still strongly consider putting him RB on the 27th, i worry every day yaya is going to be made CB (which i think will happen).
@ blaugranaboy
mate obviously none of them have "IT" otherwise they would be in the first team. Everyone you mentioned there is older than Bojan and he made the team? clearly they not ready...
however i will say that there is plenty of potential to develop and to become ready. they certainly cannot be labeled as players who arent of our quality...like sergio garcia? pfft...these lads will be used...
i think barca will be a lot more careful regarding who they let go from the cantera now...pique (who we obviously got back...thankfully) and fabregas are recent examples...some of the boys who played today will have to go but most will stay i reckon...
dissapointing to loose...but guess it didnt really matter...however any record of real madrids is a record i want to beat and 107 is looking unlikely now!
Come on you guys give them a break. Its there first real chance to prove how good they are in an official game for Barca. They where definitely nervous and I don't blame them. All of them got some amazing talent. Bojan just got luck and scored a goal in his first appearance with the first team ( when Ahly Vs Barca ) Give them all a chance I'm sure one day we will be saying otherwise about most of them. For me I really think that Young goalkeeper has a bright future ahead of him ! Also Pedro is a good player he just needs to know when to pass the ball. I think I saw all of them play well but each on there own. If they learn to play with each other like our stars do I think all of them could be the stars of tomorrow !
since henry went out we cant even buy a victory look what happened against chelsea we struggled and what about the villareal match? and also this 1!! my pray to god he comes back in time for the cl final because i dont know which messi or etoo will show up.
Pep must find the right balance and the right persons who will be at the back four...b'cos rite now,their defence looks awful,shaky and imbalance considering the first choice defenders injured or suspended for the cl final against manutd...neway..Im going for barca bcos they play attractive football
wow, i didnt think my comment would get any reply at all. i support youth development more than anybody around, i find it a huge source of pride and im always dissing my english team supporting friends and tell them they are just money bought teams now and without money would crumble. my favorite players, and usually our best players, are all cantera based. but that doesnt mean im going to blindly and with bias support every thing that comes through the system. i wasnt giving them a hard time, just pointing out a reality in football.
firstly, pique and fabregas were not let go. spain and italy have a rule that players under 16 cannot be signed to profesional contracts (a law now being changed because of the theft by english team), so pique and cesc were taken at 15 and we could do nothing about it basically. they made personal decisions and thought their future was best served elsewhere.
but yes, most those players will never have a big time barca career, just like sergio garcia. they may stick around a few yrs more and play a few games here and there but then will be forced to realize they will never be good enough to play at the level expected. bojan made it up because of his records, when busquets played his first game you could see he had something a bit above the rest. guardiola, xavi, inista, and messi even more so, fabregas too on his arsenal debut with his big fat mullet. it was just obvious genius was within them. nerves or not. (i mean nerves are natural, but what level of nerves is it to play vs mallorca in a match that means nothing)
if anything jeffren has shown potential, and assulin on the reports, but for the most part dont lie to yourself and say u saw anything special in v. sanchez or x.torres. come on, marc crosas who was better rated than any of these guys couldnt even get in and now starts for celtic.
my comments werent mean or critical, im just pointing out realities. im not asking them to be sold or anything
The only lad who showed ability tonight was Jeffren, I admired the guy since the preseasen and he reminds me a lot of the mexican Giovani.......but hopefully he wont end up like him .
The other one is Víctor Vázquez,he has speed and talent and also not a bad dribbler,unfortunately he missed the whole seasen thanks to injury .
I believe the two are the only ones who can join the first team in the next few seasens , the others are just too average for Barça .
ya....this is i a good point of discussion..at least better than talking about eto failure right now.....
I agree with blaugrana boy, they are young and nervous but to be honest there is definitely no special one.because in 90 minutes game u must showup some of that quaity even in ur first game...so in that sense nothing special. but i some of them might turn up next or next next season. because there is some hardworking guys at least like pedro who might not be sold right rather giving some chances in the first team.surprisingly most of them are very old.
for the defense...it clearly says our win (CL final)lies on our front and mid.....this is very hard to expect anything from defense with the quality we showing up....the second goal i saw again and again....everyone waa just like standing on the field no charging....and i don know whta abidal was doing that time. Caceres showed he can run fast but once the wing reach in the box he slipped/missed everytime though there was no good dribbler at all in mallorca....i would better go for sylvino...it wil be horrible to use caceres in our defense...if he plays toure have to cover him every time....and u know ManU is greta in crossing...more than 2 platyers there are as good as alves for perect crossing....
I really think you shouldn't be so harsh on our youngsters on the evidence of just one game. For many reasons. They played in a totally unsettled team, a mix of players of the first team who had little playing time this year and youngsters coming from the B team, with players being played out of position, that really made things difficult for everybody. They played against a team of able pros and were still looking good before the last 25 min. They would even have been lauded a lot if Eto'o had burried some of his chances, so you could argue it's because the most experienced player of the bunch had a bad game that the youngsters get criticized. Finally, I remember in my first days as a Barça fan, I was cursing the coach when I saw that Puyol was playing, as he really wasn't very impressive in his first days and made lots and lots of errors. Even Xavi was not so influential on the game... I didn't realise in these days that this was an investment, and how much I regret these thoughts nowadays these two have become Greats of the game and I'm so happy to see them wear the "camiseta". In the same way, some people criticized Sergio Busquets for his display in the game against Chelsea. If I agree he wasn't so good (if far from terrible IMO), it's excellent for him to have played in such a game with so much pressure at such a young age, it will only make him a better player and maybe, and only maybe for now, he will go on and became one the all time great for our side!
One thing is sure, not all the youngsters from yesterday's game will have their place in the first team as Barça really needs the best quality, but to say that him or him will not do it now is far too early.
And finally: isn't it feeling so delicious to be champions? Many thanks to all the team for this fantastic season!
Well said Fredegar,
I agree with everything you've said. I have to admit it was sa joy watching the kids yesterday. Although we didn
't win, I saw a lot of good thinks that I liked.I think that the potential is great for Jeffren, Victor and Xavi Torres, especially Xavi Torres and Jeffren. I hope that Jeffren is included in the CL squad, that is if he is already in the pool of players already submitted to UEFA.
I like a "mad" and "upset" but "cool" and "collected" Eto'o. That is how he felt when the season started and we all know what he has accomplished this season. And, unlike Ibrahimovic, he steps up when it counts. I will take my chances in the Champions' League on Eto'o.
Thiago will make it here as will gai. the reason gai hasnt played is because he doesnt have his spanish passport ((he'll get it soon), and we have all our non eu slots filled. he will get to play from pre season, by which time he'll have his papers. jefferen seemed the closest thing we have to a pure out and out winger. ie. beat his bean, and whip in a cross and hug the byline. the rest of our wingers cut in, so its nice to have someone different. furthermore id like to point out, these guys made their debuts with other non regulars and b teamers. but still created many chances for eto'o. if 1 or 2 of thm had made their debut's with the 1st team regulars, theyd probably have shined more, lets not forget the likes of leo, iniesta xavi and co. all made their debuts with regulars.
I didn't expect any of the youngsters to really sparkle in one of their rare starts. However I am wondering if Pep made the right choice by playing Abidal and Alves and not trying out our makeshift CL defence and giving them some playing time to try to gel together before the BIG match. There's only the Osasuna match before that and whatever back four is going to play in the final need some match practice to be able to withstand Man U. Perhaps Pep didn't want to risk injuries/fatigue to the backline.
Speaking about the youngsters is it me or do Barca's youth team seem to be lacking a physical,powerfully built conventional striker. Pedro,Jeffren and Bojan all (like the overhyped Dos Santos)seem to be pretty similar. Xavi Torres looked alright and maybe the young goalie could be given more chances next season.
Caceres seemed to be doing alright until he slipped and I wonder if he'll be able to break into the side next season with Milito,Marquez and Henrique all coming back in addition to Captain Courageous aka Puyol and the promising Pique.Perhaps he can work as a wingback because we are lacking in quality backup on both the wings and there are rumours of Abidal leaving though if that does happen it'd be interesting to see who is signed as a replacement.