Soccer Clinic: Barcelona 6 – Red Bulls 2

By: Dave Martinez | August 7th, 2008

From the opening whistle, the Red Bulls looked star struck and tentative. Trotting out a 4-5-1 formation (which you all know I LOVE), I already sensed it would be a long, long night. Within the first few minutes, Danleigh Borman missed a clear shot into the back of the net on a beautiful Van Den Bergh cross – and that confirmed my suspisions.

Here comes the Tsunami.

I can sit here and recount every goal, analyze every second, but lets face it – this was a foregone conclusion. After witnessing the dismantling of Chivas Guadalajara this past weekend, we knew it would be bad. And reading reports out of Spain, Barcelona was making it very clear to anyone that would listen – this US trip would serve as a statement to all teams in La Liga – Barcelona would be roaring back for 2008. They leave the US outscoring opponents 11-4. Thats video game worthy my friends.

So what good can we get out of this game? For one, Caleb Patterson-Sewell (our backup keeper for those who dont know), helped hold down Barcelona for only 2 goals in the second half, and made some fearless stops in his stint, including stoning a point blank Henry bullet. One is left to wonder how this would effect, if at all, the possible return of Danny Cepero.

Gabriel Cichero made what I think was an excellent first impression on the team. He helped stabilize the line, was incredibly fiesty (even getting in Henry’s face 2 minutes into his shift) and showed the type of bite this team has been lacking. Good on him.

Jorge Rojas, when playing in a withdrawn role behind Angel, is at his best.

Danleigh Borman is a rookie kid playing out of position against the worlds best. You cant blame him for his tentative performance, or nonsensical passing – put yourself in his shoes. I am sure he probably woke up today still in awe that he was on the same field as the storied Spanish side.

Conway looked stargazed from the get go. Not taking anything away from the machine that is Barcelona, but it was quite obvious that Conway was out of his element. It was like watching a youger Conway from 2006 in the same situation, letting in 3 goals in the second half of a 4-1 route. But who can blame him against that attack? Not me.

4-5-1

The fact is, the result was expected. The only point of contention I have with all of this is playing the team in a 4-5-1. Two years ago, then Coach Bruce Arena saw the game for what it was – a shot at playing with the worlds best in a meaningless atmosphere, in front of over 70,000 rabid fans. He played them in a 4-4-2, and told them to just go out and have fun. Fearlessly. Don’t worry about the results. In the end, it was a 4-1 loss, but an overall entertaining game, with a passionate Red Bulls side trying to make something happen.

Osorios strategy was different. March the team out in a defensive 4-5-1 (where Angel plays about 35 yards from the nearest midfielder), and wait for the counterattack opportunities to arise. Try to keep things defensively competitive. Keep their scoring low and we will be able to open up opportunities.

My contention is simple – Barcelona is smart enough as a team to dismantle any strategy, let alone a one dimensional one. With the 4-5-1, the midfielders could have just packed it in for the day; they were all squeezed into the final third of their defensive area the entire game with no space to create. Why do this in a meaningless friendly? Give them the chance to push forward, to interrupt play. Add another forward to the mix so that the game wouldnt be so predictable. Add the entertainment value at the very least for the fans, because, in the end, no one at Giants Stadium would expect a win in this game anyway. Shackling the team in a 4-5-1 just made for long periods of Barcelona possession, with the entire team stuck playing back, and absolutely no chance to push any semblance of an attack. When the “long pass to Angel” strategy was continuously being smacked down, it should have been abandoned completely. But that is just one mans opinion.

No matter. This game is a learning experience, especially for the younger players who had the opportunity to take the field. And in the most positive light, perhaps this will serve as a wake up call for the team before the big rivalry game against DC United.