A Win for Tito!

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                                                                                                                                         "Tito"








FCBarcelona started the preseason on a good note today by beating Hamburg 1-2.  Barça started the match with a few of the first team players including Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, Adriano, Ibrahim Afellay, Pinto, and Alexis Sanchez.  The rest of the pitch was filled with Barça B players Marc Bartra, Sergi Roberto, Jonathon Dos Santos, Gerard Deulofeu, and Javier Espinosa.  The big surprise being the absence of Leo Messi who apparently injured a calf muscle in training on Monday.


Although playmakers Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets didn't travel to Hamburg, Barça started the match in their usual manner by controlling the ball with precision passing.  It didn't take long to put up the first goal of the Tito Vilanova era.  Barça received a corner kick in the 5th minute that cleared the defenders' heads and came down perfectly for Alexis Sanchez to feed Dani Alves for a rocket shot from the front of the area.

From sport.es

Beautiful goal but a good defense never would have left both Alexis and Alves with so much space.


There was a little surprise in the 21st minute as Ibrahim Afellay lost the ball near the midfield line, giving Hamburg a 3 on 2 counter attack which they easily converted into a goal, making it a 1-1 game.

Barça didn't slow down, led by a brilliant Dani Alves, youngster Deulofeu, and Alexis Sanchez who took the ball into the area in the 31st minute where the referee missed a clear Hamburg handball which should have given Barça an opportunity from the penalty spot.  One minute later Alexis arrived again, putting the ball in the back of the net, only to be called offsides and the goal annulled.  At this point Alexis was on fire, taking another shot at the goal two minutes later, and making a beautiful steal soon after which led to Barça's next goal.  Alexis got the ball directly to Afellay, who made a great move and took a shot that the keeper blocked.  Unfortunately for the non-existent Hamburg defense, Gerard Deulofeu was in perfect position to put the rebound in easily, making it a 1-2 game.

From sport.es

Deulofeu has captured the interest of several Premier League teams this summer, so it was great to see him get his first ever goal with Barça's first team.  I'm sure we're going to see a lot more from this kid in the future.

There were several changes at the half, with all first team players except Pinto being taken out. Barça B players  Oier, Balliu, Sergi Gómez, Muniesa, Planas, Sergi Roberto, Rafinha, Patric, Ilie, Joan Àngel Roman and Cristian Lobato came on.  The ball control continued (nice to see from the young guys) although the only real opportunity for a goal came in the 73rd minute when Cristian Lobato beat the keeper but failed to hit the open goal.

Possible tragedy struck in the 60th minute when Marc Bartra had to come back on (don't see that very often) to replace Marc Muniesa who was injured from a rather harsh Hamburg tackle.  Muniesa may have damaged a ligament in his knee, which could be terrible as he is very possibly looking at a lot more first team playing time this season.  We'll know more in a few days.

The stars of the match today were definitely Dani Alves, Alexis Sanchez, and Gerard Deulofeu, but some other young players including Marc Bartra and Sergi Roberto also played quite well.

It was a good way to start the preseason for Barça, although Muniesa's injury could definitely hurt a little as Barça still hasn't picked up another central defender in the summer transfer window.

Some interesting facts...Barça was set to receive 1.3 million euros for this match but due to the fact that Leo Messi didn't travel with the team, they will only be getting 30% of that.  Hamburg has promised to refund the ticket price to all fans who didn't attend because of Messi's absence.  Although this is a strange circumstance, it leaves no room for doubt about the greatness of Leo Messi.  Please, please, please give this guy his well deserved 4th consecutive Balon de Oro!

Barça's next preseason match will be against Raja Club Athletic from Morocco on Saturday, July 28th.

So after the first preseason match of 2012, I have to say congratulations Tito and.............

¡Visca Barça!