Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports
By MARK EDWARD HORNISH
PASADENA, Calif. – Luis Saurez volleyed home a deflection seconds before the half, Sergi Roberto doubled that in the 56th, and UEFA Champions League winner FC Barçelona generally ran roughshod over the outmatched and outclassed LA Galaxy, 2-1, before an enormous crowd of 93,226 on a beautiful misty night at the Rose Bowl.
The drama and tension that marked the Galaxy’s first International Champions Cup match last Saturday against Mexican giants Club América was largely absent in this match, as both teams sent out depleted sides.
The Galaxy were missing Omar Gonzalez and Gyasi Zardes, both gone with the US National team for the Gold Cup, and starting goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, who is finishing participation in the same tournament for his home nation of Panama. Barça was absent Neymar and Lionel Messi, both of whom are on hiatus from the Catalan side’s summer squad while recovering from extended tours of duty with their national teams in the Copa America.
Barcelona still had Luis Saurez, however, and that was more than enough.
Banned from International play this summer after last year’s “bite-gate” incident in the World Cup, Saurez flashed mid-season form throughout his 45-minute appearance, culminating in an alert goal just before the half time whistle. Barçelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic chipped a ball in over the Galaxy back line, and after it was slightly deflected by the Galaxy’s Steven Gerrard, LA center back Leonardo misplayed his clearance and the ball dropped to Suarez, who quickly popped it into the back of the net to give the Catalans a deserved lead heading into the break.
“This is the best team in the world” said Galaxy defender AJ de la Garza. “I actually thought we played well defensively for the most part. We gave up one goal late in the first half on a bouncing ball. We’re gonna take that out of here.”
Sergi Roberto doubled the Barcelona lead in the 56th minute when he picked up another Galaxy back line deflection at the edge of the area and rifled the ball past the helpless Galaxy reserve goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton.
“When you see the spacing that Barçelona has in possession, it’s incredible. They cut teams apart.” said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena in the post-game press conference. “In the first half they were outstanding in not letting us get any kind of rhythm, connect passes, they really got after the ball.”
As he did in the Club América contest last weekend, Arena sent out an entirely different 11 players to start the second half, most of whom were reserve LA Galaxy II players. Barçelona followed suit, and much to the surprise of the packed house, an actual game broke out, as the Galaxy reserves managed to outshoot the Barça reserves 6-4 in the second half.
The Galaxy were at last rewarded when Tommy Meyer streaked in and headed a strike past Barça reserve goalkeeper Jose Suarez to cut the Barçelona lead in half just before the final whistle. It was a much-deserved tally for the home side, who played Barcelona even for the last 35 minutes of the night.
“It’s something you dream about” said Meyer, when asked about beating fellow center back Gerard Pique to score a goal against mighty Barcelona. “I thought I was gonna get a boot in the face. I’m just glad I got my head on the ball.”
“They did well” continued Arena when asked about his reserve squad’s second half performance. “I think it’s a fabulous experience. Some of these kids are 19 years old, playing against an outstanding club. You can tell them what it’s like to play against a Barcelona, but until they step on the field, they can’t understand.”
FC Barçelona will march on to two more high profile I.C.C. matches in the coming fortnight, taking on Manchester United in San Francisco on July 26th before facing Chelsea in Washington D.C. on July 29th.
The Galaxy, meanwhile, can now focus on their MLS schedule. They will travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo on Saturday.
I really enjoyed reading this very well written article. More articles by hornish, please.
I’ll bet that second half was interesting. And 93k! Must have something really special to see!
Sarcasm much?
It’s “Barcelona” or “Barça,” not “Barçelona.”
Haha, I know right? I had a laugh.
+1
what if you don’t have the special ‘c’ on your keypad? do you have to write out Barcelona? gimme a break
lol, these are the same people who refer to Real Madrid as Real.
Tommy!!!!
That was fun. The pre game festivities were a perfect world for the thousands of kids there. My kids and nephew had the time of their lives!
And the game was great too. First half delivered Barca excellence and the second half gave Galaxy fans lots to cheer about. AJ marking Suarez eas a treat to watch
Too many e-snobs
Whatevs with all the hate. I’m sure you all could do better. Was that Lassiter kid on the Galaxy Roy Lassiter’s son? Holy crap that kid was fast. He also looks like he’s about 14. Good things to come for The Gals.
I can’t believe they get 93,000 for these games.
I guess the Barca name trumps the Galaxy II games drawing a little less, the fact that it is a meaningless game and that you have to pay to go.
Because watching the best players in the world touch the ball a few times can be a sublime experience. And watching them in person is different than on tv. A lot of people may just get a ticket to see their one favorite player, to see the way he touches the ball, moves without it, etc. I saw Milan play Chelsea in the meadowlands in early 2000s and still remember Drogba’s raw power and Rui Costa’s finesse, for example. I’ve also gotten more enjoyment out of a live friendly than a champion’s league match. It depends, but a great player is a great player – rare. People who see the game as a little bit of an art form, or a dance, and are always waiting for something amazing to happen, might be disappointed watching Galaxy II, even if that is interesting for other reasons. The games roots are important, minor leagues are important, but the world’s best teams assemble people, and a great air of anticipation for things you don’t necessarily witness everyday, if ever, if you don’t go.
Fair enough, you give good reason for why such a large number showed up to a meaningless friendly, but why is it that so few of those people support the MLS? If you are a fan of the sport, you should want it to grow in this country, and that won’t happen without supporting local soccer. Why don’t these people at least turn the channel to an MLS game when they aren’t watching TV so it can get the extra ratings?
I agree, they should. Maybe not enough time, not fanatic enough to watch soccer all the time? There are too many other things to do in America.
BS, ES…It was great to see the young American kids of LA2 play an even half against a team with the depth of Barca.
Feared the worst seeing this game on the shed with so many games, US Open 2 friendlies MLS play and so many players at GC. All in all, not a bad evening. No injuries- starters got rest, kids got a run against quality in front of 93k and the final score was respectable. Can’t help but note that… the ball didn’t merely fall to Suarez’s feet,…. he trapped Leonardo’s clearance with his arm before knocking it into goal.
Once again, Galaxy reserves represented themselves well. Bradford Jamieson and Lassiter speeeed gave them a few scares.
Sourez