Not a pointless exercise after all

Just today, Barcelona FC has just thumped Egyptian powerhouse Al-Ahly 4-0 in an exhibition friendly match in the Cairo International Stadium. Scorers: Javier Saviola, Bojan Krkic (penalty), Samuel Eto'o 2.

OK, so Barca won - no complaints from me about that, although it's only a friendly match. However, when I learnt that this friendly match was going to take place, I was not exactly thrilled. Nothing against who they played - Al-Ahly are a prominent, respectable club in their own right. Their contribution to Egyptian & African football warrants honourable mention - loads & loads of Egyptian Championships, African Championships, Arab Championships, even 1 Afro-Asian Cup. It's just that I didn't want Barcelona to play any mid-week friendlies against ANYONE at all.

My principal cause for concern at that mid-week friendly is that Barcelona ran the risk of having players injured & therefore missing the games that really do matter - the weekend Spanish league matches, & the upcoming Spanish Cup matches. Why pile up your calendar with mid-week friendly exhibitions that don't mean too much in the long run, when u want/need players to be in the best condition they can be to chase those Spanish league & cup honours?? Oh, & if u really want to play friendlies, why not schedule them just AFTER the regular Spanish season is over, just before the footballers go on their holidays??

Then, of course there's the travel. Barcelona's squad would have to fly to Cairo, play the match, then fly back to Spain before this weekend's league match. I'm not sure how many hours are Spain & Egypt from each other - but the fact is, the footballers could use that flying time to rest & do some light training at Barca's training ground, or anything else to help them prepare for the weekend league match.

In the event, the fear of players picking up injuries have apparently proven unfounded. That is because Barcelona started the Al-Ahly match with their key players on the bench. Thus the club's youngsters & fringe players get a chance to get some action on the pitch - players such as the Argentinian Saviola & Spanish teenager Krkic, who scored Barcelona's first 2 goals. Barcelona's key players, such as Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o & Lionel Messi, were then brought on in the second-half, & the Cameroonian hotshot Eto'o bagged a double to complete the scoring for Barcelona. So, the Barcelona squad emerged from the match unscathed, & nobody picked up any serious injuries.

That is good news. Just as, if not more, heartening is the fact that Barca's youngsters Krkic (who had a great first-half before being taken off) & the Mexican Giovanni dos Santos (who came on in the second-half) managed to showcase their talents to the Barcelona coach. It's really great to learn that these players are emerging (a testament to Barca's youth system), & they will surely feature more prominently in Barcelona's first team next season. I already knew of the talents of G dos Santos, that Mexican born to a Brazilian father & Mexican mother. But not the 16-year old Krkic (Serbian father, Spanish mother), not until today. Against Al-Ahly, Krkic (full name Bojan Krkic Perez) wore the legendary number 14, which was previously worn by Dutch great Johan Cruyff. Apparently, Krkic is a great prospect & is one for the future for Barcelona & the Spanish national team.

So, the Al-Ahly friendly was not a pointless exercise after all. Aside from giving youngsters & fringe players some playing time, the friendly was meant to promote Barcelona's profile to the Egyptian public. And as I write, I just discovered that there was another reason (a big reason) this match was scheduled - it was for Al-Ahly to celebrate their centenary, as Al-Ahly was founded in 1907. It's such an honour for Barcelona FC to be invited to help celebrate the centenary of a club with such rich tradition. So perhaps I was a bit hasty in being disdainful of the friendly match when I first heard it was going to take place. Well, I think the Egyptian football public now know more than ever what Barcelona FC is about, even if Al-Ahly supporters wish the friendly result had transpired differently than it did.