YOKOHAMA — Japanese fans caught a glimpse of Barcelona's dazzling attacking triumvirate of Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o, but it was little-known Mexican Giovani who did what the crowd craved from the three superstars with a late second-half goal in a 1-0 friendly win over Yokohama F. Marinos on Tuesday.
The fare served up at Nissan Stadium was mostly dire, with the Barca players' speed dial stuck at training-ground pace for large swaths. But with the Catalans giving the fans what they wanted — Henry,Ronaldinho and Eto'o named for the first time as the three starting forwards in Barca's 4-3-3 lineup — the crowd coo factor was still high.
The 56,681 crowd — and the large number of Barca replica shirts worn within — would have been pleasing to the eye for the club's top brass, which has had to deal with mutterings from players that traveling thousands of kilometers to Asia for three games — they play in China next — prior to the new season isn't the most clever idea.