29.07.2010 21:52
A game of firsts
Anna Segura
FC Barcelona's first outing of the pre-season campaign against Valerenga on Thursday allowed Adriano Correia to make his debut for the club while Bojan Krkic, Seydou Keita and Maxwell also made their mark.
After David Villa moved to Camp Nou before the World Cup the club signed Adriano from Sevilla after
the tournament and he appeared for the first time in the Blaugrana colours when coach Pep Guardiola
sent him on at the start of the second half in Norway.
Left flank
With the Brazilian able to play in a variety of positions Guardiola
chose to employ Adriano on the left wing against Valerenga and he showed his ability to push
forward and cause problems for the opposition defence in and around the area. The Barça newcomer
had his first shot just after the hour, but was denied by the keeper and was again foiled late on
in a one-on-one situation.
Bojan and Keita
Krkic was given the honour of captaining the young Barça team in the
absence of Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Víctor Valdés and Keita then took over the role
when the striker was substituted. It was a unique moment for both players as neither had been asked
to skipper the side before.
Maxwell goal
Maxwell made his mark when he netted his first ever goal for FC Barcelona. The Brazilian
defender joined the club a year but had not scored at any level for the Blaugrana until he beat
former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld in the 35th minute.