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Barcelona dispatch China side to kick off Asian tour
BEIJING (AFP) - Spanish giants Barcelona kicked off a three-match Asian tour Sunday night by cruising to a 3-0 win over China Super League side Beijing Guoan before an adoring crowd in the Chinese capital.
An early breakaway goal by speedy Brazilian teenager Giovanni Dos Santos gave the Catalans a 1-0 half-time lead, later extended by goals from Andres Iniesta and superstar playmaker Ronaldinho.
The two-time World Player of the Year came on for the second half amid questions over his fitness after bruising an ankle in practice the day before.
But though he struggled to unleash his fluid game amid a scrappy affair, the Brazilian showed no signs of injury in capping the scoring with a free-kick from about 30 metres (yards) out with seven minutes to go.
"He really wanted to get into the game so we decided to let him have some minutes," Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard said after the match.
Not playing Ronaldinho was hardly an option, however.
The club's appearance in China was promoted largely on his status as China's favourite footballer, as judged by a recent fan poll, and his entry brought the biggest cheer of the night from a near-capacity crowd of about 30,000.
Barcelona were far from full-strength, though, with Argentine wunderkind Lionel Messi staying home to rest following a gruelling Copa America and Portuguese midfielder Deco away for the birth of his child.
But it made little difference as Barcelona's depth and superiority shone through, with Samuel Eto'o and striker Thierry Henry, newly acquired from English club Arsenal, threatening Guoan's goal on several occasions in the first half.
Yet it was Dos Santos who started the scoring when he burst through the defence in the ninth minute to run on to a pass from captain Xavier Hernandez, lashing the ball past keeper Yang Zhi.
The exhibition match was timed with festivities marking the one-year countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and authorities who have launched several campaigns to stamp out coarse local habits warned fans to be on their best behaviour.
Guoan fans are notorious for obscenely haranguing opposing teams and officials had said anyone doing so against Barcelona would be arrested.
But the Chinese crowd, treated to the rare spectacle of top-flight European football, proved too enamoured of the Spanish giants for anything but praise, cheering every Catalan attack.
Thirteen minutes after the break, Iniesta poked in Barcelona's second following a cross from Eto'o, but the second half did not totally belong to the Catalans.
Spurred by speedy winger Walter Martinez and his left-side counterpart Du Wenhui, Guoan launched several second-half attacks that unhinged the Barcelona defence and roused the crowd, only to fizzle disappointingly in front of goal.
China is the first stop in an Asian tour that will see Barcelona next face the Yokohama Marinos in Tokyo on Tuesday, followed by a match Friday in Hong Kong against a squad of players from Kitchee FC and Happy Valley FC.
Barcelona are just one of many top clubs to have scheduled Asian tours, many lured by the prospect of a huge Chinese fan base.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Fulham, Portsmouth and Reading are among other teams that have visited the region.
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