Teerasil's penalty worth a million for Thai side
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Spanish League champions Barcelona might have scored seven goals against Thailand's under-23 side but it was Teerasil Dangda's consolation penalty that was the talking point in the exhibition match at the full-house Rajamangala National Stadium on Wednesd
The Catalan club provided a fitting finale to the unprecedented football fiesta the country had witnessed with four of Europe’s most famous clubs playing in a span of less than a month by turning in an imperious performance against the hosts.
Barcelona’s new marquee signing Neymar set the ball rolling with his first goal for the new club before a brace from World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Spanish international Predro Rodriguez’s hat-trick and a second-half strike from Chilean forward Alexis condemned the hosts to a heavy defeat.
The home team’s consolation goal came just before half-time when Muang Thong United’s striker Teerasil was brought down in the area. The Thai picked himself up and calmly stroked the ball past the goalkeeper Victor Valdes from the spot.
The spot kick, as it turned out, has been the most valuable goal the Thai striker has ever scored, with the Thai side earning Bt1 million from the organisers, ThaiBev, who had promised to give the home team Bt1 million for each goal it scored against the Spanish giants.
Though they did not receive a similar bonus for any of their efforts, Barca coach Gerardo Martino was happy to see his players show hunger for goals in front of the 48,112-strong crowd at the venue, which was packed to the rafters.
“I insist on what I said the other day [after the match against Santos], we pressured well, we had the ball and we attacked quickly,” the Argentine coach was quoted as saying on the club’s website, fcbarcelona.com. “Independently of the opponents, we had the ambition to win the game. It’s clear that this team is hungry.”
The former Newell’s Old Boys coach, who was drafted in to replace Tito Vilanova at the Catalan side after the Spaniard needed to undergo further treatment on his throat cancer, believed his side’s breathtaking first-half display justified his decision to play Messi and Neymar together up front.
“I’ve always thought they would complement each other well. One of them on the wing and the other in the middle. They are comfortable, it’s noticeable.”
Hat-trick hero Pedro was also pleased with Barca’s second successive high-scoring win, which came after the 8-0 victory over Santos last week.
“Each player wants to give 100 per cent for the team and I want to continue performing like I did tonight. Scoring goals always helps me maintain confidence.
“We all performed well and we got what we wanted. We will try to be in the best form possible at the start of the league,” said Pedro, who picked up a knock at the end of the match
“I noticed a sharp pain in my calf muscle, I hope it isn’t anything serious. But it was pretty painful.”
Barca left the country yesterday for their final destination on their Asian tour, Malaysia, where they are due to play a friendly tomorrow, before heading back to the Catalan capital.
