Bojan and Pedro Lead Five Star Barca into Quarterfinals

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For the second consecutive match, Pep Guardiola rested several regulars and watched Barcelona roll on without much setback as his plan to integrate youngsters and rest his superstars continued.

Barcelona began Tuesday's Copa del Rey match at the Nou Camp against Cultura Leonesa with a two goal lead thanks to a brace from Pedro in the away leg. Pedro was asked to lead the line again, with Bojan and Jeffren joining him in attack and Jonathan Dos Santos and Sergio Busquets starting in midfield.

Although youth was certainly the theme of the night, Guardiola put the likes of Carles Puyol, Dani Alves, Rafa Marquez, and Andres Iniesta in to stabilize their less experienced colleagues. Lionel Messi and Xavi were on the bench in case reinforcements were needed.

After a frustrating first 45 minutes, Barcelona went rampant in the second half. The Cultura defense failed to deal with a cross from Dani Alves on 50 minutes, which allowed Pedro to free Jeffren down the left flank, and the Venezuelan rolled the ball across the face of goal for Bojan to tap in and open the scoring.

“The Boy of 1000 goals” was on target again less than three minutes later. Dos Santos played a sensational through ball, and Bojan rounded the stranded keeper before finishing from a tight angle.

With a comfortable lead, Guardiola gave Puyol a rest and brought on Messi to the delight of the crowd, and the Argentine did not disappoint. Just three minutes after his introduction, Messi sent a perfect through ball to Iniesta who pulled the ball back for Pedro to score his eighth goal of the season (third in the Copa del Rey) with a left footed drive.

Messi added a solo goal following an awful clearance from the keeper, and Xavi, who had come on for Iniesta, headed Barca’s fifth to complete the rout.

As dazzling as Barcelona was, the outcome of the tie was never really in doubt, even after a resolute performance from Cultura in the first half. Regardless of the quality, or lack thereof, of an opponent, Guardiola will feel very encouraged by the performances of his youngsters.

No one can confuse Cultural Leonesa with the likes of Inter or Real Madrid, but games such as these build confidence, especially for Bojan who has struggled with injuries and lack of playing time so far this season. It was the first time the former Spain Under 17 international had scored for Barcelona since the league opener against Sporting Gijon.

If Barcelona is to continue fighting on three fronts (La Liga, Champions League, and Copa Del Rey) it will need Bojan and his young teammates to add squad depth. Although many of the Guardiola's reserves have brilliant potential, they must continue to improve in order to feature more regularly.

Pedro has been brilliant in flashes, hitting the winner in the UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donesk and the double against Mallorca, whereas Sergio Busquets has also flourished at times, particularly at the money end of last year’s Champions League run when injuries and suspensions forced Yaya Toure to play on defense.

As it stands now, Barcelona will not be able to afford Javier Mascherano from Liverpool, so Busquets will be thrust to the forefront again when Toure and Seydou Keita head to the African Cup of Nations in January.

The rest of the squad is very much unproven, and with injury trouble already plaguing Andres Iniesta, Bojan, and Thierry Henry this season, Pep Guardiola knows that should more physical setbacks occur, Bojan, Pedro, and possibly Jeffren will have to perform against top notch foes. Lionel Messi has a history of injuries and will always be a risk to not last a full season.

While many clubs around the world would give anything for the depth Barcelona has, Guardiola is wary of the incredibly strong squads of some of his biggest rivals. At Real Madrid, established internationals such as Raul, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rafael Van der Vaart, Christoph Metzelder, Fernando Gago, and Mahamadou Diarra find themselves on the substitutes bench more often than the starting line up.

Even with an abundance of super stars on the field and in reserve, Real Madrid fell 4-1 on aggregate to Alcacorn, a team that has now been drawn against Barca for the Copa del Rey Quarterfinals.

It is not to say that Barcelona has not spent money; players such as Thierry Henry, Dani Alves, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been high-priced signings, but the overall squad does not have the same wealth of supply as Real Madrid or Chelsea.

Strength could be added in the January window, but it is more than likely that Barcelona will have to make do with the players it has. Bojan, Pedro and Busquets are dying to have their chance.  Only time will tell if they can deliver week in week out.

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