Seattle green with envy

SEATTLE – Yes, Seattle, there is a soccer team in this world with brighter-colored jerseys than the Sounders’ rave green. And that team put on a skills clinic for a full house at Qwest Field, a national TV audience and the home side, which had no answer for perhaps the best soccer player in the world.

FC Barcelona, clad in its pinkish-orange road jerseys that made Seattle’s shirts look dull in comparison, got a pair of scintillating goals from striker Lionel Messi in its 4-0 win over the Sounders Wednesday night in a friendly.

Barcelona, the defending European club and Spanish league champion, entertained for the crowd of 66,848, the largest to see a soccer match in Seattle. Barcelona’s passing was nearly flawless. It had chance after chance from deep inside the goal area in front of Sounders goaltender Kasey Keller, whose diving saves in the first half kept the Sounders from being blown out early. It made only one glaring error, a mistake that turned out to be the Sounders’ best chance at a goal.

In the 19th minute, Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto’s goal kick was badly hit, rolling directly to Seattle midfielder Freddie Ljungberg. The former English Premier League star had a wide-open shot on goal, but it bounced wide left.

Then Barcelona struck only a couple of minutes later. Messi, a diminutive but quick and skillful player from Argentina, gathered in a pass and fired a shot from 24 yards away at the top of the arc. The blast beat Keller to give the visitors the lead.

The crowd was stunned momentarily, seemingly trying to take in the majesty of the shot it had just witnessed.

Barcelona wasn’t done. It put together a pair of passes from Thierry Henry and Xavi, the last of which was a long ball to Messi to the left of Keller. Messi got a shot past his defender and through Keller’s legs for Barcelona’s second goal.

Barcelona, playing the second game in its preseason U.S. tour, had seven shots on goal in the first half. Keller made five saves.

Seattle’s starting lineup for the match appeared to be coach Sigi Schmid’s preferred 11 over the course of the rest of the Major League Soccer season. It featured Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua at forward; Ljungberg, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans and Steve Zakuani at midfield; Leonardo Gonzalez – making his Sounders debut after being signed last month – Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall and James Riley at defender; and Keller in goal.

Both teams made wholesale substitutions to start the second half, Barcelona putting in 11 new players. The Sounders made 10 changes and one more in the 61st minute, including defender Taylor Graham, who also made his Sounders debut after dealing with injuries all season long.

The match was played almost entirely on Barcelona’s side of the pitch in the second half, and Jeffren Suarez put in a goal in the 75th minute off a pass from Pedro Rodriguez. In the 89th minute, Rodriguez got an unassisted goal to end the scoring for the night.