Thierry Henry: From Arsenal, to Barcelona, to Red bulls .

I was planning this series of posts for a while now. Showing gratitude for players who served Barcelona and brought the pleasure to the hearts of the fans. It will not be a regular sequence of posts as it depends on the daily news and what kind of topics it generates. This post is dedicated for Tierry Henry.

I followed him when he played for arsenal with great pleasure. I had a big poster for him, which is not something I do that often. Yet, I was against bringing him to Barcelona. I always prefer players with quality but yet to establish a name. They are usually come with greater hunger and perform for a longer period. But the most important reason for not being a fan of this transfer is that Barcelona had more important position to strengthen. At that period of time, Ronaldinho, Eto’o and Messi were without any doubt the perfect offense trio while the defense and the holding midfielder positions were yet to be considered stable. Besides, there was no place for him in the selection. I’d never bought that “fantastic four” hype.

His first season was far below the public expectations. At Arsenal he used to move to channels but still he was the lone striker or at least led the offense. At Barcelona he was used almost as a pure winger who had to serve the striker. It was also a big mistake to put him on the field at the beginning of the season despite the fact that he was injured. Some poor performances damaged the momentum he had when he signed for Barcelona. Instead of showing his quality he was in a position to prove he has it. Usually big names do not react well when they face this situation. He made effort, he scored a decent number of goals but without the huge impact you expect from such a talent. Yet, it’s also important to note that the whole team collapsed in that season, which was not helping him to adapt and perform.

His second season was his best for the club and the best season in Barcelona’s history. Ronaldinho exit meant that Henry will have his own position in the selection. The most notable difference was Pep’s tactical customizations that fit Henry like a glove. He was still considered as a wide forward but had more freedom to cut into the box. Pep’s stress on high pressure –even though Henry was not so comfortable with at the beginning- proved one of the biggest advantages of having Henry. A season to remember. He deserved to fulfill one of his dreams and won the Champions’ league.

His third season was a decline. The injuries he had to deal with and the explosive performance of Pedro added to some lack of motivation led to a less impressive season. And it was obvious that his journey with the team will come to an end.

Some fans will remember his good games and hail him, others will remember the poor performances and point out that they are not that impressed. But what stands as a source of pride for him is that he was willing to make sacrifices for the shirt even if it meant to customize his style that made him the king of London and start running after the ball all over the field. His impact on the youth was obvious as well. His contribution in the greatest season we had is more than enough to stamp his name in gold.

Henry playing for Arsenal. Better, is not possible: