Henry and Puyol return to full training 14
Following the changes brought on by the snow, it was all back to normal today with Henry and Puyol training normally and Keita also involved at the end.
Tag Thierry Henry
Henry out, Puyol quits training early 18
FC Barcelona continued preparations for the next league game against Valencia on Tuesday, without French international Thierry Henry, who had discomfort in his Achilles tendon in his left foot.
Henry: “This is a new experience for me” 8
FC Barcelona forward and France international Thierry Henry (32) has brushed aside the booing of the French fans stating that he is more concerned about regaining his form before the World Cup kicks off in June.
The Frenchman, who was substituted in midweek to a chorus of boos in Les Bleus 2-0 defeat to Spain at the Stade de France, claims he is ‘feeling heavy’ and has ‘no rhythm’.
The 32-year old claimed that his poor performances are due to his lack of minutes on the pitch for his club Barcelona, saying, “This is a new experience for me, playing 25 minutes here and 15 minutes there.”
Every available player in squad for Almeria match 0
Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola has called up all of the first-team players that are available for the match against Almeria. Centre back Gerard Pique is unavailable due to suspension, while Seydou Keita and Eric Abidal are still recovering from their injuries. Mexican centre back Rafael Marquez has returned to training after playing for his national team in California against New Zealand. Forwards Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry practiced with the team despite their midweek national friendlies. Midfielder Seydou Keita is unavailable for the match against Almeria but the Malian international was able to run and test his fitness for the first time after his hamstring injury against Atletico de Madrid last month.
Here is the 18-man squad for the match against Almeria: Valdes, Pinto, Marquez, Puyol, Milito, Chygrynskiy, Alves, Maxwell, Xavi, Iniesta, Toure, Busquets, Henry, Pedro, Ibrahimovic, Bojan, Messi, Jeffren.
Guardiola: “Henry is a very important player” 10
In the last few weeks much has been said about Barcelona fowards Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. People have called for Pedro to start over Henry and for Barcelona to sell Henry in the summer in order to buy a new footballer for the left side. After 26 goals last season, fans came to expect much of him in his third season in Barcelona and have rightfully been disappointed. Henry has only scored 3 goals since the start of the season.
Xavi backs under fire Henry 14
Xavi has defended his teammate at Barcelona, Thierry Henry, after a series of disappointing performances.
Internationals Round-Up: Spain defeats Henry, Alves and Messi win 9
It was international duty for most Barcelona players this past week. What follows is a round up of the matches our players participated in.
“Everyone knows that Henry has performed better in the past” 3
Supporters of the French national team were unhappy with the performance of Thierry Henry, after the defeat against European champions Spain. The Barcelona striker seemed lost on the pitch, and was nowhere near the Henry from several years ago.
Concerns in France over Henry’s lack of playing time 5
Ahead of Wednesday’s friendly match between France and Spain, doubts are being expressed on both sides about the fitness and abilities of French striker and FC Barcelona forward Thierry Henry (32).
Henry in for France against Spain 5
According to Spanish tabloid El Mundo Deportivo , the football coach of France’s national team, Raymond Domenech (58), picked Barcelona striker and French international Thierry Henry (32) for the friendly game against Spain, despite his lack of playing time this season.
Guardiola and Henry clash before Santander game? 22
Certain sections of the press are reporting today that FC Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola had a confrontation with striker Thierry Henry, 32, before Barca’s home game against Racing Santander at the weekend. Reports in the French journal France Football claim that the two men had the disagreement just before kick-off with Henry apparently telling the coach he was unwilling to be called upon at the last minute when Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had already been chosen ahead of the Frenchman in the starting eleven, was pulled from the team with discomfort in his calf.
Although the journal admits the story is only a rumour, it does suggest that Guardiola told Henry that if he flatly refused to play against the side from Cantabria on Saturday then he would not play for Barca again.
Henry: “I don’t deserve to play” 7
Barcelona striker Thierry Henry says he does not currently deserve to play in the starting XI.
The French star has slipped down the pecking order at Camp Nou and was left on the bench once more for Barca’s game at Atletico Madrid last weekend.
Speculation has mounted that manager Pep Guardiola no longer regards the 32-year-old as a key member of his first-team squad, but the Catalans boss has recently come out to quash such rumours.
Henry, who has only scored twice for the Spanish giants this season, says he has no problem with Guardiola and insists he will continue to work ‘like a dog’ in training.
Guardiola: “Few people have more confidence in Henry than I do” 9
FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola his hit out at critics that have suggested he has lost faith in Thierry Henry.
The French forward was again left on the bench last weekend against Atletico Madrid, fuelling speculation that he is no longer considered a first-team regular at Camp Nou.
Guardiola, though, has explained that he still regards the former Arsenal star as a key member of his squad and insists his omission over recent weeks is nothing to do with his ability.
“We have many players,” he told a press conference on Thrusday.
Offside: Henry and Messi ‘MAX’ their wild side 7
Barcelona superstar and FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi along with his Barcelona team-mate Thierry Henry, Chelsea duo Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, and Liverpool talisman Fernando Torres all teamed up with Pepsi MAX to show their true colours as part of the new bodypaint campaign.
The bodypaint campaign forms part of the overall 2010 Pepsi MAX activity, which includes the latest Pepsi MAX TV commercial and is set to launch this summer, report fourfourtwo.
The new TV commercial was filmed in Africa and highlights the talents of the ‘MAX football stars’.
Question of the week: Is Henry’s time up? 29
This is a featured article. Please scroll down for all the latest news.
It seems that the question on many people’s lips at the moment is whether Thierry Henry is on his way out of FC Barcelona. The striker has repeatedly been linked with moves away from the Camp Nou in this summer’s upcoming transfer window, with moves to America’s MLS, or big spending Manchester City the most notable rumours concerning the Frenchman’s future. But what exactly has brought on such discussion?
After all Titi was an integral part of the Triplet winning side from last season, playing 42 games in all competitions for the club, scoring 25 goals and creating 11 assists in the process. Strong numbers by any stretch of the imagination, especially when you consider Henry’s advancing years, he will be 33 in the summer. In fact judging by facts and figures alone last season was the striker’s strongest showing for some time. The last time he got 20 goals+ at club level being the 2005-06 season at Arsenal.
Ibrahimovic and Messi within top 3 highest paid players of 2009 33
A chart was released by Portuguese marketing agency futebolfinance.com publishing the top 50 player salaries for 2009. Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi completing the top 3 list.
FC Barcelona leads the rankings in the top 50 with 8 players followed by Chelsea (7), Real Madrid & Manchester City (6), Manchester United & Bayern Munich (4), and AC Milan with 3 players. Liverpool along with the 3 other big Italian sides (Inter, Roma, and Juventus) have 2 players each in the rankings. Andrei Arshavin is the only player representing Arsenal on the list.
Fernando Torres inspired by Barcelona strikers 23
In a recent interview with Four-Four-Twomagazine Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, 25, revealed the five forwards who have inspired him the most, with the list including two former Barça greats and one current Azulgrana.
Henry voted third best striker 7
Thierry Henry was voted third in a poll of the fifty best strikers to have played in Britain since the second world war. The poll composed by Four-Four-Two magazine had the Frenchman taking third place, beaten only by Eric Cantona and Kenny Dalglish.
Messi: 2nd Highest on the Global Bankroll 16
According to Total Football Madness the highest paid and still active footballer is no one else but the franchise, David Beckham. Becks is currently on loan in AC Milan and earns no less than 32 million euros a year. His wage tops the short list of the 10 highest paid footballers for 2009. Lionel Messi came 2nd and Ronaldinho grabbed 3rdplace. Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are also present as they occupy the 5th and 7th place, respectively.