FCBARCELONA.CAT

23.12.2008 14:18

Henry: constant improvement

Jesús Carrillo

Henry is one of the players who has most improved his personal statistics this season which has yet to get to the halfway stage. In fact he’s already scored almost half as many goals as he did in the last campaign.

Last season was the Frenchman’s first in a Barça shirt, and he set some pretty high standards. He turned out in 47 of the 58 competitive games played by the side then managed by Frank Rijkaard, and despite carrying a back injury put in some excellent performances. However, this year Henry has been even more effective both in front of goal and in general play.

19 goals in the three competitions

Henry showed his hunger for goal early on. He made an immediate impact on the Spanish League with a hat-trick away at Levante and scored his first Champions League goal against Olympique Lyon. In the Spanish Cup his goals against Seville and Villarreal helped Barça to reach the semi-finals.

Overall Henry scored 12 goals in the League, 3 in the Champions League and 4 in the Cup. He was the top goalscorer in the latter competition.

18 in 26 games

Apart from preseason friendlies, this season Henry has played in 18 of Barça’s 26 competitive games in three competitions. He’s been in the starting XI 14 times and come off the bench in 4 matches. So far he’s notched 8 goals in the League including a hat-trick against Valencia, and 1 in the Champions League in Lisbon against Sporting Clube.

Rotations and starting

Like the rest of the team, Henry was rotated right from the start of the season. In one game he might come on as a substitute, while in the following match it would be Messi or Eto’o who occupied his place in the dugout.

After Andrés Iniesta got injured the Frenchman’s role changed and since then he has been virtually a constant feature of Barça’s attack. He was in the starting XI for all four of Barça’s recent games against Seville, Valencia, Madrid and Villarreal and also ended them as the side’s top goalscorer with four.