FCBARCELONA.CAT

02.02.2009 13:25

Henry: “Messi deserved the 5000th goal”

Vanessa Forns

Henry was full of praise for the man who notched goal number 5000 in the League for Barça. In his view, Messi is the best player in the world at the moment and deserved to score such a special goal in the club’s history.

Even though he admitted that it would have been a thrill to score the goal himself, Thierry Henry thinks Messi “deserved” to score Barça’s 5000th goal in the League. He also believes that it’s important that it should have been scored by someone “who’s been here a long time, like Puyol, Xavi, Messi and Eto'o”.

“Depending on Messi is normal”

Messi undoubtedly turned the game around this Sunday away at Racing Santander. “He came on and changed everything,” remarked Henry. “We all know what he can do. He’s the best player in the world at the moment and we should be really happy he’s at Barça.” As a result Henry thinks that “depending on Messi is normal, because it’s better when you have him on the pitch”.

Messi and Maradona

So far Barça’s number 10 has amassed 25 goals in the League, which according to Henry would be a lot higher were it not for the woodwork and near misses. “Everyone expects more from Messi,” he pointed out. “He’s a fantastic player.” Henry also thinks that sometimes the Argentine resembles Maradona in the things he does on the field: “It’s hard comparing Leo and Maradona. His second yesterday was a lot like one Maradona scored in 1986 against Belgium. I don’t want to put pressure on Leo, but at times he is like Maradona”.

“I’m having a great time”

On a personal level, Henry says he’s feeling good and also highlighted the way the team was playing and their morale. “I’m having a great time and feeling very happy,” he noted. “We’re good as a team and you can see that in our goal celebrations. You can see we’re a tight-knit unit and that we enjoy ourselves out on the pitch.”

End of season review

But Henry also expressed caution and pointed out that now is too early to give assessments. “There’s still a long way to go and anything could happen,” he said. “We try not to think about the other teams and in every game the other side is doing their level best to beat us. We do have a 12-point lead but things happen really fast in football. We’ll talk about what we’ve done at the end of the season.” Henry thinks it is still far too early to be talking about doing the treble.

Rotations are good

Henry is also very much in favour of the “discipline” that Guardiola has brought into the dressing room and views rotating players in a positive light. “The rotations help us,” he commented. “The boss has been making these changes since the start of the season and of course you’ve got to respect his choice and give it all you’ve got when you get your chance.”