France legend and former Barcelona man Thierry Henry has picked out the man who is responsible for the club’s recent success and it’s not the manager Hansi Flick.
Former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Flick was appointed Barcelona boss in the summer after the departure of former player Xavi.
Since the German took over, Barcelona have been performing at a high level.
The Catalans are currently top of the La Liga table, having collected 33 points from their opening 12 matches and are nine points ahead of fierce rivals Real Madrid.
A lot of praise has been heaped on Flick for changing the club’s fortunes around but while speaking on CBS Sports for their coverage of the Champions League, Henry claimed that Xavi is the man to thank.
He said: “I don’t think Hansi Flick started a new era…Xavi did. He’s continuing what Xavi did.
“Xavi started (Pau) Cubarsi, Xavi started Lamine Yamal, Xavi started a lot of the players there. So, he left, Hansi Flick arrived.”
Henry added: “Yes, I do think that this team right now, because of the two years that they had playing together and going through a difficult season last year, that’s when you learn the most about your character and what you’re about to do and how you’re going to perform.
“I think this team right now, has to be considered as one of the favourites to win it (Champions League). Are they going to win it? You need to along the way lose a semi-final, to lose a quarter final, to know how hard it is to go out. But I do think that they are equipped to go all the way.”
“I don’t think Hansi Flick started a new era…Xavi did.”
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 6, 2024
Thierry Henry discuss the impact Xavi has had on Barcelona's current young squad 👏 pic.twitter.com/tXZ5FcQEnU
Speaking ahead of Barcelona’s match against Crvena Zvezda, Flick said: “Only a win counts in the new Champions League. It will be a difficult game tomorrow, against a great team with very quick forwards. However, my team are doing very well. We have to go all out because our aim is to be among the top 8.
“I don’t even look at the table at the moment because I am only concerned about winning. Winning the Champions League takes a lot of work. There are very good teams with the same aim as us, and so, it means you have to work hard.”
He continued: “Our idea is to play football and for the entire team to be connected. Being good in defence and in attack.”Featured Image Credit: CBS Sports/Getty
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