How Barry went from chance death to million-dollar goal scorer (2024)

Thierno Barry's first appearances as an FC Basel player are a horror. There is talk of him being a transfer flop and a chance killer. A few months - and lots of goals - later, he's raking in millions for FCB.

"My strengths as a striker are of course first and foremost scoring goals. I'm looking forward to bringing joy to the fans together with the team," said Thierno Barry when he was introduced to FC Basel in July 2023. In the previous season, he had scored 20 goals in 31 league games in the Belgian league.

However, he did not initially bring joy to the fans, but rather sleepless nights. In his first competitive match against St. Gallen, Barry was sent off with a yellow-red card in the 69th minute and Basel were knocked out while short-handed.

His second competitive game began more encouragingly, as he scored against Tobol Kostanay in the 25th minute to make it 1:0. He then conceded two penalties (the first of which was saved by Mirko Salvi) and was later sent off again with a straight red as Basel lost 1:3.

Although Basel won the second leg away from home 2:1 without Barry, they were unable to avoid elimination from the Conference League qualifiers. FCB also won without Barry in the league on July 30, beating Winterthur 5-2. This is interesting because Basel won with Barry on the pitch for the first time on November 5. In the 2-1 win against Yverdon, the tall striker contributed the assist for the winning goal in his 12-minute appearance. However, there was still no sign of the team getting out of trouble, as FCB were still deep in the mire.

Barry becomes the face of Basel's horror season

On December 2, Barry had to be the scapegoat after the 1:1 draw against Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy, even though he only came on as a substitute in the 85th minute. The young Frenchman missed two top chances and failed to give FCB some breathing space in the relegation battle. At this point, Basel have just one point more than bottom club SLO.

Barry is being attacked on the net. In addition to really nasty comments, you can also read that they should get rid of Barry as quickly as possible, even if they don't get a penny for him. FC Basel responded with a statement condemning the comments, and Barry also posted on Instagram, writing, among other things: "Your hate will make me stronger, I know that."

Barry moults from chance killer to goal machine

And Barry was proved right. However, he will have to wait a while before he scores his first goal in the Super League. On January 30, 2024, the time had finally come: Barry scored for the first time in the Super League - and then twice. He was the big figure in the 3:1 win against Winterthur. From then on, he scored regularly, scoring a further seven goals and setting up four in 16 games by the end of the season.

Barry is also in the spotlight in the Cup quarter-final on February 28. Because he arrives too late for training on the morning of the match, the in-form striker is left out of the starting eleven, just like Renato Veiga, who was transferred to Chelsea that summer. Fabio Celestini then substituted Barry at half-time with the score at 0:2 - and the 21-year-old did indeed save FCB with two goals in extra time. He also started and scored in the penalty shoot-out, but because Fabian Frei and Dominik Schmid missed, Basel still had to bow out.

Barry brings FC Basel a windfall

Barry has hit the ground running this season. He scored five goals in three Super League games. And in the Cup, he scored a flawless hat-trick in the first half in the 8:0 win against Subingen.

However, the now highly praised Barry has already shown his other face. Celestini left him out of the squad for the 2nd round match against Lugano (2-1 defeat) due to a night out. He was then allowed to start again against GC and scored a brace, as he had already done against Lausanne-Sport. Celestini explained after the game that he believed Barry would have a good career, as he always wanted to learn. However, he had to understand that it wouldn't work without discipline.

Yes, Barry has had a wild year. He came to FC Basel as a beacon of hope, was soon decried as a chance killer and labeled a scapegoat before he literally exploded and became the biggest goal machine in the league, attracting the interest of many clubs. Now the 21-year-old is moving to Villarreal, with FC Basel pocketing around CHF 15 million from the transfer. A lot of money for a player that many fans would have preferred to get rid of immediately six months ago.

Barry says goodbye with emotional words

Barry sincerely thanks his former teammates, the president, his coach and the fans - even if the latter was not love at first sight. But, says Barry: "Fortunately, God works in mysterious ways." He also apologizes for his missteps and expresses a wish: "I hope that in future, when people talk about me in Basel, they will only remember the positive things."

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