“I expected to have a good season. Because in my last matches with Sochaux in N3, I had scored a lot of goals, I had the feeling of learning and improving with each match. I tell myself that in each match an attacker must have 2-3 chances, he must score at least one goal and that in fact, it seems easier. After all, it wasn’t all that simple. At the beginning, I was a substitute, then, they put me on one side whereas I am more comfortable at the forefront, but when the coach aligned me in 9, well suddenly it was It came together naturally and I piled up the goals. Afterwards, it’s the Belgian second division, but I tell myself that when you aspire to play higher, I tell myself that given the level at which I play it’s not yet enough” Thierno Barry confided to us in April 2023. The 1m95 striker remained on good performances for the Sochaux reserve side in National 3 (10 goals and 3 sacrifices in 22 matches), but had not found an agreement with the Cubs to continue and had therefore looked for a new base. Trialled by Lens, he was close to joining the Lorient and Beveren reserves in the Belgian second division. Ultimately, this was the option he chose and it paid off. In a duo with Dieumerci Mbokani, he panicked the scorers with a season of 20 goals and 5 assists, enough to definitely launch his adventure.
His performances did not go unnoticed and it was then that FC Basel decided to bet on someone who is capable of playing on both wings in addition to the center forward position. However, the adaptation will take a little longer for him in Switzerland. In difficulty like his team, which will have two coaches in four months of competition, and which will quickly be placed at the bottom of the table, Thierno Barry will have to wait until January 30, 2024 to launch his adventure definitively with a double against Winterthur (3 -1). Well managed by the new coach Fabio Celestini who arrived in November, the player would take time, but this allowed him to gradually free himself. Following this double against Winterthur, the center forward will show consistency throughout the second half of the season to finish the exercise with 12 goals and 5 assists in 37 matches. At the end of the season, he was aware of Fabio Celestini’s contribution to his development. “I had discussions with him, but in these difficulties I did not see that he supported me. Because I only saw black. At the end of each training session, he came to me to say “Come on, we’re going to score 15 or 20 goals” and that allowed me to work on my shots. And above all he told me afterwards, this is what we have to do and above all to keep hope because it will come. So when I look today, I tell myself that he always supported me except that he was just waiting for this moment when I wake up», he explained in an interview for Blue Sport.
Now 3rd in Liga and in the French U21 team
Equipped with a new status at the start of the season, Thierno Barry did not miss his first steps with FC Basel. In four matches played, he scored 8 goals. A perfect start or almost since he had stood out negatively with a few delays to training and a night out (like six other players on the team). He was thus sidelined against Lugano (2-1 defeat) and had suffered the reprimands of Fabio Celestini: “in principle, as a professional, you cannot go out in the evening or drink alcohol. If you have a beer with your teammates in the evening after a 3-0 victory and there is no training the next day, it’s a little different (it was just before a 3-2 defeat against Lausanne -Sport editor’s note). Such actions hold us back. We need professionalism if we want to be successful.» Words which will have found an attentive ear since the performances of Thierno Barry which followed were very good and led Villarreal to pay a check for 14 million euros at the end of the transfer window (August 21) – he was also followed by AS Saint-Étienne – to secure his services. As in Basel, Thierno Barry will show interesting things in the game quite quickly, but will struggle with efficiency at the start. Something that he was able to correct with confidence since he now has 3 goals and 2 goals in 10 La Liga matches and is gaining momentum in recent matches.
Having to succeed Alexander Sörloth who left for Atlético de Madrid, Thierno Barry certainly does not yet have the efficiency of the Norwegian who scored 26 times in 41 games last year, but his margin for improvement is visible for his coach Marcelino. The former coach of Olympique de Marseille defended him on October 26 after the match against Real Valladolid (2-1) where he scored his third goal with the yellow submarine: “he’s a kid who just turned 22 and comes from the minor leagues. We cannot ask for immediacy from a footballer who is new to Spain and a major championship. He shows too much anxiety with the goal, we must try to change that.» Still room for improvement, Thierno Barry has nevertheless managed to do well for the moment. Holder with the 3rd in Liga, he was rewarded for his great rise in power with his first call-up to the French U21 team, he who played two years ago in National 3 and who had never played in the youth teams of the tricolor selection. A great reward for the right-hander with an upward trajectory who will try to score points in the eyes of Gérald Baticle with a view to the Euro U21 next summer.
