MESSI, ETO’O & HENRY

DEFINING THAT FRONT THREE BY GOALS IS AS REDUCTIVE AS LAUDING WAR AND PEACE DUE TO ITS NUMBER OF PAGES

Pep Guardiola has arguably still never topped his first iconic front three. Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry hit 38, 36 and 26 goals in all competitions during Barça’s Treble- winning 2008- 09 – but to define them purely by goal output is as reductive as eulogising War and Peace for its number of pages.

Henry retained his cheekiness from years of playing street football in Paris – Pep even subbed him once, for attempting to overload Messi’s flank against instruction – while Eto’o could as easily cut open defences with a deft flick as he could crush them with a sweetly struck volley. And then there was Messi, long out of Ronaldinho’s shadow, pivoting on a peseta and toying with defenders. Despite his love of Catalan songwriter Lluis Llach, Guardiola himself never cared much for poetry. But while the world fawned over his creation, Messi, Eto’o and Henry battered opponents by adding intent to elegance.

Barça beat Real Madrid 6- 2 that season, with Messi deployed as a befuddling false nine, and Eto’o and Henry converging into the box to complete a terrifying triumvirate.

They hit Bayern for four and Atletico for six: each scored at least one goal in both games.

Henry followed up an underwhelming first campaign by fizzing as Pep’s men made history; Eto’o doubled his previous season’s goal output; as did Messi, who came of age among the elite. Only a season earlier, the Flea hadn’t even been able to look Henry in the face after the Frenchman’s arrival from Arsenal, so in awe was he of the Gunners great’s prior achievements.

But Henry had never sealed Champions League glory like Messi did in 2009 against Manchester United, as Barça schooled their Premier League adversaries with a supreme display that tied up a titanic hat- trick of trophies. After Eto’o had turned Nemanja Vidic inside- out to prod home the opener in Rome, the 5ft 7in attacker ghosted beyond Rio Ferdinand to head Los Cules’ decisive second goal.

“I lost sleep over that [ goal] many, many times,” Ferdinand later admitted.

Not bad for someone who “couldn’t score a header even if they put a top hat on him”, as Terry Venables had said before pre- game.