Valdes saves against Henry from UCL Final 2005 GIFs | Barca Images GIF

FC Barcelona's recent European domination started on that wonderful day in Paris when Barca emerged victorious against Arsenal to secure their second Champions League title. Most of us remember the spectacular Eto'o equalizer and the even more memorable Belletti winner. But Victor Valdes kept Barca in the game with a series of saves. The three best saves was against Thierry Henry who was in sensational form and wasn't meant to miss any of those. Here are the GIF images of those spectacular saves. Enjoy!!!

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Odds Against Thierry Henry

FC Barcelona forward Thierry henry is facing a race against time to get fit for the Champions League Final against Manchester United in Rome. Thierry Henry injured his right knee during the 6-2 thrashing of Real Madrid, he has already missed the semi-final clash against Chelsea. The club website has confirmed that he will be missing Copa Del Rey final and the League matches against Villareal, Mallorca and Osasuna. He is undergoing specific treatment inorder to get ready for the clash against Manchester United. This comes as another blow for Guardiola but the best thing he can hope is a timely recovery for Henry.Now this is already going to put Guardiola in more trouble. He as usual will be compelled to move Iniesta up the park. But I would say that it would be a kind of disaster if we decide to move Iniesta from midfield. So Guardiola has to make a choice between Pedro, Hleb and Bojan for the position on the left. I would prefer Pedro or Bojan.

The good thing for Guardiola is that he got time to experiment with all the formation for the final. But in between he and the players should remember that they haven't won anything yet. We need atleast five points from our last four games to win the La Liga. Ans Copa Del Rey has been one cup which eluded us for so long. Manwhile UEFA has allocated 19,544 for FC Barcelona for the Champions League final. The club has announced that 80% of the tickets will be put on sale. FC Barcelona will be considered as the home team for the final. The final will be held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The Stadio Olimpico matches the Nou Camp exactly in dimension and that will be a huge boost for FC barcelona.

Uncertainity about Henry's Participation in Stamford Bridge

Sport.es has reported a possibility of Thierry Henry missing the game at Stamford Bridge due to a slight knee trouble. Initially Sport.es has reported that Henry was ruled out of the squad. But FC Barcelona looked like have denied any such move and confirmed that Henry will definitely be in the travelling party. According to Sport, Henry will undergo a training at Chelsea and any decision will be taken after that. There was no official communication regarding all these in FC Barcelona's official website, hence we can't confirm the authenticity of any of these claims. With Puyol already injured , the last thing Pep Guardiola want is an injury to the French International. Thierry Henry was kept quiet in the first leg against Chelsea but was in top form against Real Madrid.

The possibility of Henry missing the tie against Chelsea could pose much problems for Guardiola. Iniesta has done very well in that position and the normal logic would be to bring in Keita in to midfield and move Iniesta forward. This will also add a defensive cover to the formation and hence will be good for a team which will be missing Puyol. But there are enough troubles for Guardiola in doing the same - an absence of Iniesta in the midfield will create trouble for Xavi. It becomes easy for Chelsea midfield to double mark Xavi out of the match. Keita's presence will also means that there will not be any pace available from midfield, many pundits have attributed the lack of pace for Barca's poor performance in first leg. The best news for Barca will be to see Henry fit for the match. But if that does not happen, it is always better to play Bojan in that position rather than move Iniesta up front. We will be having a very inexperienced Central Defense for this match and that makes it essesntial that our midfield dominates the possession completely.

Thierry Henry Part 2

When Thierry Henry arrived in Barcelona, everyone was of the opinion that he was a year late. He was supposed to make the switch from Arsenal to FC Barcelona a year earlier, but it took he deferred the decision after the bitter loss at the hand of FC Barcelona in the Champions League final. So many including myself have disagreed on his signing; I personally believed and still believe that his signing at that time did more to increase the unrest in the dressing room rather than the harmony. Eto was supposed to struggle to hold on to his position after the French international's arrival. But soon after his arrival the fairytale bubble started to burst. He did struggle to hold on to his position; this coupled with Ronaldinho's troubled season means FC Barcelona went off the title chase from the beginning. May be it is not fair to say that he struggled; after all he scored 19 goals from 47 appearances in the season. Add to it 11 assists that is really an impressive tally for any player except Thierry Henry. Thierry Henry's exploit with Arsenal made sure that the expectation remained sky high when he arrived at FC Barcelona. And you cannot deny the fact that he struggled especially in terms of making his presence felt in the team.

But then this season has been a complete revelation. He along with the other two of the fantastic trio has scored seventy percent of goals of this season. Thierry Henry has already have 14 goals from 24 appearances so far this season. What made this turn around possible? Many argue that he took one year to come to terms with the style of play in La Liga and especially FC Barcelona. He had a turbulent last one year in terms of personal affairs and since it is settled for good, many argue we are able to see a changed Henry. But is it all? I think there is more to this change and it should be more of a mental change. The start of the season it was clear that Guardiola would prefer Henry over Eto anytime, but still Henry lost his place to another budding superstar Andres Iniesta. It is not a shame to have lost the position to Iniesta, who according to me is the second most talented player we have got. Henry did voice his displeasure in the begining but slowly came to terms with reality of the situation. For me he has convinced himself that he may not reach back to his glory days, and that resulted in a sea change in his attitude. He started contributing so much for his team mates. He no longer complaints that he is played out of position in FC Barcelona, instead he made the left flank his own. And it is no surprise that many of our moves now comes from the left flank where a 31 year old Henry is running like hell. And it is no surprise that he has contributed more to his team mates performances than during his times in Arsenal. At 31 Thierry Henry will never reach back his peak, and that realisation by the French Man could prolong his career for long. He could do a Ryan Giggs for sure if he keep on adjusting to the realities of his age and time. At this moment he lies joint fourth in the Pichichi list along with Higuain and Forlan. He is the most oldest player in the top five of that list at this moment.

New Gillette Video featuring Thiery Henry