‘Are you a professional footballer?” was a question Thierno Barry had dreamed about answering in the affirmative, but on this occasion modesty was the best policy. The Frenchman was on a Zanzibar beach, surrounded by a group of 10-year-old boys he had schooled in a kickabout that helped him rediscover his love of the game after a difficult start in Basel.
Switzerland was next on Barry’s path after he had proven his talent in the Belgian second division at Beveren but it was not a smooth trajectory. “Two stupid red cards” in his first two appearances and failing to score in 16 Swiss league games left Barry needing to get away, so he headed to Africa and switched off his phone to enjoy the tranquillity of the Indian Ocean, a world away from football.
“I had played in Belgium and scored 20 goals, easy 20 goals, and then I went to Basel and when I went there I thought it would be easy to score there, too,” Barry says from Everton’s Finch Farm training ground before Saturday’s game at Brighton. “I found it was not easy. With the pressure and everything, I lost my confidence, I lost the love to play football – I lost everything. I saw some kids playing on the beach. My girlfriend said: ‘Go and play with these kids.’ I went and played and had a game. I was dribbling and just loved to touch the ball and when I came back to Basel I was like a different person.”
Nine goals in the second half of the season caught the eye of Villarreal, where his 11 goals earned a £27m move to Merseyside. Talk of his time in Switzerland brings perspective for Barry, who endured another tough beginning in England, going 16 games without finding the net and failing even to register a shot on target until December. But David Moyes’s faith never wavered and the rewards are being reaped. Barry has four goals in his past five Premier League games, helping Everton to 10th, four points off fifth.
Years of rejection as a teenager fuelled Barry to fulfil his potential. He was not in an academy, joining Sochaux at 18 as a winger after failed trials with Clermont and Hamilton Academical, the former as a defender and the latter in central midfield, and has settled on being a striker only in the past two years. “When I was younger I never played as a striker, I always played centre-back, right-back, left-back, all the positions but not striker,” Barry says. “I don’t know why. When I went to Sochaux I started to play more attacking.
“Because I wasn’t in an academy I arrived very late in football. I always do the next step because I dream big. Always my dad says: ‘Sometimes I think you are crazy, because always you talk and afterwards you have what you want.’ Like in a recent game, Jimmy [Garner] got man of the match and I said: ‘One day I hope you give me that’ and the next week he was presenting me with it. When I talk and when I want something I do everything I can to get it.”
Barry, whose English is improving by watching Power on Netflix, remains his own harshest critic but, whether amid feast or famine in front of goal, his work ethic never relents. Everton fans appreciated his endeavour during the barren times, showing their adulation when he was substituted in the 13th game of his drought against Fulham, as they desperately sought a long-term solution to the problematic central striking role. “Sometimes it is not about a goal, but the sentiment,” says Barry. “My parents were watching the game and they heard the standing ovation. After the game my mum called me and said: ‘You see, the people love you. You need to give the love back.’ Good things come to those who wait.”
It is hard to imagine a dejected Barry, who has an electric smile and jovial demeanour. Everton are Barry’s fifth club in as many seasons, each in a different country, but the previous moves were stepping stones. Putting down roots with his girlfriend and nine-month-old daughter is the plan. “All the [previous] clubs, before we talk I said: ‘My dream is to play in the Premier League,’ so if I come here, it’s because I want to go to the Premier League, I want to prove here that I can play there. I think I want to do many years here, because it’s the best competition in the world.”
Cutting corners is not part of Barry’s thinking. He employs a personal trainer, nutritionist, two physios and a chef. He can often be found in his garden playing out in-game scenarios, desperate to ensure every detail is covered. On his left wrist is inscribed Me v Me. “I got it in Basel,” Barry says. “When I did the first six months it was like my fault if I didn’t score, if I didn’t play good. The second part of the tattoo was when I played good I saw it as me against me. One day if I forget about things, I can remember by looking at this.”
Barry knows there are few guarantees in football, and his fine run cannot go on for ever, but when the bad times almost inevitably return he has better coping mechanisms than most. Will he be seeking a kickabout on Formby beach the next time he loses love for the game? “I play with my little baby, so it’s OK,” he says with a beaming smile, having found the route to goal and happiness.
