Barca head to Asia
Afp, Madrid
Barcelona head to Asia on Thursday for a pre-season tour reinvigorated by their new signing Thierry Henry who scored during his debut last week for the club at an exhibition match in Scotland.Barcelona vice-captain Xavi Hernandez said the arrival of the 29-year-old French international from Arsenal last month boosted morale at the club after they missed out on their third successive Primera Liga title last season, which was won by arch-rivals Real Madrid. "Henry's arrival was the key moment. It was as if everything was erased and we could begin again. For us and the fans," the midfielder said. "In the streets I see people full of enthusiasm, which is not easy to achieve. There are only a few players who can lift a depressed club," he added. Henry scored the winner during Barcelona's 1-0 exhibition victory at Dundee United last Thursday. The striker netted a penalty kick rebound in the dying seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute at Tannadice for Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o. "I hope it will be the first of many goals," he said after the match. Barcelona went on to defeat Hearts 3-1 on Saturday in the second match of their six-day tour of Scotland with two goals by Ronaldinho and one by Brazilian teenager Giovani Dos Santos that was set up by Henry. The formal Arsenal star, who took over from Ronaldinho in the second half, rolled the ball across the face of the goal six minutes after he came on, allowing Dos Santos to stab it in. Barcelona signed Henry as part of a spending spree totalling around 65 million euros (88 million US dollars) that also saw Argentina centre-back Gabriel Milito, Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure and French left back Eric Abidal join the team. An estimated 30,000 people turned out to watch Henry's official presentation at the Nou Camp last month, more than came to see Ronaldinho when he signed in 2003. Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard says he believes the new recruits will help refresh the squad, which was plagued by conflicts last season between key players like Ronaldinho and Eto'o that fuelled media storms. Barcelona will visit China, Japan and Hong Kong between August 3 and 11. The squad will play three exhibition games during its Asian tour. It will face Beijing Guoan on August 5 in the Chinese capital and Yokohama Marinos in Tokyo two days later. Barcelona will then face Mission Hills Invitation XI, a team made up of players from Kitchee FC and Happy Valley FC, in Hong Kong on August 10.
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