Louie Barry, a former Aston Villa wonderkid, created history before returning home. He has a story to share.
The goal is not only majestic, but it is delivered at the ideal angle for those in the back row of the directors’ box at Edgeley Park to take in. By then, Louie Barry had already recovered a ricochet, taken a half-second to settle himself, as if resetting his body and mind to their normal starting position, and continued forward. By then, Barry is standing precisely between them, the penalty spot, and the goal.
Barry’s shot is set far outside the far post, impossibly so, and goes off target until it hits the net. What’s most noticeable is how, while everyone else – teammates, manager Dave Challinor, and spectators around and behind the goal – is still staring at the ball’s course, Barry has already raced off as if to celebrate his efforts. He knows.
“I think I’ve been doing that for my whole life, cutting in off the left and curling a shot with my right foot into the far corner,” he says later, a sheepish smile instantly removing any suggestion of hubris.
“With those finishes, I don’t need to look at the ball to know if it’s going in or the goalie will have to make a worldie save to keep it out. I can tell when I hit a good shot or a terrible one. I target a certain place outside the post and then bring it back within.”
I’m here to witness Stockport County face Wrexham, two clubs whose fast promotion was achieved through quite different means. But I’m also here to observe and then interview the best player of his age at this level, as well as the team’s top goalscorer following this goal. Despite a four-month injury, Louie Barry helped Stockport reach League One last season. Now he’s threatening to do it again.
This style of artwork does not always function well. Sometimes something happens – a red card, a home defeat, a muscle injury, or just poor performance – that indicates your subject isn’t feeling it or that all parties think that a reschedule would be preferable. Sometimes nothing happens, but the player remains silent. That is totally their right; I am the one who intrudes on their private.
As it turns out, Barry’s spectacular goal is the only one of the game. As he is replaced during the second half, every Stockport County fan who can gets to their feet to chant Barry’s name as he exits the field.
Ten minutes after full-time, he finishes signing autographs for a group of children, returns to the tunnel, and hears an older season ticket holder say, “Well done, Louie lad – keep it up!” “Will do, mate, I really appreciate it,” he says.
It’s a great time to accomplish something fantastic. In the days that follow, the international breaking news cycle concentrates on weekend highlights and makes them into viral stories. Over the past 24 hours, the following articles have been published: “Things to know about Leicester transfer target Louie Barry”; “Tottenham keen on Louie Barry”; “League One loan star slapped with £12.5m price tag”; and “Louie Barry… emerging as the star of League One”. That must be exhausting.
Barry is 21 years old and is on loan at Stockport County from Aston Villa. That’s a common story. What makes this and Louie so interesting is what happened before, how things may have gone out differently, and how it has driven this young man to take control of his career. Even in the aim statement, you can tell that Barry understands what he’s doing and why.
Barry, a 15-year-old from Sutton Coldfield, was signed by West Bromwich Albion after scoring freely for England’s youth teams and catching the attention of some of Europe’s best clubs. Barry could not be signed by anyone before the age of 16. After his birthday, things became a little crazy.
There were visits to Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, as well as continued contact with Paris Saint-Germain, but one day Barry’s agent called to inform the family that Barcelona was interested. At the time, the athlete himself stated that there was just one club he wanted to join and one academy system he aspired to be a part of.
A agreement was reached, but West Brom lost out because the move resulted in them receiving only £235,000 in compensation and having to battle for that amount. It changed Barry’s life forever. He became the first English player in history to train at La Masia, the world’s most prestigious football academy.
“It’s one of those facets of my life that I don’t think I’ll really understand until I’m a lot older,” he says. “I can look back on it with some pride now, but the true significance will take years to register. Because I’m young, it’s kind of like, ‘I went there, I had a great time, and then I moved to Villa’.
“And I’ve found that while you’re in your work, you don’t have time to reflect; you’re too busy experiencing it. You must keep looking forward; the next game is always the most crucial one. It’ll be different once I’ve settled down and retired, which should be a long time.”
Barry spent only a few months in Spain, but it opened his horizons both personally and professionally. Because he lived in La Masia, his family did not relocate to Barcelona; this was difficult. The level of instruction was innovative for him, as was the emphasis on ball control and technique.
“Weirdly enough, I hadn’t experienced anything like it before I went to Barcelona but then when I came back to Aston Villa it was very similar,” Barry says. “Unai Emery is clearly an incredible coach for developing players, and I worked with him in preseason this year. The rondos, in-possession box exercises, and drills were all very similar to what I had done in Barcelona.
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