BAZ WAS THE MODEL STUDENT

A HUMBLE RISE TO EUROPE’S ELITE

- CHRIS DUNLAVY

 

PAUL Cook called him a student of football who lives for the game. Thomas Tuchel lauded his energy and passion. Fleetwood and Huddersfield both asked him to be their manager.

Anthony Barry is one of the most highly-rated coaches on the planet, a Champions League winner at Chelsea who spent the World Cup with Portugal and is now an integral part of Tuchel’s Bayern Munich staff.

Yet six years ago, the 36-year-old was a journeyman midfielder struggling to get a game for Wrexham in the National League.

“Nobody then would have guessed he’d end up at Bayern,” laughs James Jennings, who played with Barry in his final season at the Racecourse.

“I remember when he left Wrexham and got on the staff at Wigan, we thought ‘Wow, he’s done well for himself ’. What’s happened since is absolutely incredible but, in hindsight, the signs were there.

“On some of the long away trips I’d play cards with him on the back of the bus. He was always talking about stuff he was doing outside of football, whether it was investments or coaching badges or other bits and pieces.

“He had a portfolio of properties that he was managing while he was playing and he had loads of contacts. He was constantly networking and he was always very proactive. Just a very smart, switched-on guy.

“I think he was doing his A Licence at Wrexham, and as soon as that was done it was ‘Right, now I’m doing the Pro Licence’. He was one of the youngest people in the country to get on the course and to finish as early as he did - I think he was 31 when he retired - shows you how determined he was to succeed.”

Qualities