Henrique, 29, has been at the heart of a Bordeaux defence that has been rock-solid at the start of the new campaign, playing a major role as the South-West France outfit lie unbeaten after seven league games.
With the Europa League also starting well, with a 4-0 victory over Club Brugge on home territory, Bordeaux now travel to the North-East of England to take on a powerful Newcastle side.
Henrique reveals, though, that the French side have not had much time to prepare for the encounter: “We didn’t have time to train specifically for this game until Wednesday, as we had a difficult fixture with Lyon on Sunday.
“We will look at how Newcastle play and we already know some of their players as they are one of the strongest teams in the best league in the world. It will be a tough game, but were are ready to try and secure a win for Bordeaux, or even just to come away with a point.”
The defender is acutely aware that he may be a busy man on the night, should the Magpies play star strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse. However, with a game against Manchester United on the weekend, it is unclear what Newcastle side they will face.
“They have two quality forwards, who are both very powerful, and Cabaye runs the game for them in midfield,” Henrique continues. “Besides that, Ben Arfa is very talented.
“If we have a good night, though, we can get a victory. We don’t know if they will play a strong side as they have a big game on Sunday and are not doing so well in the Premier League.”
One player who is familiar to many at the club is former Bordeaux winger Gabriel Obertan, who is likely to feature for Newcastle in the encounter.
“Obertan is a very good player,” Henrique enthused of his former colleague. “I played with him here at Bordeaux, however he did not get much chance to show his ability here. He showed talent, despite being very young. He has a lot of quality, he’s very quick and skilful.”
But, what of Bordeaux’s start to the season. To what does the Brazilian attribute their success? Showing great modesty, the defender insists that the side’s greatest strength is knowing their own weaknesses.
He added: “We are working on the same basis as at the end of last season. We know that we don’t have individual stars, but as a unit we know our strengths and limitations.
“As well as thing are going right now, we know that we have to lose one day and we will know longer have this unbeaten run.
“I have had good moments like this before, but what hurts is that whenever it was good I ended up getting injured and needing a long recovery. Now, I am working hard on preventing injury with a physiotherapist from Brasil.”
Bordeaux take on Newcastle at St James’s Park on Thursday evening at 20.05 BST.
