Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a France Association football who plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona and the France national football team predominantly as a Forward (association football).

Henry was born and brought up in the tough neighbourhood of Les Ulis, Essonne—a suburb of Paris—where Thierry Henry played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. Thierry Henry was spotted by AS Monaco FC in 1990 and signed instantly, making Thierry Henry professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which Thierry Henry signed for the Serie A defending champions Juventus F.C.. Thierry Henry had a disappointing season playing on the Midfielder Winger, before joining Arsenal F.C. for Pound sterling10.5 million in 1999.

It was at Arsenal that Henry made Thierry Henry name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premier League, Thierry Henry emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of Thierry Henry tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; Thierry Henry was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent Thierry Henry final two seasons with Arsenal as club Captain (football), leading them to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, Thierry Henry transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of €24 million. Thierry Henry first honours with the Catalonia club came in 2008–09 when they won the La Liga, cup and Champions League treble.

Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. In October 2007, Thierry Henry surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time. Off the pitch, as a result of Thierry Henry own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against Racism in association football. Thierry Henry footballing style and personality have ensured that Thierry Henry is one of the most commercially marketable footballers in the world; Thierry Henry has been featured in advertisements for Nike, Inc., Reebok, Renault, Pepsi and Global Gillette.

Early years

Henry is of Lesser Antilles heritage: Thierry Henry father, Antoine, is from Guadeloupe (La Désirade island), and Thierry Henry mother, Maryse, is from Martinique. Thierry Henry was born and raised in a tough environment in the heavily urbanized Les Ulis district of Paris which, despite its hardships, provided good footballing facilities. As a seven-year-old, Henry showed great potential, prompting Claude Chezelle to recruit Thierry Henry to the local club CO Les Ulis. Thierry Henry father pressured Thierry Henry to attend training, although the youngster was not particularly drawn to football. Thierry Henry joined US Palaiseau in 1989, but after a year Thierry Henry father fell out with the club, so Henry moved to ES Viry-Châtillon for two years. During the Division 1 season 1997/1998, Thierry Henry was instrumental in leading Thierry Henry club to the UEFA Champions League 1997-98, setting a French record by scoring seven goals in the competition. By Thierry Henry third season, Thierry Henry had received Thierry Henry first cap (sport) for France national football team, and was part of the winning team in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. but Thierry Henry was ineffective against the Serie A defensive discipline in a position uncharacteristic for him, and scored just three goals in 16 appearances.

Arsenal (1999–2007)

Unsettled in Italy, Henry transferred from Juventus in August 1999 to Arsenal F.C. for £10 million, reuniting with Thierry Henry former manager Arsène Wenger. It was at Arsenal that Henry made Thierry Henry name as a world-class footballer, and although Thierry Henry transfer was not without controversy, Wenger was convinced Thierry Henry was worth the transfer fee. Arsenal finished second in the league behind Manchester United, and lost in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final against Turkey side Galatasaray S.K.. Throughout the season, Thierry Henry competed with Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy for the league scoring title, but the latter edged Henry to the title by a goal. Apart from being named for the second year running as the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, Thierry Henry was the co-recipient (with Diego Forlán) of the European Golden Boot, and is currently the only player to have officially won the award twice in a row (Ally McCoist also had two Golden Boots in a row, but both were deemed European Golden Boot Unofficial winners from 1991 to 1996).

The 2005-06 in English football proved to be one of remarkable personal achievements for Henry. On 17 October 2005, Henry became the club's top goal-scorer of all time; two goals against Sparta Prague in the Champions League meant Thierry Henry broke Ian Wright's record of 185 goals. On 1 February 2006, Thierry Henry scored a goal against West Ham United F.C., bringing Thierry Henry league goal tally up to 151, breaking Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record. Henry scored Thierry Henry 100th league goal at Arsenal Stadium, a feat unparalleled in the history of the club, and a unique achievement in the Premier League. Thierry Henry completed the season as the league's top goal-scorer, and said Thierry Henry would stay at Arsenal for life. Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein later claimed the club had turned down two bids of £50 million from Spanish clubs for Henry before the signing of the new contract. Had the transfer materialized, it would have surpassed the world record £47 million paid for Zinédine Zidane. Although Thierry Henry scored 10 goals in 17 domestic appearances for Arsenal, Henry's season was cut short in February. Having missed games due to hamstring, foot, and back problems, Thierry Henry was deemed fit enough to come on as a late substitute against PSV Eindhoven in a UEFA Champions League 2006-07 match, but began limping shortly after coming on. Scans the next day revealed that Thierry Henry would need at least three months to heal from new groin and stomach injuries, missing the rest of the 2006–07 season. Wenger attributed Henry's injuries to a protracted 2005–06 campaign, and reiterated that Henry was keen on staying with the Gunners to rebuild for the 2007-08 in English football. It was revealed that the contract included a release clause of €125 (£84.9) million. Henry cited the departure of Dein and continued uncertainty over Wenger's future as reasons for leaving, and maintained that "I always said that if I ever left Arsenal it would be to play for Barcelona." Despite their captain's departure, Arsenal got off to an impressive start for the 2007–08 campaign, and Henry admitted that Thierry Henry presence in the team might have been more of a hindrance than a help. Thierry Henry stated: "Because of my seniority, the fact that I was captain and my habit of screaming for the ball, they would sometimes give it to me even when I was not in the best position. So in that sense it was good for the team that I moved on." Henry left Arsenal as the club's all-time league goal-scorer with 174 goals and all-time goal-scorer in Europe with 42 goals;

At Barcelona, Henry was given the number 14 jersey, the same as Thierry Henry had worn at Arsenal. Thierry Henry scored Thierry Henry first goal for Thierry Henry new club on 19 September 2007 in a 3–0 Champions League group stage win over Olympique Lyonnais, and Thierry Henry recorded Thierry Henry first hat-trick for Barça in a league match against Levante UD ten days later. However, with Henry mostly deployed on the wing throughout the season, Thierry Henry was unable to reproduce the goal-scoring form Thierry Henry achieved with Arsenal. Henry expressed dissatisfaction with the move to Barcelona in the initial year, amidst widespread speculation of a return to the Premier League. In an interview with Garth Crooks on BBC Football Focus, Henry described missing life "back home" and even "the English press". However, Henry concluded Thierry Henry La Liga 2007-08 as the club's top scorer with 19 goals in addition to nine league assists, second behind Lionel Messi's ten. Thierry Henry went on to surpass this tally in a more integrated La Liga 2008–09 campaign, winning the first trophy of Thierry Henry Barcelona career on 13 May 2009 when Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey 2008–09. Barcelona won the league and Champions League soon after, completing a treble for the Frenchman, who had combined with Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o to score 100 goals between them that season. The trio was also the most prolific trio in Spanish league history, scoring 72 goals and surpassing the 66 goals of Real Madrid's Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo di Stefano and Luis del Sol of the 1960–61 season.

International career

Henry has had a successful career with the France national football team. Thierry Henry international career began in June 1997, when Thierry Henry good form for Monaco was rewarded with a call-up to the France national under-21 football team, where Thierry Henry played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside future teammates William Gallas and David Trézéguet. Jacquet was so impressed with Henry that Thierry Henry took Thierry Henry to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Although Henry was a largely unknown quantity at international level, Thierry Henry ended the tournament as France's top scorer with three goals. Thierry Henry was scheduled to appear as a substitute in the final, where France beat Brazil national football team 3–0, but Marcel Desailly's Misconduct (football) forced a defensive change instead. In 1998, Thierry Henry was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur, France's highest decoration.

Henry was a member of France's UEFA Euro 2000 UEFA Euro 2000 squads France, again scoring three goals in the tournament, including the equalizer against Portugal national football team in the semi-final, and finishing as the country's top scorer. France later won the game in extra time following a converted penalty kick by Zinédine Zidane. France went on to defeat Italy national football team in extra time in the final, earning Henry Thierry Henry second major international medal. During the tournament, Henry was voted man-of-the-match in three games, including the final against Italy.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup featured a stunning early exit for both Henry and France as the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage after failing to score a goal in all three games. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup Henry remained as one of the automatic starters in the squad. Thierry Henry played as a lone striker, but despite an indifferent start to the tournament, became one of the top players of the World Cup. Thierry Henry scored three goals, including the winning goal from Zidane's free kick against defending champions Brazil. Henry was one of 10 nominees for the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament, an award which was ultimately presented to Thierry Henry teammate, Zidane and was named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.

On 13 October 2007, Henry scored Thierry Henry 41st goal against the Faroe Islands national football team, joining Michel Platini as the country's top goal-scorer of all time. On 3 June 2008, Henry made Thierry Henry 100th appearance for national team in match against Colombian national football team, becoming the sixth French player ever to reach that milestone.

Henry missed the opening game of France's short-lived Euro 2008 campaign, where they were eliminated in the group stages after being grouped together with Italy, Netherlands national football team and Romania national football team. Thierry Henry scored France's only goal in the competition in a 4–1 loss to the Netherlands.

Style of play

Although Henry played up front as a striker during Thierry Henry youth, This change forced Henry to adapt again to fit into the Arsenal team, and Thierry Henry played many games as a lone striker.

One of the reasons cited for Henry's impressive play up front is Thierry Henry ability to calmly score from one-on-ones. This, combined with Thierry Henry exceptional pace, means that Thierry Henry can get in behind defenders regularly enough to score. When up front, Henry is occasionally known to move out wide to the left wing position, something which enables Thierry Henry to contribute heavily in assist (football): between 2002–03 and 2004–05, the striker managed almost 50 assists in total and this was attributed to Thierry Henry unselfish play and creativity. although Thierry Henry never provided Arsenal a distinct aerial threat.

Awards and honours

Henry has received many plaudits and awards in Thierry Henry football career. Thierry Henry was runner-up for the 2003 FIFA World Player of the Year and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year FIFA World Player of the Year award; and in 2004 Thierry Henry was named by football legend Pelé as one of the FIFA 100.

In terms of goal-scoring awards, Henry was the European Golden Boot winner in 2004 and 2005 (sharing it with Villarreal CF's Diego Forlán in 2005) and is the first ever player to retain the award. Henry has also been the top goal-scorer in the Premiership for four seasons (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). Henry is currently third in the list of all-time English Premiership goal-scorers, behind Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Given Thierry Henry accomplishments, France's all-time goal-scorer is today regarded by many coaches, footballers and pundits as one of the best footballers in the world. In November 2007, Thierry Henry was ranked 33rd on the Association of Football Statisticians' compendium for "Greatest Ever Footballers". Arsenal fans honoured their former player in 2008, declaring Henry the greatest Arsenal player.

Monaco

- Ligue 1: 1996–97
- French Super Cup: 1997

Arsenal

- FA Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04
- FA Cup: 2002 FA Cup Final, 2003 FA Cup Final, 2005 FA Cup Final
- FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004

Barcelona

- La Liga: 2008–09
- Copa del Rey: Copa del Rey 2008–09
- UEFA Champions League: 2008–09

International

- FIFA World Cup: 1998 FIFA World Cup Final
- UEFA European Football Championship: Euro 2000
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup

Individual

- 2000 UEFA European Football Championship UEFA Team of the Tournament: 2000
- 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Top Scorers: 2003
- Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 2003
- 2006 FIFA World Cup All star team: 2006
- Ligue 1 Trophées UNFP du football Young Player of the Year: 1996–97
- PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04
- European Golden Boot: 2004, 2005
- English football champions Premier League .281992–present.29: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06. Henry was also top scorer in all four league divisions in 2004 and 2006
- Onze d'Or: 2003, 2006
- PFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
- Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06
- FIFPro World XI Striker: 2006
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
- France Football: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
- English Football Hall of Fame: 2008
- Premier League Player of the Month: April 2000, September 2002, January 2004, April 2004
- FIFA 100
- Time 100: 2007

Orders

- Légion d'Honneur: 1998