Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry (, born 17 August 1977 in Paris, France) is a French football (soccer) player. Renowned for his pace, he plays as a striker for the France national football team and FC Barcelona.

Henry was born and brought up in the tough neighbourhood of Les Ulis, Essonne, where as a youngster he played for an array of local sides and showed great promise as a goal scorer. AS Monaco FC spotted him in 1990 and signed him up instantly. he joined Arsenal F.C. for a fee of Pound sterling10.5 million in 1999. and twice received the Barclays Premiership player of the season award. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years in an Arsenal shirt, the French striker transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 million.

With the French national squad, Henry has also enjoyed success, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. Given his accomplishments, he is today regarded by many as one of the best footballers in the world. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football.

Biography

Early career

Henry is of Lesser Antilles heritage; his father, Antoine, is from Guadeloupe (La Désirade island), and his mother, Maryse, is from Martinique. He grew up in the heavily urbanised Les Ulis, a tough environment for the youngster.

In June 1997, Henry's good form was rewarded with a call-up to the France national under-21 football team, where he played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside future teammates William Gallas and David Trezeguet. Within four months, France head coach Aimé Jacquet called Henry up to the senior team. The 20-year-old made his senior international debut on October 11, 1997 in a 2 – 1 win against South Africa national football team. Jacquet was so impressed with Henry that he took him to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Although Henry was a largely unknown quantity at international level, he ended the tournament as France's top scorer with three goals. He was scheduled to appear in the final — where France beat Brazil national football team 3 – 0 — as a substitute, but the Misconduct (football) of Marcel Desailly forced a defensive change instead. On Bastille Day 1998, he was awarded France's highest decoration, the Légion d'Honneur. He then left Monaco in January 1999, one year before his friend and teammate David Trezeguet, and moved to Italy Serie A club Juventus F.C. for £10.5 million. The Frenchman played on the wing, but he was unable to cope with the Italian defensive discipline of the Serie A. Henry scored just three goals in 16 appearances.

Arsenal

Unsettled in Italy, Henry transferred from Juventus F.C. in August 1999 to Arsenal F.C. for £10.5 million, reuniting with his former manager Arsène Wenger.

The following summer, Henry was a member of France's 2000 UEFA European Football Championship championship squad, again scoring three goals, 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 Zinedine Zidane. France went on to defeat Italy national football team in extra time in the final, and Henry earned his second major international medal.

Henry's second season with Arsenal proved to be a breakthrough, as he became the club's top goalscorer. After France lost their first match in group play, Henry was red carded for a sliding, studs-up challenge in their next match against Uruguay national football team. France played to a 0 – 0 draw, but Henry was forced to miss the final match due to suspension; France lost 2 – 0 to Denmark national football team.

Despite international disappointment, 2002-03 in English football proved to be another productive season for Henry, as he scored 42 goals in all competitions while contributing 23 assist (football)s, remarkable returns for a striker. During the summer that followed, Henry returned to form for his country at the Confederations Cup 2003. France, playing without team stalwarts Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira, won, in large part owing to Henry's outstanding play for which he was named Man of the Match by FIFA's Technical Study Group in three of France's five matches. In the final, he scored the golden goal in extra time to lift the host country over Cameroon national football team 1 – 0. Yet, Arsenal again failed to secure back-to-back league titles when they lost out to Chelsea F.C] in the 2004-05 in English football. However, the club did win the FA Cup, and Henry managed 31 goals in 42 appearances. That summer, Henry also played in all of France's 2004 UEFA European Football Championship matches. France beat England national football team in the group stages but lost to the eventual winners Greece national football team 1 – 0 in the quarter-finals.

The departure of compatriot Vieira in the summer of 2005 meant that Henry assumed club captaincy. Along with being chief goal scorer, he was responsible for leading a very young team. The 2005-06 in English football proved to be one of remarkable personal achievements for Henry but disappointment in the team silverware department. On 17 October, 2005, Henry became the club's top goalscorer of all time; two goals against Sparta Prague meant he broke Ian Wright's record of 185 goals. On February 1, 2006, he scored a goal against West Ham United F.C., bringing his league goal tally up to 151 and thus breaking Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record. Henry also scored his 100th league goal at Arsenal Stadium, a feat unparalleled in the history of the club, and a unique achievement in the Premier League.

Nevertheless, Arsenal failed to win the league title again, but some hope was preserved when Arsenal, who hitherto never enjoyed much success in Europe, reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. The Gunners eventually lost 1 – 2 to FC Barcelona, and Arsenal's inability to win the Premiership for two consecutive seasons combined with the relative inexperience of the Arsenal squad caused much speculation that Henry would leave for another club. However, he declared his loyalty and love for the club and subsequently accepted a four-year contract. He reaffirmed this months later by saying "If an opportunity like Barcelona comes again, with all my respect for such a club, I will refuse" and that he will 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 materialised, it would have surpassed the world record ₤47 million paid for Zinedine Zidane. However, France subsequently lost to Italy on penalties (5 – 3) in the final. Henry was one of 10 nominees for the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament, an award which was ultimately presented to his teammate, Zidane. Henry was also named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.

Henry's 2006-07 in English football season was largely marred by injury, something which was unprecedented in his entire tenure with the Gunners. Although he managed 10 goals in 17 domestic appearances for Arsenal, including the winner against Manchester United F.C. on 21 January, Henry's domestic and international season was cut short on 7 March 2007. Having missed games due to hamstring, foot, and back problems, he 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. After the match Wenger announced that Henry had suffered new injuries to his groin and stomach muscles. At first it was expected that Henry would miss "a few weeks", but scans the next day revealed that he would need at least three months to heal, thus missing the rest of the 2006 – 07 season. Wenger attributed Henry's injuries to a protracted 2005 – 06 campaign, and also reiterated that the latter was keen on staying with the Gunners to rebuild for the 2007-08 in English football.
On June 25, 2007, however, Henry was transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of Pound sterling16.1 (Euro23.7) million. He signed a four-year deal for a reported £6.8 (€4.6) million per season. It was also revealed that the contract included a release clause of €125 (£84.9) million In an open letter to The Sun (newspaper), Henry cited the departure of David Dein and continued uncertainty over Arséne Wenger's future as reasons for leaving. Henry will wear the number 14 jersey, as he had at Arsenal.

Awards

Henry has received many plaudits and awards in his football career. He 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; in those two seasons, he also won back-to-back PFA Players' Player of the Year titles. Furthermore, Henry is the only player ever to have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2006), and in 2004 he was named by football legend Pelé as one of the FIFA 100.

In terms of goalscoring awards, Henry was the European Golden Boot winner in 2004 and 2005 (albeit sharing it with Villarreal CF's Diego Forlan in 2005) and is the first ever player to retain the award. Henry has also been the top goalscorer 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. He is also France's highest goalscorer of all time alongside Michel Platini.

Style of play

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

One of the reasons cited for Henry's impressive play up front is his ability to calmly score from one-on-ones. This combined with his pace means that he can get in behind defenders regularly enough to score. something which enables him to contribute heavily in assist (football): between 2002 – 03 and 2004 – 05, the striker managed almost 50 assists in total thanks to his unselfish play and creativity. Henry dedicated his first goal since Tea's birth to her by holding his fingers in a "T" shape and kissing them after [coring in a match against Newcastle United]. When Henry was still at Arsenal, he also purchased a home in Hampstead, North London.

An avid National Basketball Association fan, Henry is often seen with his good friend Tony Parker at games when not playing football. Henry stated in an interview that he admires basketball, as it is similar to football in pace and excitement. Having made regular trips to the NBA Finals in the past, he went to watch Parker and the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals; and in the 2001 NBA Finals, he went to Philadelphia to help with French television coverage of the Finals as well as to watch Allen Iverson whom he named as one of his favourite players.

Social causes

Henry is a member of the UNICEF-FIFA squad, where together with other professional footballers he appeared in a series of TV spots seen by hundreds of millions of fans around the world during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. In these spots, the players promote football as a game that must be played on behalf of children. a Spanish TV crew caught Luis Aragonés motivating Henry's then Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes and referring to Henry as "black shit".

Commercial marketability

In 2006, Henry was valued as the ninth most commercially marketable footballer in the world, as well as being the eighth richest Premiership player, with £21 million. In terms of past endorsements, Henry featured in the Renault Clio adverts in which he popularised the term va-va-voom, meaning "life" or "passion". The word was subsequently added to the Oxford Concise English Dictionary. He was also a part of Nike, Inc.'s Joga Bonito campaign, Portuguese language for "play beautifully". His deal with Nike ended after the 2006 World Cup, when he signed a deal with Reebok to appear in their "I Am What I Am" campaign.