THIERRY HENRY

Thierry Henry

Personal information
Full name Thierry Daniel Henry
Date of birth August 17, 1977 (1977-08-17) (age 30)
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information


Current club FC Barcelona
Number 14
Youth clubs
1983–1989
1989–1990
1990–1992
1992–1992
1992–1995 CO Les Ulis
US Palaiseau
Viry-Châtillon
I.N.F Clairefontaine
AS Monaco
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1995–1998
1998–1999
1999–2007
2007- AS Monaco
Juventus
Arsenal
FC Barcelona 110 0(20)
016 00(3)
254 (174)
002 00(0)
National team2
1997– France 093 0(40)
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 20:38, 25 June 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 20:38, 25 June 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977 in Paris, France) is a French football player. Renowned for his pace,[1][2] he plays as a striker for the France national 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 spotted him in 1990 and signed him up instantly.[2] Handed his professional club debut in 1994, he stayed at Monaco until 1998, where good form earned him an international call-up. Henry then moved to Italian giants Juventus, but after a disappointing season playing on the wing,[3] he joined Arsenal for a fee of £10.5 million in 1999.[2]

It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a top footballer. Initially, he struggled in the Premiership, but he soon emerged as Arsenal's top goal scorer in almost his every season there. Long-time mentor and coach Arsene Wenger's conversion of Henry into a prolific striker made him Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with over 200 goals. With the Gunners, Henry won two league titles and three FA Cups. He was also twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year[4] and twice received the Barclays Premiership player of the season award.[5][6] 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 World Cup and Euro 2000. Given his accomplishments, he is today regarded by many as one of the best footballers in the world.[3][7][8][9] Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against football racism.




Biography

Early career
Henry is of Antillean 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.[2] Despite its hardships, the town provided good facilities for footballers. In 1983, the six-year-old Henry showed great potential, which prompted Claude Chezelle to recruit the youngster at the local club CO Les Ulis. Five years later, Henry played his first game for the club. His father put a lot of pressure on him to attend training, although the youngster was not particularly drawn to football. Henry went on to join US Palaiseau in 1989, but after a year his father fell out with the club. Henry then moved to Viry-Châtillon for two years. US Palaiseau coach Jean-Marie Panza followed him there; Henry would name Panza as his mentor in future years.

In 1990, AS Monaco sent scout Arnold Catalano to watch Henry. He scored all six goals as his side won 6–0. Catalano asked Henry to join Monaco without even attending a trial first. Catalano requested that Henry complete a course at the elite academy Clairefontaine, but the director there was reluctant to accept Henry due to his poor school results. Despite this, Henry was allowed to complete the course, and he joined Arséne Wenger's AS Monaco as a youth player. Subsequently, Henry signed professional forms with AS Monaco and was given his professional debut in 1995. Wenger put Henry on the left wing because he believed that his pace, natural ball control and skill would be more effective against full-backs than centre-backs. In his four seasons with Monaco, the young winger scored 21 goals in 125 appearances, and helped the club win the Ligue 1 title in 1996-97.[10]

In June 1997, Henry's good form was rewarded with a call-up to the U-20 French national team, where he played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside future teammates William Gallas and David Trezeguet.[11] 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.[12] Jacquet was so impressed with Henry that he took him to the 1998 World Cup. Although Henry was a largely unknown quantity at international level, he ended the tournament as France's top scorer with three goals.[13] He was scheduled to appear in the final—where France beat Brazil 3–0—as a substitute, but the sending off of Marcel Desailly forced a defensive change instead. On Bastille Day 1998, he was awarded France's highest decoration, the Légion d'Honneur.[13]

Henry's good form for Monaco continued during the 1997-98 season, as he helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League semi-final.[14] He then left Monaco in January 1999, one year before his friend and teammate David Trezeguet, and moved to Italian Serie A club Juventus for £10.5 million. The Frenchman played on the wing,[15] but he was unable to cope with the Italian defensive discipline of the Serie A. Henry scored just three goals in 16 appearances.[16]


Arsenal
Unsettled in Italy, Henry transferred from Juventus in August 1999 to Arsenal for £10.5 million, reuniting with his former manager Arsène Wenger.[3] Brought in as a replacement for Nicolas Anelka, he was immediately moulded into a striker by Wenger, a move that would pay rich dividends in years to come. Initially, doubts were raised concerning Henry's adapting to the English game when he failed to score in his first ten games,[2] but he quickly discovered his scoring ability and ended his first season at Arsenal with a goal tally of 26.[17]

The following summer, Henry was a member of France's Euro 2000 championship squad, again scoring three goals, including the equalizer against Portugal in the semi-final, and finishing as the country's top scorer.[18] France later won the game in extra time following a converted penalty kick by Zinedine Zidane. France went on to defeat Italy in extra time in the final, and Henry earned his second major international medal.[19]

Henry's second season with Arsenal proved to be a breakthrough, as he became the club's top goalscorer.[3] In the 2001–02 season, Henry netted 32 goals in all competitions as he led Arsenal to a double and his first silverware with the club.[3] However, the 2002 FIFA World Cup featured a stunning early exit for both Henry and France as the reigning champions were eliminated in the group stage after failing to score a goal in any contest.[20] 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. 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.

Despite international disappointment, 2002–03 proved to be another productive season for Henry, as he scored 42 goals in all competitions while contributing 23 assists, remarkable returns for a striker.[3] In so doing, he led Arsenal to another FA Cup triumph.[21] During the summer that followed, Henry returned to form for his country at the 2003 Confederations Cup. France, playing without team stalwarts 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.[22] In the final, he scored the golden goal in extra time to lift the host country over Cameroon 1–0.[22] Henry was awarded both the adidas Golden Ball as the outstanding player of the competition and the adidas Golden Shoe as the tournament's top goalscorer with four goals.[22]


Henry was made club skipper following the departure of fellow Frenchman Patrick Vieira to Juventus in 2005.Henry was again instrumental in Arsenal's successful 2003–04 season. Together with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pirès, Henry ensured that the Gunners became the first team in more than a century to go through the entire domestic league campaign unbeaten as Henry collected his second Premiership medal.[23] Yet, Arsenal again failed to secure back-to-back league titles when they lost out to Chelsea F.C. in the 2004–05 season. However, the club did win the FA Cup, and Henry managed 31 goals in 42 appearances.[24] That summer, Henry also played in all of France's Euro 2004 matches. France beat England in the group stages but lost to the eventual winners Greece 1–0 in the quarter-finals.[25]

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.[26] The 2005–06 season 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;[27] two goals against Sparta Prague meant he broke Ian Wright's record of 185 goals.[28] On February 1, 2006, he scored a goal against West Ham, bringing his league goal tally up to 151 and thus breaking Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record.[29] Henry also scored his 100th league goal at Highbury, a feat unparalleled in the history of the club, and a unique achievement in the Premier League.[30]

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.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33] Had the transfer materialised, it would have surpassed the world record ₤47 million paid for Zinedine Zidane.[33]


After the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp, Henry regularly partnered Robin van Persie up front in the Arsenal attack.Amidst the summer speculation, Henry was one of the automatic starters in the France squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was played in the unpopular lone striker role, but despite an indifferent start to the tournament, Henry became one of the top players of the World Cup. He scored three goals, including France's goal against returning champion and tournament favourite Brazil.[34] However, France subsequently lost to Italy on penalties (5–3) in the final.[35] Henry was one of 10 nominees for the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament,[36] an award which was ultimately presented to his teammate, Zidane. Henry was also named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.[37]

Henry's 2006–07 season was largely marred by injury, something which was unprecedented in his entire tenure with the Gunners.[38] Although he managed 10 goals in 17 domestic appearances for Arsenal, including the winner against Manchester United 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 Champions League match,[39] 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.[40] 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 season.[38]


Barcelona
I have said so many times why I left Arsenal, I don't want to go back to that, but it was hard to leave. I always said that if I ever left Arsenal it would be to play for Barcelona.
Henry[41]
On June 25, 2007, however, Henry was transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 (€23.7) million. He signed a four-year deal for a reported £6.8 (€4.6) million per season.[42] It was also revealed that the contract included a release clause of €125 (£84.9) million[43] In an open letter to The Sun, Henry cited the departure of David Dein and continued uncertainty over Arséne Wenger's future as reasons for leaving.[44][45] 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 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award;[46] in those two seasons, he also won back-to-back PFA Players' Player of the Year titles.[47] Furthermore, Henry is the only player ever to have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2006),[31] and has emerged as the French Player of the Year on four occasions, which is an all-time record. Henry was voted into the Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade in the 10 Seasons Awards poll in 2003,[48] and in 2004 he was named by football legend Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.[49]

In terms of goalscoring awards, Henry was the European Golden Boot winner in 2004 and 2005 (albeit sharing it with Villarreal's Diego Forlan in 2005) and is the first ever player to retain the award.[50] Henry has also been the top goalscorer in the Premiership for four seasons (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006).[10] In 2006, he became the first player to score more than 20 goals in the league for five consecutive seasons (2002–2006).[51] 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 second-highest goalscorer of all time behind Michel Platini, with only one goal separating the two.


Henry lining up with his teammates before a free kick. Henry was the first-choice free kick taker for Arsenal.
Style of play
Although Henry played up front during his youth,[2] he spent his time at Juventus playing on the wing. Upon his joining Arsenal in 1999, Wenger immediately changed this, switching Henry to his childhood position, often pairing him with Dutch veteran Dennis Bergkamp.[15] During the 2004–05 season, Wenger switched Arsenal's formation to 4-5-1.[52] This change forced Henry to adapt again to fit into the Arsenal team, and he played many games as a lone striker.[15] Still, Henry remained Arsenal's main offensive threat, on many occasions conjuring spectacular goals. Manager Wenger even once said of his fellow Frenchman: "Thierry Henry could take ball in the middle of park and score a goal that no one else in the world could score."[53]

One of the reasons cited for Henry's impressive play up front is his ability to calmly score from one-on-ones.[54] This combined with his pace means that he can get in behind defenders regularly enough to score.[1][2] When up front, Henry is occasionally known to move out wide to the left wing position,[55][56] something which enables him to contribute heavily in assists: between 2002–03 and 2004–05, the striker managed almost 50 assists in total thanks to his unselfish play and creativity.[27] In set pieces, Henry was also the first-choice penalty and free kick taker for Arsenal, having scored regularly from those positions.




Personal and family life
Henry married English model Claire Merry in July 2003.[2] The ceremony was held at Highclere Castle, and on 27 May 2005 the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Tea.[57] Henry dedicated his first goal since Tea's birth to her by holding his fingers in a "T" shape and kissing them after scoring in a match against Newcastle United.[58] When Henry was still at Arsenal, he also purchased a home in Hampstead, North London.[2] Shortly after his transfer to Barcelona, however, it was announced that Henry and his wife would be getting a divorce, with the decree nisi being granted in September 2007.[59]

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.[60] 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;[61] 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.[60][62]


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.[13]

Henry is also an ambassador against racism as he has been subjected to racism in the past. Most notably, during a training session with the Spanish national team in 2004,[63][64] a Spanish TV crew caught Aragonés motivating Henry's then Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes and referring to Henry as "black shit".[58] The incident caused uproar in the British media with calls for Aragonés to be sacked. Henry and Nike started the Stand Up Speak Up campaign against football racism as a result of the incident.[65]


Commercial marketability
In 2006, Henry was valued as the ninth most commercially marketable footballer in the world,[66] as well as being the eighth richest Premiership player, with £21 million.[67] 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.[68] He was also a part of Nike's Joga Bonito campaign, Portuguese for "play beautifully".[69] 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.[70]


Career statistics

Club
(Correct as of 29 April, 2007)
Club Season League Cup[71] Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
AS Monaco 1994-95 8 3 ? 0 0 ? 0 0 ? 8 3 ?
1995-96 18 3 ? 3 0 ? 1 0 ? 22 3 ?
1996-97 36 9 ? 3 0 ? 9 1 ? 48 10 ?
1997-98 30 4 ? 5 0 ? 9 7 ? 44 11 ?
1998-99 13 1 ? 1 0 ? 5 0 ? 19 1 ?
Total 105 20 ? 12 0 ? 24 8 ? 141 28 ?
Juventus 1998-99 16 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 3 2
Total 16 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 3 2
Arsenal 1999-00 31 17 9 5 1 0 12 8 0 48 26 9
2000-01 35 17 3 4 1 0 14 4 0 53 22 3
2001-02 33 24 5 5 1 0 11 7 0 49 32 5
2002-03 37 24 23 6 1 0 12 7 0 55 32 23
2003-04 37 30 9 4 4 0 10 5 2 51 39 11
2004-05 32 25 15 2 0 0 8 5 0 42 30 15
2005-06 32 27 7 2 1 0 10 5 2 44 33 9
2006-07 17 10 6 3 1 1 7 1 0 27 12 7
Total 254 174 77 31 10 1 84 42 4 369 226 82
Barcelona 2007-08 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Total 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Career totals 377 197 79 43 10 1 109 50 4 528 280 82


International
National team Season Apps Goals
France 1997-98 10 3
1998-99 1 -
1999-00 11 5
2000-01 8 2
2001-02 9 2
2002-03 13 10
2003-04 12 5
2004-05 7 2
2005-06 15 7
2006-07 6 3
2007-08 1 1
Total 93 40


Honours
AS Monaco F.C.

Ligue 1: 1996–97
French Super Cup: 1997
Arsenal F.C.

FA Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04
FA Cup: 2002, 2003, 2005
FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004
UEFA Champions League Runner Up : 2006
UEFA Cup Runner Up : 2000
France national football team

FIFA World Cup
Appearances: 1998, 2002, 2006
Winner: 1998
Runner-Up: 2006
European Championship
Winner: 2000
Appearances: 2000, 2004
Confederations Cup: 2003
Personal honours

European Golden Boot: 2004, 2005
FA Premier League Top Scorer: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06
Onze d'Or: 2003, 2006
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04
FWA Footballer Of The Year: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06
FIFA World Player of the Year
Runner-up: 2003, 2004
World XI Includes French Cup, French League Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield.





• d • eFrance squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Runners-up)
1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Abidal • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Malouda • 8 Dhorasoo • 9 Govou • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Saha • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Givet • 18 Diarra • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Chimbonda • 22 Ribéry • 23 Coupet • Coach: Domenech
FC Barcelona - Current squad
1 Valdés • 3 Milito • 4 Márquez • 5 Puyol • 6 Xavi • 7 Guðjohnsen • 8 Iniesta • 9 Eto'o • 10 Ronaldinho • 11 Zambrotta • 14 Henry • 15 Edmílson • 16 Sylvinho • 17 Giovani • 18 Ezquerro • 19 Messi • 20 Deco • 21 Thuram • 22 Abidal • 23 Oleguer • 24 Touré • 25 Jorquera • 26 Crosas • 27 Bojan • 28 Oier • Coach: Rijkaard