Thierry Henry biography: Footballer

Thierry Henry biography

va va voom

French football player

Soccer player

Place of birth: Paris, France
Height: 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position: Forward

Career

Youth clubs

CO Les Ulis
US Palaiseau
Viry-Châtillon
I.N.F Clairefontaine
AS Monaco

Club App (Gls)
Monaco 110 (20)
Juventus 16 (3)
Arsenal 254 (174)

France 091 0(39)

Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 25 February 2007
National team caps and goals correct
as of December 24, 2006.

Honours
With the French national team:

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

Ligue 1- 1996-97
French Super Cup- 1997
With Arsenal-

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
Personal Honours-

European Golden Boo - 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
World XI Striker- 2006

Early career
Henry is of Antillean heritage: his father, Antoine, is from Guadeloupe, and his mother Maryse is from Martinique. He grew up in the heavily urbanised Les Ulis, a tough environment for the youngster. Despite this, the town provided good facilities for footballers. In 1983, the six year old Henry showed great potential, something 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. Henry's 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. He then moved to Viry-Châtillon for two years. US Palaiseau coach Jean-Marie Panza followed Henry to Viry-Châtillon, something which would lead to Henry naming Panza as his mentor.

In 1990, AS Monaco sent scout Arnold Catalano to watch the 13 year old play. Henry scored all six goals as his side won 6-0. Catalano asked Henry to join Monaco, without even attending a trial. Catalano requested Henry complete a course at the elite academy Clairefontaine, but the director there was reluctant to accept Henry due to his school results. Despite this, Henry was allowed to complete the course, leading to him joining Arséne Wenger's AS Monaco as a youth player. Subsequently, Henry signed professional forms with AS Monaco, and was given a pro début in 1995. Wenger put Henry on the left wing because he believed Henry's pace, natural ball control and skill would be more effective against full backs than centre backs. In his four seasons with Monaco, Henry scored 21 goals in 125 appearances, and helped the club win the Ligue 1 title in 1996-97.

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 team mates William Gallas and David Trézéguet. Within four months, France head coach Aimé Jacquet called Henry up to the senior team. The 20 year old made his senior international début on October 11, 1997 in a 2 - 1 win against South Africa. Jacquet was so impressed with Henry he took him to the 1998 World Cup. Although Henry was largely unknown 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 3-0, as a sub, 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.

Henry's good form for Monaco continued during the 1998-99 season, as he helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League semi-final. Henry then left Monaco and moved to Italian Serie A club Juventus one year before his friend and team mate David Trézéguet in January 1999 for £10.5 million. He played on the wing, but was unable to cope with the Italian defensive discipline of the Serie A. Henry scored three goals in 16 appearances.

Senior career
Henry transferred from Juventus in August 1999 to Arsenal for £10.5 million, reuniting with his manager Arsène Wenger. Brought in as a replacement for Nicolas Anelka, he was immediately moulded to a striker by Wenger, a move which would pay 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, but quickly discovered his scoring ability, and ended his first season at Arsenal with a goal tally of 26.

The following summer, Henry was a member of France's Euro 2000 championship squad, scoring three goals and finishing as the nation's top scorer, including a equalizer against Portugal in the semi final. 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.

Henry's second season with Arsenal proved to be a breakthrough as he became the clubs top goalscorer. 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. However, the 2002 FIFA World Cup featured a stunning early exit for both Henry and France as the champions were eliminated in a group stage after failing to score a goal in any contest. After France lost their first match in group play, Henry was red carded for a sliding, studs-up challenge in a 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, the 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. In so doing, he led Arsenal to a FA Cup. During the summer that followed, Henry returned to form for his nation at the 2003 Confederations Cup. France, playing without team stalwarts Zidane and Patrick Vieira, won in large part 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 nation over Cameroon 1 - 0. 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.

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 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. Arsenal failed to secure back to back league titles when they lost out to Chelsea FC in the 2004-05 season. However, the club did win the FA Cup, and Henry managed 31 goals in 42 appearances. That summer, Henry 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.

The departure of compatriot Vieira in the summer of 2005 meant Henry assumed club captaincy. Along with being chief goal scorer, he was responsible for leading a very young team. 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; 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, bringing his league goal tally up to 151 and breaking Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record. Henry also scored a 100th league goal at Highbury, 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, reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. The Gunners eventually lost 1 - 2 to Barcelona FC, and combined with Arsenal's inability to win the Premiership for two consecutive seasons and the relative inexperience of the Arsenal squad, there was much speculation Henry would leave for another club. He declared his loyalty and love for the club and subsequently accepted a four year contract. 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.

Amidst summer speculation, Henry was one of the automatic starters in the France squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was played in the unfavoured 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. 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 ultimately presented to his teammate, Zidane. Henry was also named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.

With the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp, Henry now regularly partners Robin van Persie upfront in the Arsenal attack. Henry's 2006-07 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 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, but began limping shortly after coming on. After the match Wenger announced Henry had suffered new injuries to his groin and stomach muscles. At first it was expected Henry would miss a few weeks, but scans the next day revealed 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 Henry was keen on staying with the Gunners to rebuild for the 2007-08 season.

Awards
Henry received many plaudits and awards. He was runner up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award; in those two seasons, he also won back-to-back PFA Players' Player of the Year titles. Henry is the only player ever to have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2006), and 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. Additionally, in 2004, Henry was named by football legend Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.

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. Henry has also been top goalscorer in the Premiership for four seasons (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). In 2006, he became the first player to score more than 20 goals in the league for five consecutive seasons (2002–2006). In may 2007 Henry is currently third in the list of all time English Premiership goal scorers, behind Alan Shearer and Andy Cole.

Style of play
Alhough Henry played up front during his youth, he spent his time at Juventus playing on the wing. Upon joining Arsenal in 1999, Wenger immediately changed this, switching Henry to his childhood position.

One of the reasons for Henry's impressive play up front is his ability to calmly score from one on ones. This combined with his pace means he can get in behind defenders regularly score. When up front, Henry is occasionally known to move out wide to the left wing position, something which enables him to contribute heavily in assists: between 2002-03 and 2004-05, Henry managed 50 assists in total: his unselfish play and creativity helped in contributing the large amount of assists. Henry is also the first choice penalty and free kick taker for Arsenal, having scored many goals from those positions. Lastly, he is noted for his willingness to defend deep.

During the 2004-05 season, Wenger switched Arsenal's formation to 4-5-1 formation. This change forced Henry to adapt again to fit in to the Arsenal team, as he played many games as a lone striker.

Off the pitch
Henry is married to English model Nicole Merry. The couple wed in July 2003. On May 27, 2005, he celebrated the birth of his first child, a daughter named Tea Henry. He dedicated his first goal since Tea's birth to her by holding his fingers in 'T' shape and kissing them after scoring against Newcastle Utd. He lives with his family in Hampstead, North London.

Henry has been subject to several incidences of racism in the past. Most notably, during a training session with the Spanish national team in 2004, a Spanish TV crew caught Aragonés motivating Henry's then Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes and referring to Henry. The incident caused an uproar in the British media with calls for Aragonés to be sacked. When Spain played England in a friendly match at the Bernabéu later that year, the crowd was hostile. Whenever black English players touched the ball, sections of the Spanish crowd began to make monkey chants. The Spanish football federation eventually fined the coach €3,000. Henry and Nike started a "Stand Up Speak Up" campaign against football racism as a result of the incident.

Henry is also a member of the UNICEF-FIFA squad, where together with other professional footballers, appear in a series of TV spots seen by hundreds of millions of fans around the world during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups; in the spots, players promote football as a game to be played on behalf of children.

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. Henry featured in Renault Clio adverts during where he made popular the word 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's Joga Bonito campaign, Portuguese 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.

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