Thierry Henry

Henry grew 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] Given his professional club début 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]

After a slow start in the Premiership, Henry has since emerged as Arsenal's top goalscorer in almost every season since he joined the club. Long-time mentor and coach Arsene Wenger's conversion of him into a prolific striker has made Henry Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with over 200 goals; with Arsenal Henry has won two league titles and three FA Cups. With France, he has won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. In recognition of his abilities, Henry has been twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year,^[4] and has twice received the Barclays Premiership player of the season award.^[5][6] He is today regarded by many as one of the best footballers in the world.^[3][7][8][9] On 23 June 2007 it was confirmed that, subject to passing a medical, he will transfer to Spanish club FC Barcelona for a fee of £16 million.^[10]

Biography

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.^[2] 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 the future.

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 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, leading to him joining Arséne Wenger's AS Monaco as a youth player. Subsequently, Henry signed professional forms with AS Monaco, and was given his professional début in 1995. Wenger put Henry on the left wing because he believed that 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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[14]

Henry's good form for Monaco continued during the 1998-99 season, as he helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League semi-final.^[15] 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,^[16] but was unable to cope with the Italian defensive discipline of the Serie A. Henry scored just three goals in 16 appearances.^[17]

Senior career

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 which 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.^[18]

The following summer, Henry was a member of France's Euro 2000 championship squad, again scoring three goals and finishing as the country's top scorer, including the equalizer against Portugal in the semi-final.^[19] 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.^[20]

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.^[21] 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, 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.^[3] In so doing, he led Arsenal to another FA Cup triumph.^[22] 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 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.^[23] In the final, he scored the golden goal in extra time to lift the host country over Cameroon 1-0.^[23] 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.^[23]

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.^[24] 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.^[25] 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.^[26]

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.^[27] 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;^[28] two goals against Sparta Prague meant he broke Ian Wright's record of 185 goals.^[29] 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.^[30] 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.^[31]

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 Barcelona F.C., 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 that Henry would leave for another club. However, he declared his loyalty and love for the club and subsequently accepted a four-year contract.^[32] 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.^[33] 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.^[34] Had the transfer materialised, it would have surpassed the world record ₤47 million paid for Zinedine Zidane.^[34]

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 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.^[35] However, France subsequently lost to Italy on penalties (5-3) in the final.^[36] Henry was one of 10 nominees for the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament,^[37] an award which was ultimately presented to his teammate, Zidane. Henry was also named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.^[38]

Henry's 2006-07 season was largely marred by injury, something which was unprecedented in his entire tenure with the Gunners.^[39] 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,^[40] 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.^[41] Wenger attributed Henry's injuries to a protracted 2005-06 campaign, and also reiterated that Henry was keen on staying with the Gunners to rebuild for the 2007-08 season.^[39]

According to to reports from the Spanish media on June 22, 2007, Henry is set to make a move to FC Barcelona, for a fee believed to be in the region of £16 million on a four-year deal. Henry later confirmed that he would take a medical on Monday 25th June 2007, telling the French sports daily L'Equipe that he had chosen Barcelona. ^[42] This was later confirmed by Henry himself who cited the inability of Arsene Wenger to commit to Arsenal past the expiration of his contract and the departure of David Dein as reasons.^[43]

On June 23, 2007 Henry, in an open letter to The Sun declared that he had chosen to join Barça citing the departure of David Dein and continued uncertainty over Arsene Wenger's future as reasons. The transfer fee reportedly is over £16m and he will sign a four year deal worth £128,000 a week; the transfer is subject to the player passing a medical which will happen on Monday 25 June 2007.^[44][45]

Awards

Henry has received many plaudits and awards. 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),^[32] 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] Additionally, in 2004, Henry 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).^[11] 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.

Style of play

Alhough Henry played up front during his youth,^[2] 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.^[16]

One of the reasons cited for Henry's impressive play up front is his ability to calmly score from one-on-ones.^[52] This combined with his pace^[1][2] means that he 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,^[53][54] something which enables him to contribute heavily in assists: between 2002-03 and 2004-05, Henry managed almost 50 assists in total; his unselfish play and creativity helped in contributing the large amount of assists. ^[28] 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.^[55] This change forced Henry to adapt again to fit in to the Arsenal team, as he played many games as a lone striker.^[16]

Off the pitch

Henry is married to English model Nicole Merry. The couple wed in July 2003.^[2] 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 a 'T' shape and kissing them after scoring against Newcastle United.^[56] He lives with his family in Hampstead, North London.^[2]

Henry is also a member of the UNICEF-FIFA squad, where together with other professional footballers, 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.^[14]

In 2006, Henry was valued as the ninth most commercially marketable footballer in the world,^[57] as well as being the eighth richest Premiership player, with £21 million.^[58] In terms of past endorsements, Henry featured in the 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.^[59] He was also a part of Nike's Joga Bonito campaign, Portuguese for "Play beautifully".^[60] 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.^[61]

As an avid National Basketball Association fan, Henry is also often seen with his good friend Tony Parker at games when not playing football. Henry admires basketball as it is similar to football in pace and excitement.^[62] Henry makes regular trips to the NBA Finals as they occur in the offseason of the Premiership. In 2007, he went to watch Parker and the Spurs;^[63] in 2001, he went to Philadelphia to help with French televison coverage of the Finals as well as to watch Allen Iverson whom he named as one of his favourite players.^[62][64]

Racism

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,^[65][66] a Spanish TV crew caught Aragonés motivating Henry's then Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes and referring to Henry as "black shit".^[56] 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, large sections of the Spanish crowd began to make "monkey" chants.^[67][68] The Spanish football federation eventually fined the coach €3,000.^[65] This punishment was criticized as too lenient and UEFA stepped in. After an investigation, they fined the RFEF 100,000 Swiss francs/ 87,000 USD and warned that any future incidents would be punished more severely, possibly to include suspension from major international tournaments or the closure of Spain home international matches to supporters.

Henry and Nike started the Stand Up Speak Up campaign against football racism as a result of the incident.^[69]

Career statistics

Club career

(correct as of 29 April 2007)

International career

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 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 Striker: 2006