Thierry Henry Biography
Thierry Daniel Henry (born August 17, 1977 in Les Ulis, Paris) is a French football player. He currently plays as a striker for the French national football team, and for English club Arsenal, where he is the club's all time leading goalscorer in both league matches and all competitions. He is often considered unlucky due to his inability to win the most coveted award for any player (FIFA World Player of the Year). He has been twice nominated yet never won, ending up runner-up on both occasions.
Thierry Henry trained at the French Football Federation's academy at Clairefontaine and played at a youth level for CO Les Ulis (1983-1989), US Palaiseau (1989-1990), Viry-Châtillon (1990-1992) and FC Versailles (1992-1993). He started his professional career at AS Monaco, given his début by then Monaco manager Arsène Wenger at the age of 17. At Monaco, Wenger put Henry on the wing as a temporary measure because the line was already led by Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson. The Frenchman made his international debut in October 1997 against South Africa. He played in Les Bleus' 1998 World Cup success, and was joint-top scorer for France with three goals, Subsequently, on Bastille day 1998, he was awarded France's highest decoration, the Légion d'Honneur. He also was part of the Euro 2000 winning squad, scoring a further three goals. He was also leading goalscorer and named player of the tournament as France hosted and won the 2003 Confederations Cup.
Having impressed in the French national team's triumph in the 1998 World Cup, Henry left Monaco and moved to Italian club Juventus in January 1999 for £14 million. There, he was made to play on the wing, and in an unfamiliar position was unable to cope with Italian defensive discipline, scoring just three goals while starting only 12 games for the Bianconeri.
Unsettled in Italy, he transferred from Juventus in August 1999 to Arsenal for £10.5 million, reuniting with his former mentor, Wenger. At Arsenal, Wenger converted Henry into a striker, where he has flourished ever since. In the seven seasons he has been at Arsenal, Henry has been the club's top goalscorer for every single one. He was made Arsenal captain in the summer of 2005, succeeding the recently departed Patrick Vieira. Regarded by many as the best striker in Arsenal's history, on October 18, 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 first-class goals. On February 1, 2006, he scored a goal against West Ham, bringing his league goal tally up to 151 and thus breaking Cliff Bastin's Arsenal league goals record. The 2005-2006 season also saw him score his 100th goal at Highbury, a feat unparallelled in the history of the club, and a unique achievement in the Premier League. He also contributes a large number of assists - most notably 20 in the 2002/3 season - an all-time Premiership record.
Henry has received many plaudits and awards. He was runner-up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award while helping Arsenal to an unbeaten record (26 wins, 12 draws) in the Premiership when many thought he was the best player in the world during that period. He has also won both the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the French Player Of The Year on four occasions - an all-time record. In 2004/5, despite Arsenal being the runners-up in the Premiership, Henry emerged with the European Golden Boot - the award for the top goalscorer in Europe - for the second consecutive year (albeit sharing with Villarreal's Diego Forlan in 2005). He is the first player ever to retain the award.
Throughout the 2005-06 season Henry has been linked with a move to FC Barcelona, although Arsenal wish to retain their captain and have offered him a new contract. Barcelona have apparently ruled out an immediate move for Henry, and Henry has verbally committed to staying at Arsenal, but as of March 28, 2006 he has not signed a renewed deal with the Gunners.
Henry has appeared in television advertisements for Nike, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Renault (once with his English model girlfriend Nicole Merry, whom he married in July 2003) and will soon front adverts for Pepsi. He is now the male face of Estée Lauder. On May 27, 2005, Henry celebrated the birth of his first child, Tea Henry. Henry and his family live in Hampstead, North London. Of West Indian heritage (parents from Guadeloupe and Martinique), he is fluent in French, English, and Italian.
Of Thierry Henry's numerous spectacular goals, perhaps the best one was against Manchester United on September 30, 2000. With his back to the goal, and under pressure from a defender, he flicked the ball up, swerved his body around, and unleashed a dipping volley over the head of fellow bleu Fabien Barthez.
With thanks to Wikipedia.org