Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry, born 17 August 1977 in Les Ulis, France) is a French football player. Renowned for his pace and goal scoring record, 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—a suburb of Paris—where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which, he signed for the Italian defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999.
It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premiership, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, he became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. Henry won two league titles and three FA Cups with The Gunners, and was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year thrice.
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 with Arsenal, he transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 million.
Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record becoming the country's top goal-scorer of all time. Given his accomplishments, he is regarded today 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. His footballing style and personality have ensured that he is one of the most commercially marketable footballers in the world; he has featured in advertisements for Nike, Reebok, Renault and Gillette.
Early years
Henry is of Antillean heritage;[1] his father, Antoine, is from Guadeloupe (La Désirade island), and his mother, Maryse, is from Martinique. He was born and grew up in a tough environment in the heavily urbanised Les Ulis district of Paris which, despite its hardships, provided good footballing facilities.[2] As a six-year-old, Henry showed great potential, prompting Claude Chezelle to recruit him to the local club CO Les Ulis. His father pressured him to attend training, although the youngster was not particularly drawn to football.[3] He joined US Palaiseau in 1989, but after a year his father fell out with the club, so Henry moved to Viry-Châtillon for two years.[1] US Palaiseau coach Jean-Marie Panza—Henry's future mentor—followed him there.[2]
Club career
AS Monaco (1992–1998) and Juventus (1999)
In 1990, AS Monaco sent scout Arnold Catalano to watch Henry in a match. Henry scored all six goals as his side won 6–0. Catalano asked him to join Monaco without even attending a trial first. Catalano requested that Henry complete a course at the elite Clairefontaine academy, and despite the director's reluctance to admit Henry due to his poor school results, he was allowed to complete the course and joined Arsène Wenger's AS Monaco as a youth player.[3] Subsequently, Henry signed professional forms with AS Monaco and was given his professional debut in 1994. 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 first season with Monaco, Henry scored three goals in 18 appearances.[1]
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