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Thierry Daniel Henry (born August 17, 1977 in Les Ulis, Essonne, Paris) is a French football player. He currently plays as a striker for the French national team, and for English club Arsenal, where he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer in both league matches and all competitions. Tremendous pace, great mobility, an outstanding first touch and unerring finishing characterize his game. .

Henry has been twice nominated and finished runners-up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year.

He has surpassed Ian Wright to take over as Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with over 200 goals for the club. Although he plays as a striker, his versatility at all aspects of the game makes him more influential than traditional strikers, and he often drops deep to receive the ball from midfield. Subsequently, Henry has consistently featured among the top FA Premier League's scorers (in 2006 he became the first player to score more than 20 goals in five consecutive seasons) and he claimed the "Golden Boot" (most goals scored) in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Henry scored a hat-trick in the last ever game at Highbury, in Arsenal's match against Wigan Athletic, on May 7, 2006. This ensured Arsenal a fourth place finish in the Premiership over closest rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham had held onto fourth place since December 2005, only to lose their final match of the season to West Ham, and give away their Champions League spot to Arsenal.

After a shaky Premiership season, there has been speculation that Henry will make a big summer transfer to Barcelona following the World Cup in Germany. Coincidentally, Henry travels to his hometown of Paris on May 17, 2006 to face Spanish champions Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League Final.

Biography

Thierry Henry has a tiny penis and trained at the French Football Federation's academy at Clairefontaine and played at a youth level for CO Les Ulis (1983-1989), then 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 November 1997 against South Africa. He played in Les Bleus'

success, and was joint-top scorer for France with three goals, Subsequently, on Bastille day 1998, he was awarded France's highest decoration, known as the Légion d'Honneur. He also was part of the Template:Ec2 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 league 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 23 in the 2002-03 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 the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times, the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the French Player Of The Year on four occasions - an all-time record. In 2004-05, 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 or Real Madrid, 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 April 28, 2006 he has not signed a renewed deal with the Gunners.

In the UEFA Champions League this season, both Henry and the Gunners are all in perfect condition, Arsenal led the group stages and only conceded 2 goals so far. A superb solo strike from Henry gave the Gunners a 1-0 win on aggregate against Spainish Giant Real Madrid in the first knockout round. An assist to Fabregas and a goal knocked Juventus out of the quarter-finals. They edged Villarreal CF in the semi-final with an 1-0 win on aggregate thanks to Toure's goal at Highbury. In the semifinal away match against Villarreal April 25 2006, a man ran out on the pitch and gave Henry a Barcelona kit with HENRY written on the back. Henry and Arsenal will meet Barcelona in a star-studded Champions' League final in Paris on May 17, 2006.

Henry has appeared in television advertisements for 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.

In 2001, Henry cashed in on a £9,000,000 sponsorship contract with Nike and has subsequently done a series of ads and worn Nike football boots. Upon the conclusion of the upcoming World Cup, this partnership will cease , with Nike's new offer scorned by Henry and will instead join forces with arch-rival Reebok.

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.

Thierry Henry is the only player ever to have won three FWA Footballer of the Year awards, in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Quotes about Henry

• "He's the best player in the world and already one of the all time greats." - Ruud Van Nistelrooy
• "The last player you want the ball to go to is the best player on the planet." - Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard after his backpass to Henry gave Arsenal a 2-1 victory at Highbury.
• "I've seen everything in this league for the past 25 years. I've never seen anything like him. I said he was special, but he's irreplacable." - Andy Gray
• "He's a wizard with his feet and is blessed with a gift for scoring goals. His best quality is his speed while the ball is at his feet. He may be the fastest man ever to lace up a football boot. No defender in the world can keep up with him." - Lilian Thuram
• "I tell my kids in the Academy at Newcastle to watch Henry. He plays with such a swagger, not an arrogance, and that is a great quality. He always looks so comfortable. You talk about cars going from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds, and he is like that. He just explodes. I could sit there for hours and watch him." - Peter Beardsley
• "If you look at the whole package, with everything Henry has, I don't think you can find that anywhere else. You give him the ball in the right place and his acceleration will take him past any defender in the world." - Dennis Bergkamp
• "When I was at Spain I thought Zinedine Zidane was the best in the world, but playing alongside Thierry made me realise that I was playing alongside the best footballer in the planet." - Jose Antonio Reyes
• "Ronaldinho is a special player, but Thierry Henry is probably technically the most gifted footballer ever to play the beautiful game." - Zinedine Zidane
• "When he's on fire, he is impossible to stop. He dribbles like a winger, but is still able to score 20 goals a year in the Premiership." - Fabio Capello
• "Sometimes when I see the speed Henry moves on the pitch he looks like he's bought a motorbike. If I have to mark him on Wednesday, I will just have to get myself one as well." - Alessio Tacchinardi
• "Germany are light years away from having a player like him." - Franz Beckenbauer
• “People say he doesn't score a lot of goals with his head, but does he really have to with the ability he has in his feet? He makes spectacular goals look easy. His technique is fantastic.”Alan Shearer
• "Henry is a beautiful player and has got complete technique, I adore watching him. I respect him very much as a man and as a footballer. He reminds me of myself. - Ronaldinho

Quotes by Thierry Henry

• "Being seen as the best striker in Europe doesn't spur me on—it's helping my team to success. That's my only aim."
• "I'm not a machine.", after being unduly critised over his alleged poor form
• "I would love this place to be my garden." , on Arsenal's old stadium
• "I take the ball, I go wide, I cross, I shoot, but when the moment beckons, I am ready to make the difference."
• "You can never have enough trophies. If there were ten to be won a year I'd want to win them all! That's not being greedy, it's just a natural thing."
• "It's not about me, it's about how I can help my team to achieve more. And I do that through scoring goals."
• "I eat football, I sleep football, I breathe football. I'm not mad, I'm just passionate."
• "There's nothing I'm scared of in football."
• "Sometimes in football you have to score goals."
• "I think there's a fine line between being self-confident and being arrogant."

Career statistics

Club career

(correct as of May 4, 2006)

International career

References and notes

1. "Henry transformed by astute Wenger". CNN.com. Retrieved 2006-04-22.
2. "Thierry Henry, you're having a laugh". The Observer. Retrieved 2006-04-22.
3. "Wenger believes Henry will stay". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 2006-04-22.
4. "Barca rule out Henry deal - for now". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 2006-04-22.
5. "Henry says he is staying at Arsenal". rediff.com. Retrieved 2006-04-22.
6. "Reebok strikes a deal with Henry". Times Online. Retrieved 2006-04-22.
7. "Thierry Henry quotes".
8. Includes French Cup, French League Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield
9. Includes one Intertoto Cup game with Juventus in 1999-00

External links

• Thierry Henry profile and stats from FootballDatabase
• Statistics at soccerbase.com
• Profile at arsenal.com
• Profile at 4thegame.com
• Profile at sporting-heroes.net
• Profile at premierleague.com

Honours

With the French national team:

• FIFA World Cup
  • Winner: 1998
  • Appearances: 1998, 2002
• European Championship
  • Winner: 2000
  • Appearances: 2000, 2004

With Monaco:

• Ligue 1: 1996/97
• French Super Cup: 1997

With Arsenal:

• FA Premier League: 2001/2002, 2003/2004
• FA Cup: 2002, 2003
• FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004

Personal Honours:

• European Golden Boot: 2004, 2005
• FA Premier League Top Scorer: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Onze d´Or: 2003

Accolades

Template:Persondata

• 1977 births
• Arsenal F.C. players
• English Premiership players
• English Premiership top scorers
• Current English Premiership players
• FIFA 100
• Football (soccer) strikers
• French footballers
• Juventus F.C. players
• Living people