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Updated on August 9th 2022, 3:15:56 pm

Thierry Henry Biography, Stats, Facts and Achievements

Thierry Henry is the record goal scorer for both his country and English club Arsenal, the striker went down as one of the most entertaining players in the Premier League's history. Check out his Biography, Stats, Facts and Achievements.

Regarded as France’s greatest contribution to the footballing world by many, Thierry Henry was born on 17th August 1977 in Les Ulis. The record goal scorer for both his country and English club Arsenal, the striker went down as one of the most entertaining players in the Premier League's history.


Biography:


Footballing days started early for the prodigy who joined local club Les Ulis’s junior team at the age of 6. After playing for the fourth-tier team, Viry-Châtillon, he was selected to train in one of France's best academies, Clairefontaine at the age of 14. There, he was discovered by then Monaco manager, Arsene Wenger. Henry's international career began with the call-up for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship due to his spectacular performance with Monaco. 4 months after the Championship, Henry made his debut for the senior team in a 2-1 win against South Africa. Impressed with his abundant talent, France head coach, Aime Jacquet decided to include him in the 2018 World Cup squad

In 1996, Henry was chosen as the French young footballer of the year and the 1996-97 season saw him carrying his team to the Ligue 1 title. The next season, he netted 7 goals to secure a place in the Champions League semi-finals for his team. Quite unknown before the 1998 FIFA World Cup, however, Henry played a key role in his country's World Cup win. He was the French top scorer with three goals and was made Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur, France's highest decoration. Following the World Cup, Henry left Monaco in 1999 and moved to Italian club Juventus for 10.5 million pounds. Playing in a position uncharacteristic for him, Henry struggled and managed to score only 3 goals in 16 appearances. Consequently, he moved again to reunite with former manager Wenger, who was now the Manager at Arsenal. It was at Arsenal that Henry was moulded into a World Class player.


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Thierry Henry arrived at Arsenal at the age of 22 and went back 8 years later, as the club's top goal scorer of all time. His first two seasons saw Arsenal finishing as the runners up but success finally came in the 2001-2002 season, When Arsenal finished at the top of the table and won the FA Cup too. Henry was the top scorer in the League and scored 32 goals across all competitions. Gunners won the League again in the 2003-2004 season, but this time they went undefeated and Henry claimed the European golden boot. Although Arsenal could not defend its title in the 2004-2005 season, Henry maintained his reputation as Europe's most feared striker by bagging the golden boot again. He is the only player to have won the award twice in a row. Henry spent the last two seasons as the Gunners’ captain, but couldn't carry his team to the League titles. This prompted his move to Barcelona in 2007 for 24 Million Euros.

Although he couldn't reproduce the goal-scoring form with Arsenal, Henry was still the club's top scorer in the first season. The next season Barcelona recorded a treble, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions league.


By the 2010 session, however, Henry was losing his touch which resulted in his transfer to the MLS team, New York Red Bulls, where he ended his career four and a half years later. Henry's international presence was no less prolific. After winning the World Cup in 1998, Henry carried France to a victory in the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship and the 2003 FIFA Federations Cup. Henry played a major role in his country's path to the 2006 World Cup final, but France lost to Italy in penalties. Henry ended his international goal tally with a whopping 51 goals, the highest ever for France.


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Facts:


  • It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premier League, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there.


  • Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 228 goals in all competitions.


  • The word “va-va-voom” was officially added to the Oxford Concise English Dictionary as a result of the Renault commercials starring Thierry. The phrase has become Thierry's trademark quote during the spots.


  • Thierry likes to listen to rap before he plays a match. Some of his favorite artists are Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Xzibit and the Wu-Tang Klan.


  • Henry has been named in the UEFA Team of the Year five times.


  • In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time.


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Achievements:


Clubs: Arsenal, Juventus, FC Barcelona, New York Red Bulls

Honors: 1 World Cup, 1 European Championship, 2 Premier Leagues, 3 FA Cups

Caps: 123 (France), 51 goals

Inducted: 2008 (collected award at special event, 2011)

 

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