Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry is a retired professional soccer player and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest forwards in the history of the sport. Born on August 17, 1977, in Les Ulis, France, Henry began his career with AS Monaco, where he quickly gained recognition for his scoring ability, leading to a successful stint that included a Ligue 1 title and a semifinal appearance in the UEFA Champions League. He became a prominent figure on the international stage, helping France win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA EURO 2000 Championship.
After a brief period at Juventus, Henry joined Arsenal, where he became the club's all-time leading scorer and won multiple league titles and FA Cups. His success continued at FC Barcelona, where he contributed to the team's Champions League victory. Following his retirement in 2014, Henry transitioned to coaching, serving in various roles, including youth coach at Arsenal and assistant coach for the Belgian national team. In 2023, he was appointed head coach of the French men's team for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. With over 400 career goals and significant accolades, Henry is celebrated not just for his athletic prowess but also for his impact on the sport globally.
Thierry Henry
Soccer Player
- Born: August 17, 1977
- Place of Birth: Les Ulis, Essonne, France
SPORT: Soccer
Early Life
Thierry Daniel Henry was born on August 17, 1977, in the Parisian suburb of Les Ulis, Essonne. His father, Antoine, was born on Désirade Island in Guadeloupe, while his mother, Maryse, was born in Martinique. Henry grew up in the tough, heavily urbanized district of Les Ulis, which did not have good soccer facilities. The local club team scouted Henry when he was as young as seven years old. In 1990, when Henry was only thirteen years old, an AS Monaco scout came to watch him play with his club team. In the game, Henry scored all six goals in a 6-0 romp. The scout, Arnold Catalano, asked Henry to join AS Monaco immediately as a youth player. In 1994, at the age of sixteen, Henry signed a professional contract with AS Monaco and made his debut as a professional soccer player.
The Road to Excellence
During Henry’s first full season with AS Monaco, he scored three goals in eighteen games. Soon, he was scoring more often. In 1996, he was named French Young Footballer of the Year. The following season, he helped his club AS Monaco win the Ligue 1 title. The following season, he led Monaco to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League semifinal and set a French record by scoring seven goals in the competition. In 1998, he played in his first FIFA World Cup and helped lead France to its first World Cup Championship.
In 1999, after five impressive seasons with AS Monaco, Henry left to play for Juventus of the Italian Serie A league for a reported 10.5 million pounds (approximately USD$18 million). Henry was not happy with Juventus and made only sixteen appearances with the club. His international fame was to be found elsewhere.
The Emerging Champion
In late 1999, after a short stay with Juventus, Henry transferred to the British club Arsenal for another reported 10.5 million pounds. In his first season with Arsenal, he scored twenty-six goals and helped lead the club to the UEFA Champions Cup Finals. Then, in 2000, he led the French national team to the UEFA EURO 2000 Championship. France’s national soccer team had reached its peak thanks in large part to Henry. During the 2000-2001 season with Arsenal, Henry became the team’s top scorer. Success came for both the team and Henry. That season, Arsenal finally overtook Manchester United and Liverpool to win the league title and defeated Chelsea, 2-0, to capture the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup) title. At this point, with thirty-two goals, Henry was not only the top scorer on his team but also the top scorer in the league.
Over the next few years, Henry’s success continued. After leading Arsenal to another FA Cup Championship in the 2002-2003 season, Henry was named the Players’ Player of the Year and Football Writers Association Player of the Year. Perhaps more significantly, Henry began to be noticed on an international level. In 2003 and 2004, he was runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year. In 2005-2006, Henry became the top goal scorer in Arsenal history and was named the Football Writers Association Player of the Year for the third time.
Continuing the Story
In 2007, Henry was unexpectedly transferred to FC Barcelona of the Spanish League for the sum of 24 million euros (approximately USD$41 million). Reportedly, FC Barcelona agreed to pay Henry 6.8 million euros (approximately USD$12 million) per year over four years. In his first season with FC Barcelona, Henry was the club’s top scorer with nineteen goals. However, the team failed to win a championship, and Henry’s future with the club was in question. Yet at the age of thirty-one, Henry still had some soccer to play. In his third season with FC Barcelona, he proved his worth in helping the team secure the Champions League trophy.
In 2010, Henry moved to the New York Red Bulls as a designated player. There, he became the team's most valuable player in 2012 and a four-time Major League Soccer All-Star player. During the 2012 season, he played four matches for Arsenal while on loan from the Bulls. In 2014, Henry announced his retirement from professional soccer. He went on to offer sports commentary for the BBC and later for Sky Sports. Henry returned to Arsenal from 2015 to 2016, this time not as a player but as an assistant youth coach. He left Arsenal in 2016 and became the assistant coach for the Belgian national team. After their third-place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Henry returned to manage Monaco but was terminated for the team's poor performance. Over the early 2020s, he managed or assistant coached Montreal Impact, the Belgian national team, and the French national team. In 2023, he was named head coach of the French men's team for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Significance
In July 2008, Arsenal fans named Thierry Henry the club’s greatest player of all time. By his retirement at the age of thirty-seven, Henry had scored more than four hundred career goals in over nine hundred games. He became an international icon, doing commercials with golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer. Henry became one of the world’s most famous athletes.
Bibliography
Auclair, Philippe. Thierry Henry: Lonely at the Top: A Biography. Unabridged ed., Pan Macmillan, 2013.
Derbyshire, Oliver. Thierry Henry: The Biography—The Amazing Life of the Greatest Footballer on Earth. Blake, 2006.
Goldblatt, David. The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Soccer. W.W. Norton & Company, 2020.
Henry, Thierry. "Thierry Henry: I Wasn’t Born with a Gift for Goals." Interview by Thierry Marchand. Guardian, 2 Dec. 2014, www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/02/thierry-henry-arsenal-arsene-wenger-barcelona-career.
Imbo, William. "Thierry Henry Names Preliminary 25-Man France Squad for Paris 2024." Olympics, 3 June 2024, olympics.com/en/news/thierry-henry-names-preliminary-france-mens-olympic-squad-paris-2024. Accessed 20 June 2024.
O’Connell, Michael. Thierry Henry. Artnik, 2006.
"Thierry Henry: Former Arsenal and France Striker Retires." BBC Sport, 16 Dec. 2014, www.bbc.com/sport/football/30491577.