International Soccer Players: thierry henry barcelona france football player thierry henry

Name : Thierry Henry

Date of Birth : August 17, 1977

Place of Birth : Les Ulis, France

Nationality : French

Height : 188 cm

Weight : 83 kg

Profession : Soccer Player

Club : Arsenal FC

Position : Striker [C]

Thierry Daniel Henry (born August 17, 1977 in Les Ulis, France) 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.

Amongst other things, Henry is well known for his blistering pace and lethal finishing which has put him at the helm of the Premiership top scorers list in recent seasons.
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-Ch�tillon (1990-1992) and FC Versailles (1992-1993). He started his professional career at AS Monaco, given his d�but by then Monaco manager Ars�ne Wenger at the age of 17.

He was also leading goalscorer and named player of the tournament as France hosted and won the 2003 Confederations Cup. Having impressed 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.

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. 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. He has also won both the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice.

Henry and his family live in Hampstead, north London. In January 2006, the Spanish media reported that Henry would sign for FC Barcelona at the start of the 2006-07 season. However, Henry has repeatedly stated his desire to stay with Arsenal. , although as of January 31, 2005 he has not signed the new contract Arsenal are offering.