Thierry Henry
Since winning the EMMA Award (Sport Personality)
Thierry Henry is a French Football Coach, Pundit, Sports Broadcaster and Former Football Player and in 2004, became the first player in half a century to be named FWA Footballer of the Year for two consecutive years.
Thierry maintained his reputation as one of Europe’s most feared strikers as he led the league in scoring. With 31 goals in all competitions, he was the co-recipient of the European Golden Boot with Diego Forlán, becoming the first player to officially win the award twice in a row.
In 2007, Thierry transferred to Barcelona, where he was a key member of the 2009 team that captured Barcelona’s first treble by winning the national first-division title, Spain’s major domestic cup, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League.
Thierry later signed with the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer (MLS), and rejoined Arsenal for a two-month loan during the MLS off-season in January 2012.
After a highly successful career, Thierry retired from professional football in December 2014.
In 2015, he began working as a TV analyst and became the coach of Arsenal’s under-16 team.
In July 2016, Thierry left Arsenal and became manager of his former club Monaco, but his tenure lasted only three months. Later that year, he was named head coach of the MLS club Montreal Impact, which was later renamed CF Montreal, before stepping down in 2021.
In 2019, Thierry rejoined the Belgian national team as an assistant coach. He helped Belgium advance to the quarterfinals of the 2020 European Championship, which was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the team lost to Italy, which eventually won the tournament.
Background (Before 2004)
Thierry Henry was born and raised in the Les Ulis suburb of Paris. He is from Guadeloupe, a La Désirade island, and his mother is from Martinique. He is of Antillean heritage and showed great potential at 7 years old, prompting Claude Chezelle to recruit him to the local club CO Les Ulis.
Thierry joined US Palaiseau in 1989, but after a year, his father left the club, so he moved to ES Viry-Châtillon and played there for two years. Jean-Marie Panza, a US Palaiseau coach and Thierry’s future mentor, followed him there.
In 1992, Thierry joined FC Versailles and was signed by AS Monaco in 1994, after attracting other club scouts. He was named the French Young Footballer of the Year in 1996, and his solid performances during the 1996–1997 season helped the club to win the Ligue 1 title.
Thierry left Monaco in January 1999 and moved to Italian club Juventus, where he played on the wing, at wing back, and in wide midfield. However, he was ineffective as a goal scorer as he struggled against the defensive discipline exhibited by teams in Serie A and registered just three goals in 16 appearances.
In August of that same year, Thierry joined the English club Arsenal and reunited with his former manager, Arsène Wenger.
In his eight seasons with the football club, Thierry scored a club-record 174 goals, and the team won league titles in 2002 and 2004 and two Football Association Cup trophies in 2002 and 2003.
Thierry was also honoured as European Footballer of the Year and finished runner-up as FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004.
In 2004, Thierry was recognised with the 2003–2004 Golden Shoe as Europe’s leading association football goal scorer, having scored 30 goals and helped Arsenal win another Premier League championship.
