Player Profile: Thierry Henry, France

April 7th, 2008 | by: Laurie |

He is France’s all-time leading goal scorer. When he played for Arsenal, he was one of their best players ever, scoring 174 goals in 254 games. His goal was responsible for knocking favorites Brazil out of the 2006 World Cup.

And he has been described, anonymously, by his own teammates, as egotistical and big-headed. He has spent his first season struggling at Barcelona, fighting against chronic injuries. He will turn thirty-one in August.

France’s offense in the Euro qualifiers revolved around him. Barring injury, he will, without question, be an integral part of the team in Euro ‘08.

So who is Thierry Henry? Obviously no one thing can capture the complexity of a person, but this video about growing up in a rough banlieue outside of Paris, offers up some interesting insights.

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Comments

By A few France-related Links - France | April 9th, 2008 at 12:22 am

[...] we’re starting Euro coverage over at the Euro ‘08 page of World Cup Blog. I did a quick Thierry Henry profile that included an excellent video from Reebok, where Henry talks about growing up in a rough [...]

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By sandrahn | April 9th, 2008 at 4:19 pm

Laurie, it is not entirely fair to say his teammates call him egotistical and big-headed, and leave it at that. What you say is true, I’ve seen the quotes.

However, as a gooner who’s followed the club and Henry’s career for years now, I also know that in England off the pitch players from other clubs universally called him one of the nicest guys in the game. He would nearly always share a joke with opposition players after a game and he was always approachable to fans. If, for example, John Terry came into a restaurant and saw Jens Lehmann sitting at a table, he couldn’t go over to greet Jens because Jens simply would not allow him to, Jens is very cold and unfriendly to rivals. However, Terry could always go over to Henry and they could share a drink or a meal together easily. There’s a famous quote frequently cited in the English press that Henry was known as “the nicest guy in football” off the pitch.

Yes, he’s a big melonhead on the pitch and probably in the dressing room, but he could also be quite supportive of young players, as Adebayor can attest. Henry communicates to him all the time and encourages him in his game.

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