06 THIERRY HENRY

Elegant yet unstoppable, Henry made himself a legend. By James Maw

Not many footballers would nonchalantly glide past opposition defenders, before slotting the ball into the net, so regularly that their instinctive reaction was simply a shrug of the shoulders that suggested the whole thing was really no big deal. Even fewer footballers would make hawking mid-range family cars look suave and sophisticated. But Thierry Henry was a unique talent, with his own brand of effortless cool. Even uttering the words ‘Va-va-voom’ couldn’t diminish his slick demeanour – and that’s going some.

It took Monaco scout Arnold Catalano just one match to realise that a 13-year-old Henry was destined for greatness – and little wonder, given that he’d scored all of the goals in a 6-0 win. Soon Henry was in Monaco’s academy under the watchful eye of one Arsene Wenger, the club’s first-team boss. Wenger helped to nurture the young winger and gave him a senior debut at the age of 17, before being sacked two weeks later.

Losing his mentor didn’t set Henry back. In 1996-97 he fired Monaco to the French title, and a year later he and David Trezeguet were instrumental as an exciting young side reached the Champions League semi-finals.

Soon, he was a World Cup winner, featuring in every game for Aime Jacquet’s France that summer – except the final. A 20-year-old Henry was about to take the field against Brazil when Marcel Desailly’s sending-off necessitated a more defensive substitution.

It was becoming increasingly clear that the forward needed to flex his muscles in a much stronger league. Juventus duly obliged: in January 1999, the Old Lady’s deep pockets moved them to the front of a queue that included Wenger’s Arsenal, whom Henry had already called his ‘dream club’.

Henry’s stay in Italy was an unhappy one, with the Frenchman later admitting that he “lost desire” during his time with the Bianconeri. A chance meeting with Wenger on a flight from Turin to Paris would ultimately prove a key moment. Le Professeur is said to have told his former charge: “You’re wasting your time on the wing – you’re a No.9.”

And so, six months after arriving in the north of Italy, Henry was reunited with Wenger in north London.

Henry failed to score in his opening eight matches for Arsenal, but after that slow start, the goals flowed. The first one was trademark Thierry. With the Gunners labouring at Southampton, substitute Henry finally found the net, holding off a defender before turning and elegantly bending the ball past Saints keeper Paul Jones from just outside the penalty area. From that point on, the good times rolled. In the last 19 games of that first season, Henry scored 17 goals. His blend of searing pace, precise control and deadly finishing meant he was as loved by Arsenal’s fans as he was feared by the opposition.

Henry helped Arsenal to the Premier League title in 2002, won PFA Player of the Year in 2003, then played a key role in Arsenal’s incredible ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003-04. Henry was nigh-on unstoppable, and – right down to the socks rolled up over his knees – he was every inch an icon.

The summer he turned 30, and coming off the back of an injury-hit 2006-07 campaign, Henry’s quest for a European crown took the striker to Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona. He played a huge role in Barça winning six trophies in 2009 under Pep Guardiola – overcoming Manchester United in the Champions League final – even though he was past his peak by this point.

Henry spent the final five years of his career in MLS with the New York Red Bulls, interrupting that long spell Stateside only for an emotional goodbye tour of English football in the form of a brief loan stint back at Arsenal in 2012. His two goals in that stint were both late winners – they meant the Gunners scraped past Leeds in the FA Cup before pocketing all three points at Sunderland, in a season where they eventually secured a Champions League spot by a single point.

“He took a little time to settle in England, but it was worth the wait,” Peter Schmeichel told FFT in 2012. “He was quick, graceful, intelligent – just brilliant. You prided yourself on playing well against him. He’s fully worth his statue outside the Emirates.”

And of his place in the higher echelons of this list.

EVEN AFTER HIS PEAK, HE HELPED BARÇA TO WIN SIX TROPHIES IN A SINGLE YEAR