12: Thierry Henry

Considered by many as the best player in the French squad, Thierry Henry is no stranger to anyone living on Planet Earth. The 30 year old is a respected striker in the football world, and a player which strikes fear in opposition teams with his pace, ability to score goals and assist goals. He played for the senior sides of AS Monaco (1994/98: 110 apps 20 goals) and Juventus (1999: 16 apps 3 goals), before joining Arsenal in 1999, where he earned his reputation of a world-class striker.

 

For Arsenal he was considered as much a hero, as he is considered for France. He spent 8 years at the club, until 2007, and was even named captain after Patrick Vieira left the club to go to Juventus in 2005. He was considered an untouchable at Arsenal, with fans loving every second that the striker played in. However, Barcelona tested this fact in 2007 and managed to acquire Henry’s services on the 25^th June 2007 for £16.1 million. Henry said that the reason for leaving was the uncertainty regarding Arsene Wenger’s future and the departure of David Dein (ex-board member of Arsenal). In his time at the club he scored a sensation 174 goals in 254 appearances. This season (2007/08) he has played 30 matches for Barca and scored 12 goals.

 

For France, Henry earned a century of appearances in the preparation friendlies for Euro 2008, in the match against Colombia on the 3^rd June. Until before Euro 2008, he has scored 44 goals for his nation, being one of the all-time top scorers for France. Henry made his French debut back in 1997 in a match against South Africa on the 11^th October. He will be one of the major figures in the nation’s push for European success in Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland.

 

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0d_Mf_SZ6k]