| England's Thierry Henry, the explosive striker for | | | | offered his best with almost two dozen assists. That |
| soccer's beleaguered Arsenal team, has decided to | | | | year, the FIFA's Technical Study Group also named |
| cut ties and venture toward greener pastures with | | | | him Man of the Match in three out of five matches |
| the Barcelona club. His recent decision has left fans | | | | for France. |
| disappointed but not surprised, as the deal for the | | | | In 2005, Henry rose to club captain, and that year |
| move has dragged on for almost a year. | | | | also saw Henry become the club's all time top goal |
| Of the move, Henry has recently been quoted as | | | | scorer, and he followed that year up with another |
| saying, "I have said so many times why I left | | | | successful year at breaking records in 2006. Henry is |
| Arsenal. I don't want to go back to that, but it was | | | | the only player to win the Football Writers' |
| hard to leave. I always said that if I ever left Arsenal, | | | | Association Footballer of the Year three times, in |
| it would be to play for Barcelona." | | | | 2003, 2004 and 2006 and has been awarded the |
| Well, now Henry's wish has come true. | | | | French Player of the Year four times. But perhaps |
| Since Arsenal's 2006 loss for the Champion's League | | | | the finest validation for Henry came in 2004 when |
| to Barcelona, fans and those 'in-the-know' have | | | | football icon Pele named Henry one of the top 125 |
| believed that Henry would make the move to the | | | | greatest living football players. |
| team that beat them, but then Henry turned around | | | | Henry, born in Paris is 1977, grew up playing soccer |
| and signed a new contract with Arsenal. | | | | and excelled at his game by the time he became a |
| However, the marriage has not lasted long, and the | | | | teenager. His first professional rights as a player were |
| deal has been struck. The lucrative deal between | | | | signed when he was merely 13 years old, by First |
| Henry and Barcelona will make the Frenchman a very | | | | Division Monaco, and he played his first professional |
| rich man indeed. The 29-year-old signed a four-year | | | | game in Nice at the tender age of 17. |
| contract, which also includes a release clause. | | | | In 1996, he made the Europe junior team. As he |
| Thierry Henry has played with England's Arsenal team | | | | made his way up the ranks, Henry played for Italy's |
| since 1999, playing in more than 250 games and | | | | Juventus, though he found his stride with the Arsenal |
| scoring almost 200 goals. However, he spent much of | | | | club in England. |
| 2006 on the sidelines recovering from injuries incurred | | | | His early days with Arsenal found Henry playing wing, |
| in March, which included hamstring, back and foot | | | | but team adjustments placed him at the striker spot |
| problems. | | | | at center, where it soon became clear he was |
| Nevertheless, during his illustrious career with Arsenal, | | | | incredibly gifted. Henry did, and has continued to, |
| Henry shot quickly to the top as the club's leading | | | | impress fans around the world with his lightening |
| goal scorer, and in the 2001-02 season, he netted 32 | | | | quick speed and large dose of natural talent. |
| goals. The following season, he scored 42 goals and | | | | |