If you ask Thierry Henry what makes him so great, he certainly doesn't mention his lightning speed, his agile steps, or his ability to lift weights—Henry would say, it's his brain.
"I was inspired by what Marco van Basten did in 1992." Henry replied in an interview with TA. Henry was only 13 years old at the time and was a student at the prestigious French Football Academy Klefösstein.
In Klefontaine, Henry, in addition to rigorous football training with young talents such as Nicholas Anelka, Willian Galla and Louis Saha, also studied his idols through television: "Van Basten is my favourite player, he did some incredible things at euro 1992 – like Dennis Bergkamp scored a goal against Germany, and I've never seen a player like Van Basten. Play that role in a goal."
"Aaron Winter was carrying the ball down the flank and Van Basten ran towards the near post to take the defender away... If he hadn't run that way, the defenders would have followed him and Bergkamp and easily destroyed the attack. But at the time, van Basten was still holding out his finger behind him as he moved. I was watching the live replay and thought, "What is he referring to?" "He's pointing to Bergkamp – he's the commander-in-chief of the goal, carefully orchestrating everyone's movements in his head."
At that moment, Henry saw everything a striker could do. Suddenly, Henry had an epiphany that football is not just about goals – it's about space, perception and thinking.
"Van Basten is known as a shooter, a killer, a Terminator... People don't pay much attention to some of the way he runs and the way he promotes the players around him – but that affects me."
Another moment for Henry that gave him an epiphany was when he joined Monaco and met Arsena Wenger. Wenger gave Henry his league debut when he was 17, but that was just the beginning, and the really great story had just begun when they reunited at Arsenal 5 years later.
"In the Premier League, everything changed for me, both professionally and as a person," Henry said, "and there I became a man."
Wenger became the starting point for another reflection in Henry's career. At one point, Henry felt that his running in the game was often ignored by Arsenal's midfielders, so after a training session at Kearney's base, he approached Wenger.
"I remember the day I went to talk to him about the midfield problem, and I seemed to say to him, 'Sometimes they just can't see me, you know?"' 」
"Then Arsena said to me, 'Do you think Freddie Ljungberg can see you like Dennis Bergkamp?"' I thought to myself, of course not, Dennis can see me while he's asleep."
"The way Ljungberg played at the time was not very different, he liked to carry the ball with his head down, so the way he ran and handled the ball was very different from Bergkamp. Everyone else, Robert Piré, Ashley Cole, Gilberto Silva and Patrick Vieira, had different ways of running and handling the ball."
"For example, can I receive a long pass from Chloe Toure in the high post? Early in his career, he couldn't—but at later stages, he could. What about Tony Adams? Of course. But when paired with some defenders, I had to go back deeper to catch the ball because they didn't have the ability to pass so far."
With that comes more thinking and discovery.
"I took Wenger's words to heart. Suddenly, I found myself thinking about how to make my midfield teammates play more easily, not how they should make me play easier. I started choosing how I ran based on the ability of my teammates, rather than simply running as I pleased."
"When you take the ball, you're not only subject to your own feet, but also to the movements of other teammates – but at least you can decide what to do with the ball. But when you don't have the ball at your feet and can't decide how to handle it, you should make sure to give the player at least one solution to handle the ball. What can you do when the team can't help you? That's my definition of a striker."
"Look at it this way, on average, even if a striker is great, he doesn't hold the ball for more than a minute in the game. So what should you do for the rest of the time?"
At this point, Henry paused, indicating that the question was not a rhetorical question or rhetorical question. Here, you can see Henry's shining as a coach – TA completed this interview with Henry, who is coaching MLS team Montreal Impact.
James McNicholas, the reporter in charge of the interview, didn't want to answer the question wrong, but he really didn't know the right answer. So he carefully guessed an answer: "Running?"
But James guessed wrong.
"No, I'm thinking." Henry explains, "That's why I said Wenger inspired me to think and gave me an epiphany. Most of the time, you do run, but that makes people forget that one of the most important skills in the world is thinking. That's all you have to do in the game, you have to think about it."
"You have 1 minute of possession time in the game, 15 touches – if you're a good striker, there's probably 30. But even the greatest striker is only 60 touches. And other than that, how you think about the game will determine the quality of your game."
"Honestly, it's not the part of the body that a lot of people try to improve in training: the brain. In training sessions, coaches will find ways to make you stronger, run faster, and so on, but how do you make a player smarter? How do you stimulate their thinking? How do you make them understand space? How do you let them know when and where to do something? That's the difference between good players and great players."
Henry's thinking gives him a unique style in the center position. He was the greatest and most ruthless goalscorer in Arsenal history, but definitely not a typical centre-forward. He prefers to cruising on the left rather than sniffing out opportunities in the penalty area.
"I remember when I first arrived at Arsenal, people were saying, 'He never stays in the box, so how does he score goals?'" Henry recalled, "You know, that's the superstition of the time, you only have more chances to score goals if you stay in the box. Of course, today's wingers can also break through like a center forward."
"But I'm really not the kind of player who is good at being active in the box, and my headers aren't good. I'm good at carrying the ball, but I'm not suitable for staying in the box for long periods of time. So, why should I stay in a position that will expose my weaknesses? I'm sure I'm going to take you to the position where I can play most comfortably, right? And I knew I wouldn't be too upset in the middle, but taking the defenders to the left was like returning to my "garden". I used to be a winger."
"If you don't want to come, that's your business, and no one cares about me." If you come to my garden, it is up to you, because you are going to come out and talk to me one-on-one. No matter what, I won."
"It seems to me that I will come to my garden no matter what. You can come or not, it's all in my house anyway, and I'm going to have a barbecue in the garden."
Henry's words must have evoked memories of a generation of Centre-Backs in the Premier League: they reluctantly followed him to the flanks and were then ruled by Henry.
Who is the toughest defender Henry has ever faced in his career? He gave an awesome list: "Rio Ferdinand is a good defender, John Terry, William Galla are all opponents we want to avoid – especially Gala, who can play all 4 positions in the back line, which only a few people can do. And then there's Sol Campbell, Chloe Toure, and I can say a few more names, like Ledley King."
Although Henry recognized their strength, the names did not scare him: "When I was at my own pace, I don't think there were many people in world football at that time who could defend me." 」 Henry said, "But when I lose rhythm, even my dad can finish defending me. So, that's always been my point: make sure you work hard enough and then don't say, "I can't get past this defender" or "I can't get into this goalkeeper's ball."
With Henry's outburst, defenders defending him would increasingly try to limit him with their bodies. "If you want to avoid confrontation, there's not much room left for you in a lot of small courts." Henry said, "You have to create space for yourself. Those guys are going to challenge you physically, and you have to deal with them before you can get into the game."
As a way to cope, Henry asked Martin Keion and Lee Dixon to put more on him in training, which would help him prepare for the challenges he will face in the league weekend. This made Henry stronger, and he began to learn to harness his anger, turning adrenaline into performance on the field.
"Sometimes I'm not in good shape on the pitch, but a kick from the defender all of a sudden on me is going to be a turning point in my performance," Henry said, "that's who I am, I'll react quickly." Sometimes, I would talk trash to my opponent on the court: "Man, you shouldn't kick me. Because I wasn't in the rhythm of the game, and your foot woke me up. Thank you so much. ”」
Henry scored a total of 175 Premier League goals in a variety of ways. However, he has an iconic way of scoring: cutting in from the left, facing the goalkeeper, opening his body and hitting the ball into the far corner with his right foot. From the stands, the goal seemed effortless, but the facts were very different.
"Do you know how long it took me to master this skill?" Henry asked, "You'd want to laugh because I tried to practice this technique when I was in Monaco." I was practicing in training with a goalkeeper named Stefana Polato and fitness coach Claude Puel, and I scored only 1 goal in 50 shots."
"Even as I started to master the skill slowly, I still needed to practice 30-40 minutes of shooting after each training session. At Arsenal, I would pull up a couple of reserve goalkeepers, or even myself, and practice after the team's training. The amount of training behind this action is insane."
"Constant repetition creates a habit, and when you have a habit, your body doesn't even need to think about it to make this action, and everything becomes very natural... However, people tend to see only the results and tend to judge by saying, "Oh, this is him!" "No, it's not me, it's hard training."
There is also a side of Henry's game that is often overlooked: he has delivered 74 assists in 258 Premier League games. Asked about his creativity, Henry admitted that he consciously wanted to change the way centre-forwards played – something very rare. "I think I have a responsibility to be involved in the evolution of the forward position," Henry said, "and at some point in my career, I started to think, 'What can I leave behind?'" How much impact can I have on this position? ”」
"I learned at one point that a striker's job is always to finish for the team – and then he gets recognition, sometimes even less fair recognition. I can concede 10 singles in a game, then score a winning goal, and then I'm the hero of the game. A goalkeeper who could make 10 saves and then concede a mistake in the 91st minute makes him a sinner for the team. How can this be fair?"
"So, I said to myself, 'If those guys are working hard for me, then I should be in retaliation."' Then I started trying to give more assists in the game, and that's how I say, "We're a team."
Henry's way of playing has also made him one of the most pleasant players in the history of the Premier League. However, he is not the kind of player who only wants to express himself, beauty is just an add-on to the way he plays. "That's how I play," Henry said, "for me, I'm not entertaining the fans." I'm always playing with a clear purpose."
"You never see me on the field wearing a crotch for the sake of wearing a crotch." I always just want to move forward. If wearing a crotch is a necessary action, then complete the crotch piercing. When I tried some moves and didn't work, Arsenal fans would sing to me: "Thierry, what are you XXX doing?" "But I always try: if I don't do it, that goal against Manchester United won't be in Premier League history."
"And that heel goal against Charlton. What else do you think I can do? I had to hold the ball and he was on my back and I couldn't turn around. So I saw a path, and that was the road. So, the question is, can you do it? That's a completely different story."
"On the pitch, you must never forget that you are an athlete – the only thing you can't do is be afraid of losing."
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, Henry, like millions of people around the world, watched espn and Netflix documentaries The Last Dance.
Anyone who knows henry and Michael Jordan about their careers will find similarities: a combination of grace and strength, a calm self-analysis, and a firm belief in victory. It's no accident: Henry has idolized Jordan since he was a child, and the latter's achievements in the NBA have inspired young Henry to think in another way — former Arsenal striker Carlos Bella has said before that he thinks Henry is as tough and tough as Jordan.
Both are known for their strict requirements for their teammates. Henry wasn't Ronaldinho's type, and he wouldn't have a smile on his face forever. When someone fails to meet his standards, he will definitely let the other person know clearly. For example, with the dissolution of the undefeated team in 2003-04, Henry's anger against some of his underperforming teammates had been burning darkly for a long time and began to show it on the pitch more and more frequently.
Henry was unapologetic about this.
After revisiting Jordan's story, Henry found the right answer: "I grew up watching the bulls and Jordan, so when I watched that documentary, I was thinking, 'Yes, I'm not wrong!"). I don't care what people say."
"If a person is very demanding of himself, always showing great desire and excellent professionalism, then he will naturally have high demands on his teammates. So when I watched the documentary, I was watching it and smiling, "Yeah, or else?" "If you can't control how you perform in training, how can you expect you to achieve anything on the weekend?"
"When you watch The Last Dance, you find that sometimes Jordan's teammates don't know if they should like him." Yes, but we won"—all of a sudden, they all agreed, and in the end, Jordan revealed his emotions. Yes, because the war is over. People will never wonder why warriors only express their emotions after the battle is over."
Henry's time as Arsenal's official captain is not long, only 2 years, but he has been the leader of the team for much longer. Is it difficult for Henry to be the one who sets the standards, the one who constantly makes demands on others? "It's not like that," he said, "the difficulty with this is: You helped others, who will help you?" People will see when others "can't do it", but no one will care if I can do it or not. Because I have to be the one who always "does it.""
"Sometimes the pressure on your shoulders is that if you don't perform well, you can't go back to the dressing room and watch your guys. They know you're not fooling them, but your play is not as good as usual. So, actually they don't want to look at you, but you know they're looking at you — maybe in the image, "Well, what's wrong with him?" "--This is annoying."
"On the pitch, and then back in the dressing room, there's not..." Henry's voice dropped — it's a difficult thing for him to even talk about failure, "it's like, you didn't help your team, you know, they know." I'm very picky about myself, you don't have to tell me what's going on, you know? Many times I remember calling my agent and brothers after the game and they would say, "Thierry, you know..."
Henry made an ambiguous gesture with his hand and then continued, "Then I'll say, 'Don't tell me what I know—I know I didn't play well, that's what happened, don't make any excuses.".
Henry was lucky that in this case he could rely on good teammates. "Sometimes, what Michael Jordan can't do, Scotty Pippen shows up," he says, "and then, the things that Scotty Pippen can't do, Tony Kukocci shows up." That's how you win the championship. Sometimes when I couldn't do it, then Dennis appeared, Sylvan Viltoed appeared, Nwankovo Kanu appeared. Sometimes when we can't do it, Gilberto comes forward – like the one in Leicester in 2003."
When Henry was harsh on himself, Arsenal gave him comfort and understanding. "Arsenal fans and I, we do have some kind of connection," Henry said, "they know when I'm upset, they know when I'm in shape and when I'm not in shape."
"I can't hide this stuff. If a player gives me a bad pass, you can tell from my expression where I think the ball should have gone. That's what it is for me, that's how you win a championship: you have to be with the winner to win a championship."
"That's why we won, because Patrick was like that, because Dennis was like that, because Tony Adams was like that too. When there are only one or two such players in the team, things get very difficult. So, when I watch The Last Dance, I think, 'Yeah, that's it.'"
When you set the bar so high, meeting those huge expectations can quickly become a burden. "For me, it's my mission," Henry said, "every three days, Arsenal fans are waiting for my performance and I can't let them down." Although I did disappoint Arsenal fans many times, it was not intentional."
"But my job is to make sure I'm always ready and ready not to let them down. I never hang out, never drink. People would invite me to say, "Thierry, let's go." I would answer them: "No, no, no, I have a game on Tuesday and I can't let myself down, let the team down, let the staff down, disappoint everyone who works at the club, especially the fans... I can't. "You, Arsenal fans, came to Highbury to see how I performed."
"So how can I say something on the pitch like , 'I was at a party last night and only slept for two hours'. Well, I have to be honest – yes, sometimes I perform badly, but that's because I'm bad, not because I'm not prepared. I always want to make sure I'm ready to give a great performance."
"Am I a saint?" No, I'm an ordinary person and I make mistakes. But I'm always ready to give everything to play myself. Sometimes that's not enough, and I understand, and I'll be the first to say it, but I'll think inside: There are too many people waiting for me to perform. I'm all for them."
For that – for all the goals, assists, speed, skill, thinking, glamour, character and commitment to excellence – the Premier League is very grateful.
The Premier League 60 Star series has been fully compiled, thank you for your support and waiting.
This article is compiled from The Athletic's "Premier League 60" series by James McNicholas.
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