Thierry Henry Biography

Thierry Henry Biography – Preview
The sheer number of Thierry Henry goals marked in his club an international profile makes him one of the best strikers of today, but it's not just goals that make him the fantastic soccer plays that he is. His elegant playing style, passing ability, decisiveness and overall technique is what brought him in the exclusive group of world class players and gave me a good reason to bring you this Thierry Henry bio.

Thierry Henry Biography – Youth Stage
Being brought up in the tough neighborhoods of Les Ulis, a heavily urbanized suburb of Paris, in a family of Antillean immigrants that didn't have it easy, Thierry Henry was only 6 when Claude Chezelle recruited him at the local youth team, CO Les Ulis.

Full name Thierry Daniel Henry Date of birth August 17, 1977 Place of birth Paris, France Height 6.2FT - 1.88M Playing position Striker

He spent five years at the club and at age 11, he played his first game here, before joining US Palaiseau in 1989, where he would meet Coach Jean-Marie Panza, which Henry refers to as his mentor even today. When Panza moved to Vity-Chatillon in 1990, the 13 year old Henry followed his mentor to the team, where he spent 2 years.

In his last year at Vity-Chatillon Thierry Henry had already made a name for himself in the youth team circles and AS Monaco sent out a scout to evaluate him at a game.

With 6 Thierry Henry goals that game, the scout was so impressed that he asked the young player to join Monaco without even going through the traditional trial, although he had to spend some time at the elite academy of Clairefontaine, where he would learn the basics of top football. In 1992 he was finally allowed in the AS Monaco youth team and 3 years later he would be taken in the senior squad.

Season Club Games Goals 1995–1998 AS Monaco 110 20 1998–1999 Juventus 16 3 1999–2007 Arsenal 336 226 2007-Present FC Barcelona 6 3 Last Update - Sep 29, 2007 Domestic League Only

Thierry Henry Biography – AS Monaco
Being granted a first team place after just one season spent with the senior team, Thierry Henry grabbed the chance and put his skills to good use, scoring several decisive goals that would help Monaco win the Ligue 1 title in the 1996-1997 season.

His great form in the league as well as for the U-20 French National team draw the eyes of France's senior National team's coach, Aime Jacquet who took the young player to the 1998 World Cup, risking his own position by allowing a relatively unknown striker to bear the pressure of a World Cup.

Still, Thierry Henry didn't disappoint as he ended the tournament as France's top scorer with 3 goals, but unfortunately wasn't given the chance to play in the final, where France beat Brazil 3 – 0.

His great form at the World Cup as well as at Monaco earned Thierry Henry an international aura and drew the offers of several big clubs, of which the most insistent was Juventus Torino, who signed him in January 1999, for a sum of 17 million dollars.

Thierry Henry Biography – Juventus
At Juventus, facing the rough defensive discipline of Italian clubs and changing his position on the pitch to that of a winger, Henry didn't have the best of seasons. In fact, in 16 appearances for Juventus he barely scored 3 goals and had a few assists and fans were starting to doubt the young Frenchman's skills.

Luckily for him, he was quick to change the environment, as Arsenal's French coach, Arsene Wenger (who was Henry's coach at Monaco) bought him for the same sum Juventus did, namely 17 million dollars.

It's here that the true rise to stardom started for Thierry Henry, Arsenal being a top team in the English league and will soon become a heavy team in the European cups.

Thierry Henry Biography – Arsenal
The move to Arsenal also coincided with him getting his old position as a striker back and taking advantage, he became what the press would soon call a Thierry Henry scoring machine, with an impressive tally of 26 goals in his first season.

Years National Team Games Goals 1997–Present France 94 40 Last Update - Sep 24, 2007

That season will prove to be Henry's best so far, winning the European Championship that summer with France (being one of the decisive members now, unlike the substitute status he shared in the 1998 World Cup) and gaining a lot of support at Arsenal.

His next season saw him taking Arsenal to winning a league-cup double, with the Frenchman becoming top goalscorer, piercing the net 32 times in all competitions.

But the Thierry Henry scoring machine still hadn't clenched his thirst for goals, as his next season would bring a new record goal tally, of 42 goals in all competitions, winning the FA Cup, although losing the league title.

His second league trophy was soon to come though, as the 2003-2004 season saw an impressive London team lead by Thierry Henry, Arsenal becoming the first team in more than a century to go through all the domestic matches unbeaten.

Becoming Arsenal's captain in 2005, Thiery Henry's goals lead the Gunners to a solid 2005-2006 season, which although didn't bring any silverware, brought a lot of records for the Frenchman.

That season, he managed to become Arsenal's top goalscorer of all time, breaking Ian Wright's 185 goals record, best club league goal record, breaking Cliff Bastin's league goal tally of 151 and also became the first player to score over 100 goals on Highbury, an unprecedented record.

Although losing another league title the following year, Thierry Henry's Arsenal focused all their efforts to the UEFA Champions League, where they reached the final, eventually losing 1 – 2 to a rampant FC Barcelona.

On June 25, 2007 Henry signed a 4 year deal with FC Barcelona and will earn a "small amount" of $9.3 million per season. Barcelona paid Arsenal $22 million for the Frenchman services.

Dennis Bergkamp Biography

Dennis Bergkamp Biography – Introduction - If you look on the fact sheet of most of the famous soccer players, you'll notice they were on a constant move, some even changing 10 or more teams during their career. Few players were truly "loyal" to their clubs, but Bergkamp is the exception that strengthened the rule, as he played for only 3 clubs in his career, becoming an idol at two of them.

Full name Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp Date of birth May 10, 1969 Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands Height 6.0FT - 1.83M Playing position Striker

Dennis Bergkamp Biography – Ajax Amsterdam - Being born in Amsterdam, Bergkamp's first choice was obviously the renowned youth department of Ajax, one of the top teams in Holland throughout time. He was picked up by the club at age 12, somewhat late in comparison to other soccer players.

For 5 years, he went through all the "ranks" in the Ajax youth system, until he was finally taken to the first team when he was just 17. Ajax's coach was none other than famous Dutch striker Johan Cruyff and it was him that saw a brilliant diamond in Dennis Bergkamp that needed to be chiseled.

Ajax Amsterdam does have a "habit" of sending very young players on the pitch, but on the other hand, having the most impressive youth system in the World, it's easy for them to do this. Bergkamp was part of this entire scheme and he joined the pitch for Ajax when he was 17, playing 14 games on his first professional season.

In his second season, he was already a first team regular and by his third, he was already a legend in the hearts of Ajax supporters, when Ajax won the Dutch league.

Season Club Games Goals 1986–1993 Ajax Amsterdam 185 103 1993–1995 Internazionale 52 11 1995–2006 Arsenal 315 87

But Bergkamp's best time with Ajax was the 1992 season, when he won the UEFA Cup, his first major international trophy. In the following three seasons, he became Ajax's most prolific striker, scoring no less than 103 goals in 185 matches for the club, before Internazionale Milano set eyes on him.

Years National Team Games Goals 1995-2006 Netherlands 79 37

Dennis Bergkamp Biography – Internazionale Milano - Bergkamp's move to Inter meant a fresh new start and for many players, a fresh new start is not good for their
form. In 2 seasons for Inter, he only managed to score 11 goals in 52 matches and a lot of pundits started saying that Bergkamp is a finished player that had his say at Ajax and nothing more. Fortunately, Arsenal gave him a chance to come back on top of the soccer scene, offering him a contract that he hastily signed in the summer of 1995.

Dennis Bergkamp Biography – Arsenal London - His first year at Arsenal didn't really break the news and many of the Gunners fans started wondering if bringing Dennis Bergkamp to their team was indeed a smart move.

On his second season however, Bergkamp's form would get a fantastic boost with Arsene Wenger being named manager of Arsenal. The Frenchman knew exactly how to position Bergkamp and his move proved fruitful as the Dutch striker started getting back on top of his game. His 11 seasons at Arsenal brought him a tally of 3 League titles, 4 Cups and a few disappointments.

In 2000, Bergkamp and his team lost the UEFA Cup final in a dramatic penalty-shootout and in 2006 he lost the Champions League final after an equally dramatic match that saw Arsenal playing 10 versus 11 from the starting minutes, as Jens Lehman, the Gunners' goalkeeper, was sent off for a last – man foul.

David Beckham Biography

Building up this David Beckham biography from scratch, I could not stop wondering if after, the player will retire, he will be remembered as a great soccer player or simply as a famous one, a celebrity of the game.

The truth is that it's a combination of these two factors that brought David Bechkam’s current fame. Follow me through this David Beckham biography and you'll hear the story of a modest English boy that ascended to have a godlike status in the entire world and is now amongst the most well paid footballers of all times.

Full name David Robert Joseph Beckham Date of birth May 2, 1975 Place of birth Leytonstone, London, England Height 6.0FT - 1.83M Playing position Right Winger, Central Midfielder

David Beckham Biography – Early Career
Born in East London, Beckham was raised in a family of Manchester United supporters, with both his parents traveling to Old Trafford from London to see the team's matches, often taking young David with them. Getting the taste of soccer, David started playing for the Ridgeway Rovers, a youth team coached by his father and Steve Kirby.

Although taking part at several trials at the Manchester United youth facilities, he had some tries at his local club, Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur, however he would come back to the Manchester United youth in 1991.

Season Club Games Goals 1992–2003 Manchester United 265 62 1995 Preston North End (loan) 5 2 2003-2007 Real Madrid 116 13 2007 Los Angeles Galaxy - -

After playing there for 1 year and winning the FA Youth Cup with the team, David Beckham was given the chance to play for Manchester's first squad, in a League Cup game against Brighton and Hove Albion, which would be his first appearance as a professional soccer player.

David Beckham Biography – Manchester United - When he was just 19 years of age, Beckham was still not a first team regular for Manchester, so in the 1994/95 season he was loaned to Preston North End, where he would get some useful match experience before returning to United the next season.

The end of the 1994/95 season saw several key components of the Manchester United first squad leaving the team or retiring and Sir Alex Ferguson, the team's manager decided to base his strategy for the next season on youngsters instead of buying expensive replacements. This was a great chance for David Beckham and he took it with both hands as he would become a first team regular from now on.

Years National Team Games Goals 1994-1996 England U21 9 0 1996-Present England 96 17

Constantly rising in form and playing better and better for Manchester helped David Beckham reach the England squad for the 1998 World Cup, however this would be one of the toughest moments in Beckham's career.

In the Last 16 round, England would play Argentina, with Beckham starting out in the first line-up. After a hard tackle from Argentinean Simeone, Beckham lost control and struck him in the calf, being sent off and attracting the anger of the entire English fan base as well as the media, the Daily Mirror even printing out a dartboard on the first page, with the face of David Beckham around the bullseye.

His strength of character was proven when he got over this moment and just one year later, he managed to pull off a fabulous season, winning the Champions League-Cup-League "treble" with Manchester. Beckham was already a superstar and by the end of his 9th year at Manchester, in 2003, he would be involved in a shocking transfer to Real Madrid.

David Beckham Biography – Real Madrid - With 4 seasons under his belt at Real, Beckham did not have the same performance as he did at Manchester, but being in the star-studded team of the Madrid side meant he was much more publicized and became the most famous and well-paid soccer player in the world for several years.

Reaching the end of his career, David Beckham now playing for the Los Angeles galaxy with a contract worth $250 million over 5 years.