nani

Nani (footballer)This article is about the Portuguese footballer. For the technical director at West Ham United, see Gianluca Nani.

This is a Portuguese name; the first family name is Almeida and the second is da Cunha.

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Nani Nani Portugal.jpg
Personal information
Full name Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha
Date of birth 17 November 1986 (1986-11-17) (age 22)
Place of birth Praia, Cape Verde
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current club Manchester Untied
Number 17
Youth career
2000–2003 Real de Massamá
2003–2005 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2007 Sporting CP 58 (9)
2007– Manchester United 42 (5)
National team‡
2006– Portugal U21 10 (1)
2006– Portugal 28 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:50, 22 August 2009 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:00, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born 17 November 1986), commonly known as Nani, is a Portuguese football winger who plays for English club Manchester United and the Portuguese national team.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life
* 2 Career
o 2.1 Early career
o 2.2 Sporting CP
o 2.3 Manchester United
* 3 International career
* 4 Celebration
* 5 Career statistics
* 6 Honours
o 6.1 Club
* 7 References
* 8 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in Praia, Cape Verde, Nani emigrated with his family to Portugal at an early age. He was raised by his aunt Antonia in the Amadora district of Lisbon,[1] where he and childhood friend, midfielder Manuel Fernandes, would often kick a ball about together.[2]
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career

Nani grew up supporting Porto and played junior football alongside Ricardo Vaz Tê at Massamá youth club Real Sport Clube,[3] before joining the youth squad of Sporting CP.[1]
[edit] Sporting CP

Nani made his debut for Sporting in 2005–06, making 29 appearances and scoring four goals. In his second season, he had similar numbers with 29 appearances and five goals. He also played in six European games, scoring once.
[edit] Manchester United

Nani was sold to Manchester United for an undisclosed fee,[4] thought to be around £14–17 million,[5][6] five percent of which was paid to Real de Massamá.[1][7] He passed his medical on 6 June 2007, and signed a five-year contract.[8][9]

Nani scored on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Shenzhen Shangqingyin, in which United ran out 6–0 winners. He also scored in the following game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical with a chip off the right post from the left side of the penalty area. Nani decided to set the record straight after reports suggested he had been banned by Alex Ferguson from doing his trademark somersault celebration for fear of injuring himself. "That is not true", he said. "Ferguson has never spoken to me about this subject and I am going to continue to celebrate goals in this way. The conversations he has had with me are normal conversations, like he has with all players".[10]
Nani with Gilberto Silva

Nani made his competitive debut for Manchester United on 5 August 2007, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield against Chelsea. He marked his debut with a trophy after the Red Devils won 3–0 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw in normal time.[11] This was followed up by Nani's third goal for the club three days later, when he scored against Glentoran.

Nani's Premier League debut came in United's opening match at home to Reading on 12 August as a substitute for Wayne Rooney, who had suffered a foot injury.[12] On 26 August 2007, Nani scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United, scoring a 30-yard winner in the 69th minute against Tottenham Hotspur. Nani also set up crucial goals for Louis Saha and Nemanja Vidić allowing United to beat both Sunderland and Everton 1–0.[13][14] He also scored with a stunning strike against Middlesbrough, which set the ball rolling to a 4–1 win. It was the first game in which it was thought that Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez showed the first real promise of forming a good strike partnership. He returned to his previous club, Sporting, in a Champions League tie in September, though it was team-mate and fellow former Sporting man Cristiano Ronaldo who stole the limelight by scoring the winner in a 1–0 win.[15]
Nani playing for United in 2008

On 16 February 2008, Nani put in a man of the match performance against Arsenal in the FA Cup Fourth Round, his goal and two assists helping United to a 4–0 win over their rivals. During the match, Nani was involved in an altercation with Arsenal captain William Gallas who felt that the Portuguese was "showboating".[16] After the match, Arsène Wenger was equally displeased, while Gilberto Silva said that Nani had a "big head".[17]

On 23 March 2008, Nani set up the second and scored the final goal in a 3–0 victory over rivals Liverpool, in the 79th and 81st minutes respectively, after coming onto the pitch as a substitute.[18]

On 3 May, towards the end of a 4–1 win over West Ham United, Nani was sent off for the first time in his Manchester United career for a headbutt on West Ham defender Lucas Neill.[19]

On 21 May, Nani came on as a substitute for Wayne Rooney in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final as United defeated Chelsea 6–5 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Nani took and scored Manchester United's crucial fifth penalty in the shootout.[20]

Nani scored his first goal of the 2008–09 season on 23 September 2008, scoring United's third goal in a 3–1 win over Middlesbrough in the last minute to secure passage to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup.[21] On 18 October, he scored from a Wayne Rooney assist to complete the 4–0 rout of West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford.[22] On 20 January 2009, he opened the scoring for United in their 4–2 win at home to Derby County in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final.[23]

Nani opened the scoring in the 10th minute of the 2009 FA Community Shield, but United eventually lost the match on penalties after a 2–2 draw. Nani suffered a dislocated shoulder during the match, which was originally expected to keep him out of the start of the season,[24] but he recovered in time to play 17 minutes for Portugal against Liechtenstein on 12 August,[25] and started the match against Birmingham City on 16 August. Although he provided the assist for Wayne Rooney's winning goal in the 34th minute, Nani was replaced by Ryan Giggs at half-time.[26] With the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, there would be many wanting to take over free-kick duties and Nani put his mark down as first choice as he scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season from a free-kick against Wigan Athletic, scoring the final goal of a 5-0 away win.[27]
[edit] International career

Nani was the youngest member of the Portugal U-21 squad at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He made his first appearance for the senior Portuguese team on 1 September 2006, and marked his debut with a goal in Portugal's 4–2 friendly defeat against Denmark.[2]

Nani was a regular member of the Portuguese squad in qualification for UEFA Euro 2008, and scored one of the goals in the 2–1 away win over Belgium on 2 June 2007.[28] He also provided the assist for Ricardo Quaresma's goal in a friendly against Italy on 6 February 2008.[29] Nani's form for Manchester United during the 2007–08 season ultimately earned him a call-up to Luiz Felipe Scolari's 23-man squad for Euro 2008, alongside club team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. He was only used sparingly during the campaign, but did manage to provide the assist for Hélder Postiga's goal during a 15-minute cameo in the quarter-finals against Germany on 19 June 2008. Portugal eventually lost the match 3–2.[30]
[edit] Celebration

Nani celebrates with a "mortal" or, in English, a "Leap of death", similar to that of Obafemi Martins and Lomana LuaLua. The celebration derives from Nani's background in capoeira, which he used to practice as a child. For a while, it was widely reported that United boss, Alex Ferguson, had banned Nani's celebration, fearing for his safety,[31] although this was never supported by any direct quotes from Ferguson or Nani. Despite the supposed ban, Nani has continued to celebrate in this manner.
[edit] Career statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other[32] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sporting CP 2005–06 29 4 3 1 – 0 0 0 0 32 5
2006–07 29 5 0 0 – 6 1 0 0 35 6
Total 58 9 3 1 – 6 1 0 0 67 11
Manchester United 2007–08 26 3 2 1 1 0 11 0 1 0 41 4
2008–09 13 1 2 2 6 3 7 0 3 0 31 6
2009–10 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 2
Total 42 5 4 3 7 3 18 0 5 1 76 12
Career total 100 14 7 4 7 3 24 1 5 1 143 23

Statistics accurate as of match played 22 August 2009[33]
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club

Sporting CP

* Taça de Portugal (1): 2006–07

Manchester United

* Premier League (2): 2007–08, 2008–09
* Football League Cup (1): 2008–09
* FA Community Shield (2): 2007, 2008
* UEFA Champions League (1): 2007–08
* FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

[edit] References

1. ^ a b c Worden, Tom; Mullock, Simon (17 June 2007). "Slums nurtured Nani". sundaymirror.co.uk (Trinity Mirror). http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2007/06/17/slums-nurtured-nani-98487-19309282/. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
2. ^ a b Henderson, Charlie (31 May 2007). "Who are Anderson & Nani?". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/6707383.stm. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
3. ^ Mills, Steve (1 June 2007). "Get to know... Nani". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=432328. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
4. ^ "17. Nani". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={FE60904B-C2A8-4E60-9B05-700DBBC29BBC}§ion=playerProfile&teamid=458&bioid=92680. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
5. ^ Anstead, Mike (26 June 2007). "Nani will be a big star". Sun Online (News Group Newspapers). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article238963.ece. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
6. ^ Winter, Henry (14 June 2007). "Nani shows United's £17m is well spent". Telegraph.co.uk (Telegraph Media Group). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2315195/Nani-shows-United%27s-andpound17m-is-well-spent.html. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
7. ^ Gouveia, Ricardo (19 July 2007). "Real Massamá ainda não recebeu os cinco por cento de Nani" (in Portuguese). Maisfutebol. http://www.maisfutebol.iol.pt/noticia.php?id=834509&div_id=1457. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
8. ^ Bartram, Steve (2 July 2007). "Reds complete triple signing". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=440998. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
9. ^ Hibbs, Ben (6 June 2007). "Nani passes Reds medical". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=433872. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
10. ^ McDonnell, David (23 August 2007). "Nani feels settled at United". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={F9E570E6-407E-44BC-800F-4A3110258114}&newsid=465353. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
11. ^ Coppack, Nick (5 August 2007). "Report: Reds Lift Community Shield". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=449978. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
12. ^ Bartram, Steve (12 August 2007). "Report: United 0 Reading 0". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=462736. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
13. ^ McKenzie, Andrew (1 September 2007). "Man Utd 1-0 Sunderland". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/6963704.stm. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
14. ^ McNulty, Phil (15 September 2007). "Everton 0-1 Man Utd". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/6984880.stm. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
15. ^ Bartram, Steve (19 September 2007). "Report: Sporting 0 United 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=472343. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
16. ^ Poll, Graham (22 February 2008). "Graham Poll: The Official Line - Nani must learn rules of respect". Mail Online (Associated Newspapers). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-517688/Graham-Poll-The-Official-Line--Nani-learn-rules-respect.html. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
17. ^ Kay, Oliver (18 February 2008). "Arsene Wenger ‘humiliated’ by Nani juggling act". Times Online (Times Newspapers). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article3386764.ece. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
18. ^ Bostock, Adam (23 March 2008). "Report: United 3 Liverpool 0". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=543177. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
19. ^ McNulty, Phil (3 May 2008). "Man Utd 4-1 West Ham". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7368652.stm. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
20. ^ McNulty, Phil (21 May 2008). "Man Utd earn dramatic Euro glory". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7406252.stm. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
21. ^ "Man Utd 3-1 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 23 September 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/7626743.stm. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
22. ^ Whyatt, Chris (18 October 2008). "Man Utd 4-0 West Brom". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7665094.stm. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
23. ^ Bevan, Chris (20 January 2009). "Man Utd 4-2 Derby (4-3 agg)". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/7824155.stm. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
24. ^ "Man Utd suffer Nani injury blow". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 9 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8192491.stm. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
25. ^ Coppack, Nick (13 August 2009). "Nani returns for Portugal". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={F9E570E6-407E-44BC-800F-4A3110258114}&newsid=6637752. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
26. ^ Soneji, Pranav (16 August 2009). "Man Utd 1-0 Birmingham". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8197957.stm. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
27. ^ Bevan, Chris (22 August 2009). "Wigan 0-5 Man Utd". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8209298.stm. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
28. ^ "Postiga keeps Portugal pressing". euro2008.com (Union of European Football Associations). 2 June 2007. http://www1.uefa.com/tournament/qualifying/matches/match=83777/index.html. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
29. ^ "Italy 3-1 Portugal: Rampant Azzurri looking good". ESPNsoccernet (ESPN Internet Ventures). 6 February 2008. http://soccernet-akamai.espn.go.com/report?id=234403&league=FIFA.FRIENDLY&&cc=3888. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
30. ^ Hart, Simon (19 June 2008). "Portugal ousted by German power show". euro2008.com (Union of European Football Associations). http://www1.uefa.com/tournament/matches/match=301699/report=rp.html. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
31. ^ McDonnell, David (27 July 2007). "Fergie bans Nani's celebration". Mirror.co.uk (Trinity Mirror). http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2007/07/27/fergie-bans-nani-celebration-89520-19528747/. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
32. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
33. ^ Endlar, Andrew. "Nani". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/nani.html. Retrieved 26 June 2009.

[edit] External links
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nani

* Profile at ManUtd.com
* Profile at StretfordEnd.co.uk
* Nani PortuGOAL profile
* Nani career stats at Soccerbase
* Nani statistics and biography at FootballDatabase.com
* UEFA.com profile

[show]
v • d • e
Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2008
1 Ricardo • 2 Ferreira • 3 Bruno Alves • 4 Bosingwa • 5 Meira • 6 R. Meireles • 7 Ronaldo • 8 Petit • 9 H. Almeida • 10 J. Moutinho • 11 Simão • 12 Nuno • 13 Miguel • 14 Ribeiro • 15 Pepe • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 Quaresma • 18 Veloso • 19 Nani • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Patrício • 23 Postiga • Coach: Scolari
Flag of Portugal
[show]
v • d • e
Manchester United F.C. – current squad

1 Van der Sar · 2 Neville (c) · 3 Evra · 4 Hargreaves · 5 Ferdinand · 6 Brown · 7 Owen · 8 Anderson · 9 Berbatov · 10 Rooney · 11 Giggs · 12 Foster · 13 Park · 14 Tošić · 15 Vidić · 16 Carrick · 17 Nani · 18 Scholes · 19 Welbeck · 20 Fábio · 21 Rafael · 22 O'Shea · 23 J. Evans · 24 Fletcher · 25 Valencia · 26 Obertan · 27 Macheda · 28 Gibson · 29 Kuszczak · 30 De Laet · 31 C. Evans · 33 Hewson · 38 Zieler · 40 Amos · 41 King · 42 Eikrem · Manager: Ferguson
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nani_(footballer)"
Categories: 1986 births | Living people | Portuguese footballers | People from Santiago, Cape Verde | People from Lisbon | Afro-Portuguese people | Portuguese people of Cape Verdean descent | Football (soccer) wingers | Portugal international footballers | Portuguese Liga footballers | Sporting Clube de Portugal footballers | Manchester United F.C. players | Premier League players | Portuguese expatriate footballers | Expatriate footballers in England | UEFA Euro 2008 players

Park Ji-Sung

Park Ji-Sung
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This is a Korean name; the family name is Park.

Park Ji-Sung Park Ji-Sung.jpg
Personal information
Full name Park Ji-Sung
Date of birth 25 February 1981 (1981-02-25) (age 28)
Place of birth Soul, South Korea
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Winger
Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club Manchester United
Number 13
Youth career
1999–2000 Myongji University
Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2003 Kyoto Purple Sanga 76 (11)
2003–2005 PSV Eindhoven 64 (13)
2005– Manchester United 88 (9)
National team‡
1999–2004 Korea Republic U-23 20 (3)
2000– Korea Republic 81 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:50, 20 September 2009 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:36, 5 September 2009 (UTC)
Korean name
Hangul 박지성
Hanja 朴智星
Revised Romanization Bak Ji-seong
McCune–Reischauer Pak Chisŏng

Park Ji-Sung (Hangul: 박지성; Hanja:朴智星; Korean pronunciation: [pak̚t͈ɕisʌŋ]; born 25 February 1981) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for the English club Manchester United and is the captain of the South Korean national team. He is the only Korean player to win the UEFA Champions League and the first Asian to play in a final of the tournament.[citation needed]

Park began his football career in his native South Korea and played for the Myongji University team before moving to Japan to play for Kyoto Purple Sanga. After Park's national team manager Guus Hiddink moved back to the Netherlands to manage PSV Eindhoven, Park followed him to the Dutch side a year later. After PSV reached the semi-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Park's talents were recognised by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed Park for a fee of around £4 million in July 2005. Since then, Park has played in three consecutive Premier League-winning Manchester United teams and has also won the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

As a member of the South Korean national team, Park has won 81 caps and scored 11 goals, and was a member of the team that finished fourth at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Career
o 1.1 Early career
o 1.2 Kyoto Purple Sanga
o 1.3 PSV Eindhoven
o 1.4 Manchester United
* 2 International career
* 3 Career statistics
o 3.1 International goals
* 4 Honours
o 4.1 Club
o 4.2 Country
o 4.3 Individual
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

[edit] Career
[edit] Early career

Although he was born in the South Korean capital, Seoul, Park grew up in Suwon, a satellite city 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Seoul. While in high school, Park was rejected by a number of professional clubs, due to his small stature. He ended up playing for Myongji University after his high school coach strongly recommended him to the university coach. In 2000, after just a year at Myongji University, Kyoto Purple Sanga of Japan offered Park a contract and he took up the offer.
[edit] Kyoto Purple Sanga

Park signed with the Japanese club who had just been relegated to J2. In 2001 the club won the Division 2 championships and were promoted to the first division. In 2002, Park led the team into the finals of the Emperor's Cup, and scored the equaliser with a header and assisted Teruaki Kurobe's winning goal in the final match.[1]. The team went on to win the match 2-1 to become the Emperor's Cup champions for the first time in Sanga's history. He left Sanga following the World Cup and Sanga's failure to avoid relegation to J2.
[edit] PSV Eindhoven

After the World Cup, Guus Hiddink was appointed the manager of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. In 2003, Park and South Korean teammate Lee Young-Pyo moved to PSV Eindhoven, to play under their mentor and former national team coach. While Lee quickly became a fixture in PSV Eindhoven's starting lineup, Park struggled due to injuries.[2]

However, by the end of 2003-04 season, Park had begun to adapt to the Netherlands, both on and off the field. In the 2004-05 season, the departure of Arjen Robben to Chelsea afforded Park more starting opportunities and he quickly proved his worth to the team. Along with Johann Vogel, DaMarcus Beasley and Dutchmen Mark van Bommel and Philip Cocu, Park formed the backbone of PSV Eindhoven's midfield play with his pace and passing.[3] Having been a top contributor of goals and assists that season, the highlight of Park's PSV career came when he scored the first goal against Italian team Milan at the Champions League semi-finals. PSV went on to win the home leg 3-1, but their 2-0 loss during the away leg meant Milan advanced to the Champions League Final.[4] Demonstrating the sheer scale of his hero status at the club, PSV fans even wrote a song for Park for his contributions during his time with the club. Titled "Song for Park", it was included in the PSV official album "PSV Kampioen", and repeats "Ji-Sung Park" in Dutch pronunciation the whole time.[citation needed]
[edit] Manchester United

In the closing months of the 2004-05 season, Park chose to join Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. Ferguson was impressed with Park's lively style of play, terrific pace, and unparalleled fitness. Park signed for the Premier League side for £4 million,[5] subject to a medical and work permit.[6][7]

Park became the first Asian to ever captain Manchester United when Ryan Giggs passed the armband to Park as he was being substituted in a European home game against Lille OSC. His first goal for Manchester United came on 20 December 2005, during a 3–1 win over Birmingham City in the League Cup fifth round.[8] His first goal in the Premier League appeared to have been against Fulham on 5 February 2006, in Manchester United's 4–2 victory at Old Trafford.[9] However the Premier League's Dubious Goals Panel later ruled that this was an "own-goal" due to a deflection off the Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra. Park's first official league goal came against Arsenal on 9 April, in Manchester United's 2-0 victory at Old Trafford.[10]

In April 2007, Park was sent to America for surgery on a recurring knee injury, putting an end to his season.[11] Although sidelined by injury for most of the season, he still played in enough matches to become the first Korean player to win the Premier League.

On 1 March 2008, Park scored his first Premiership goal of the 2007-08 season after returning from his long-term injury against Fulham. His lack of appearances had caused much controversy in Korea,[12] but he proved his worth when he delivered an assist to Wayne Rooney in the Champions League quarter-final match against Roma. On 29 April 2008, Manchester United advanced to the Champions League Final after beating Barcelona. Park was voted man of the match. On 21 May, it came as a huge surprise to many that Park was excluded completely from the squad to face Chelsea in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final. Many believed that Park's performances against Roma and Barcelona had earned him a place in the starting line-up for the final. With that omission, Park failed to become the first footballer from Asia to play in a Champions League final, as had widely been anticipated in South Korea. Later, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson stated that leaving the South Korean winger out from the 18-man squad for the Champions League final was one of the hardest decisions he had to make all throughout his managerial career.
Park after a match against Barcelona in April 2008

Early in the 2008–09 Premier League season, in an away match versus Chelsea, Park scored the only goal for United in a 1–1 draw on 21 September 2008, in a game which he also won the Man of the Match award.[13] On 13 December 2008, he made his 100th appearance for Manchester United, starting in the match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, the game ended 0-0.[14] Park was included in the 23-man squad for the FIFA Club World Cup held at the end of 2008. He missed the semi-final but played the full 90 minutes in the final which they won 1-0 becoming the first English side to win the competition. On 7 March 2009, Park scored his first FA Cup goal in the 4-0 quarter-final win over Fulham at Craven Cottage, he latched onto a miss placed pass by Zoltan Gera eventually slotting it into the far corner for the fourth and final goal.[15] On 15 April 2009, Manchester United advanced to semi-finals of the Champions League by defeating Porto 3-2 on aggregate. This made Park the only Asian player to be part of UEFA Champions League semi-finals on four different occasions.

On 2 May 2009, Park verbally agreed to a new four year £50,000 a week deal at Manchester United, he stated “I have no reason to move. I play at the best club in the world.”[16] Following this announcement Park scored his second league goal of the season, and third overall, in a 2-0 away win against Middlesbrough.[17] On 5 May 2009, Park scored his first Champions League goal for Manchester United in the second leg of the Semi-final against Arsenal at the Emirates. He pounced on a slip by Kieran Gibbs and placed the ball over Manuel Almunia in the 8th minute, with the game ending 3-1 (4-1 on aggregate), advancing United to the Champions League Final for the second year running.[18] Park became the first Asian player in history to play in a Champions League Final, however it would not end in victory as Barcelona were crowned European champions winning 2-0.[19]

On 14 September 2009, Park signed a three-year contract extension with United, keeping him at the club until 2012. Ferguson said during the summer that he was always confident a deal would be done with Park, whose wages are estimated to be about £65,000 a week.[20]
[edit] International career

Park began his international career as a 19-year-old defensive midfielder. Park made his first appearance selection during 2000 Sydney Olympics U-23 regional qualifier. Park was on 2000 Sydney Olympic roster along with Lee Chun-Soo, and Lee Dong-Gook. Selected by then manager, Huh Jung-Moo, he was unable to improve or show potential as a future regular for Korean national team. However, when Guus Hiddink became the head coach of South Korea, Park's position was shifted to that of a winger. Since then, Park has become a versatile player able to play in a variety of positions: central, right and left midfield, as well as wing-forward.

Park scored a memorable goal during the 2002 World Cup. During the group stages South Korea had won their first game against Poland[21] and drew against USA. In order to advance, they had to manage a draw at the least against favoured Portugal side. The game was 0-0 until the 70th minute following two red cards against Portugal, when Park scored the match winner, controlling the ball with his chest and beating Sérgio Conceição before volleying it through the legs of Portugal goalkeeper Vitor Baia and into the net with his left foot. His goal eliminated Portugal and advanced South Korea into the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time.[22]

Park's success in the World Cup continued into the 2006 tournament. He scored the equalising goal in the 2nd Group G Match against eventual finalists France in the 2006 FIFA World Cup[23] and was voted Man of the match.[23] Between these two World Cup Finals, his shirt number shifted from 21 to 7, and he played in every match for South Korea.

On 11 October 2008, he captained South Korea for the first time in a friendly match against Uzbekistan. Korea went on to win 3-0. Since then he has been the skipper for the remainder of the AFC qualification campaign for 2010 FIFA World Cup and was the top scorer of his team with 5 goals where one of his goals was scored against Iran in Seoul, beating 2 defenders then scored with his left foot, as South Korea advanced to the finals without a single defeat.
[edit] Career statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other[24] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Kyoto Purple Sanga 2000 13 1 1 0 2 0 – – 16 1
2001 38 3 1 0 1 0 – – 40 3
2002 25 7 4 1 0 0 – – 29 8
Total 76 11 6 1 3 0 – – 85 12
PSV Eindhoven 2002–03 8 0 0 0 – 0 0 8 0
2003–04 28 6 1 0 – 10 0 39 6
2004–05 28 7 3 2 – 13 2 44 11
Total 64 13 4 2 – 23 2 91 17
Manchester United 2005–06 34 1 2 0 3 1 6 0 0 0 45 2
2006–07 14 5 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 20 5
2007–08 12 1 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 18 1
2008–09 25 2 3 1 1 0 9 1 2 0 40 4
2009–10 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 5 0
Total 88 9 12 1 4 1 21 1 3 0 128 12
Career total 228 33 22 4 7 1 44 3 3 0 304 41

Statistics accurate as of match played 20 September 2009[25]
[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Korea Republic's goal tally first.

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 June 2000 Tehran, Iran Macedonia 2–0 2–1 Friendly match
2 21 May 2002 Seogwipo, Republic of Korea England 1–1 1–1 Friendly match
3 26 May 2002 Suwon, Republic of Korea France 1–1 2–3 Friendly match
4 14 June 2002 Incheon, Republic of Korea Portugal 1–0 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup
5 8 June 2005 Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait 4–0 4–0 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
6 18 June 2006 Leipzig, Germany France 1–1 1–1 2006 FIFA World Cup
7 6 February 2008 Seoul, Republic of Korea Turkmenistan 3–0 4–0 2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
8 31 May 2008 Seoul, Republic of Korea Jordan 1–0 2–2 2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
9 15 October 2008 Seoul, Republic of Korea United Arab Emirates 2–0 4–1 2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
10 11 February 2009 Tehran, Iran Iran 1–1 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
11 17 June 2009 Seoul, South Korea Iran 1–1 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club

Kyoto Purple Sanga

* J. League Division 2 (1): 2001
* Emperor's Cup (1): 2002

PSV Eindhoven

* Eredivisie (2): 2002–03, 2004–05
* KNVB Cup (1): 2005

Manchester United

* Premier League (3): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
* Football League Cup (2): 2005–06, 2008–09
* UEFA Champions League (1): 2007–08
* FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

[edit] Country

* AFC Asian Cup
o Third Place (1): 2000
* FIFA World Cup:
o Fourth Place (1): 2002

[edit] Individual

* EuroSport Best XI midfielder: 2007
* UEFA Champions League Best XI: 2005
* KNVB Cup MVP: 2005
* Eredivisie Best XI: 2004–05

[edit] See also

* List of South Korean footballers
* South Korea national football team
* List of Koreans
* List of Korea-related topics

[edit] References

1. ^ "(Korean) Park interview". Joins.com. 2008-05-09. http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?articleid=2008050909333355608&linkid=419&newssetid=479&from=rank. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
2. ^ Park, 2006, p. 213; "I failed to have good condition after the 6 weeks of injury, I felt teammates started not to trust me anymore."
3. ^ "PSV first teams by year". http://www.sportsrecords.co.uk/soccer/soccer290x.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
4. ^ "PSV 3-1 AC Milan (agg: 3-3)". http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/4507917.stm. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
5. ^ "Man Utd set to complete Park deal". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 22 June 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/4080568.stm. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
6. ^ "Park passes Old Trafford medical". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 24 June 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/4122240.stm. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
7. ^ "Park cleared for Red Devils move". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 5 July 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/4652047.stm. Retrieved 5 July 2005.
8. ^ "Birmingham v Man Utd". http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=192054&cc=5739. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
9. ^ "Manchester United 4-2 Fulham". Football.co.uk match reports. http://www.football.co.uk/match_reports/manchester_united_fulham_729767.shtml. Retrieved 2006-04-10.
10. ^ "Man Utd v Arsenal". http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=192471&cc=5739. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
11. ^ "Park: Cartilage op confirmed". ManUtd.com. http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=422767. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
12. ^ "(Korean) Park not on the list against Bolton". Sports Seoul. 2008-03-20. http://www.sportsseoul.com/news2/soccer/world/world/2008/0320/20080320101020201000000_5336527847.html. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
13. ^ McNulty, Phil (2008-09-21). "Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7613923.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
14. ^ "Tottenham 0-0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 2008-12-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7763495.stm. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
15. ^ "Fulham 0-4 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 2009-04-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7910380.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
16. ^ "Park lands new Man Utd deal". The Sun. 2009-05-02. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article2408156.ece. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
17. ^ "Middlesbrough 0-2 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 2009-05-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8014834.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
18. ^ "Arsenal 1-3 Man Utd (agg 1-4)". BBC Sport. 2009-05-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8010853.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
19. ^ "Barcelona 2-0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 2009-05-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8060878.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
20. ^ "Park agrees new Man Utd contract". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 14 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8255008.stm. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
21. ^ "South Korea vs Poland". http://www.travelnotes.org/Football/2002/Korea-Japan/Matches/SouthKorea-Poland.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
22. ^ "Portugal 0-1 South Korea". http://1800-worldcup.com/world_cup_finals/korea-japan2002/korea-japan/matches/Portugal-SouthKorea.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
23. ^ a b "France 1-1 South Korea". BBC Sport match reports. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853220.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
24. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
25. ^ Endlar, Andrew. "Park Ji-Sung". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/park.html. Retrieved 26 June 2009.

* Park, Ji-Sung (7 March 2006) (in Korean). Neverending Challenge. Random House Korea. ISBN 89-5986-529-X.

[edit] External links
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Park Ji-Sung
Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Park Ji-Sung

* National Team Player Record (Korean)
* Park Ji-Sung career stats at Soccerbase
* FootballDatabase :: Ji-Sung Park
* Profile Park at GFDb.com
* Park's Manchester United bio
* Profile at UEFA.com
* Park Ji-Sung Golden Transfer To Man. Utd.
* Profile from the Premier League
* FIFA Player Statistics
* Club & Country Statistics
* Park Ji-Sung's career in brief

[show]

South Korea squads
[show]
v • d • e
South Korea squad – 2000 Asian Cup Third Place
1 Lee Woon-Jae • 2 Kang Chul • 3 Ha Seok-Ju • 4 Park Jin-Seop • 6 Yoo Sang-Chul • 7 Kim Tae-Young • 8 Yoon Jung-Hwan • 9 Seol Ki-Hyeon • 10 Noh Jung-Yoon • 11 Lee Dong-Gook • 12 Lee Young-Pyo • 15 Lee Min-Sung • 16 Kim Sang-Sik • 17 Choi Sung-Yong • 18 Kim Yong-Dae • 19 Lee Chun-Soo • 20 Hong Myung-Bo • 21 Kim Hae-Woon • 23 Park Ji-Sung • 24 Park Jae-Hong • 28 Choi Chul-Woo • 30 Sim Jae-Won • Coach: Huh Jung-Moo
Flag of South Korea
[show]
v • d • e
South Korea squad – 2000 Summer Olympics
1 Choi Hyun • 2 Park Ji-Sung • 3 Park Jae-Hong • 4 Park Jin-Seop • 5 Sim Jae-Won • 6 Kim Do-Kyun • 7 Choi Chul-Woo • 8 Ko Jong-Soo • 9 Kim Do-Hoon • 10 Lee Chun-Soo • 11 Lee Dong-Gook • 12 Lee Young-Pyo • 13 Park Dong-Hyuk • 14 Kang Chul • 15 Cho Se-Kwon • 16 Kim Sang-Sik • 17 Choi Tae-Uk • 18 Kim Yong-Dae • 19 Song Chong-Gug • 20 Kim Gil-Sik • 21 Park Kang-Jo • 22 Lee Woon-Jae • Coach: Huh Jung-Moo
Flag of South Korea
[show]
v • d • e
South Korea squad – 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
1 Lee Woon-Jae • 2 Kang Chul • 3 Choi Sung-Yong • 4 Song Chong-Gug • 5 Park Yong-Ho • 6 Yoo Sang-Chul • 7 Kim Tae-Young • 8 Yoon Jung-Hwan • 9 Kim Do-Hoon • 10 Choi Yong-Soo • 11 Seol Ki-Hyeon • 12 Kim Yong-Dae • 13 Seo Deok-Kyu • 14 Seo Dong-Won • 15 Lee Min-Sung • 16 Ahn Hyo-Yeon • 17 Ha Seok-Ju • 18 Hwang Sun-Hong • 19 Lee Young-Pyo • 20 Hong Myung-Bo • 21 Park Ji-Sung • 22 Ko Jong-Soo • 23 Choi Eun-Sung • Coach: Hiddink
Flag of South Korea
[show]
v • d • e
South Korea squad – 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup Fourth Place
1 Kim Byung-Ji • 2 Choi Sung-Yong • 3 Hyun Young-Min • 4 Kim Tae-Young • 5 Kim Nam-Il • 6 Lee Min-Sung • 7 Song Chong-Gug • 8 Kim Do-Hoon • 9 Choi Yong-Soo • 10 Hwang Sun-Hong • 11 Lee Chun-Soo • 12 Lee Woon-Jae • 13 Lee Eul-Yong • 14 Kim Do-Keun • 15 Choi Jin-Cheul • 16 Park Ji-Sung • 17 Lee Young-Pyo • 18 Yoo Sang-Chul • 19 Choi Tae-Uk • 20 Cha Du-Ri • 21 Ahn Hyo-Yeon • 22 Lee Dong-Gook • 23 Kim Yong-Dae • 24 Kim Sang-Sik • 26 Kwon Jung-Hyuk • Coach: Hiddink
Flag of South Korea
[show]
v • d • e
South Korea squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place
1 Lee Woon‑Jae • 2 Hyun Young‑Min • 3 Choi Sung‑Yong • 4 Choi Jin‑Cheul • 5 Kim Nam‑Il • 6 Yoo Sang‑Chul • 7 Kim Tae‑Young • 8 Choi Tae‑Uk • 9 Seol Ki‑Hyeon • 10 Lee Young‑Pyo • 11 Choi Yong‑Soo • 12 Kim Byung‑Ji • 13 Lee Eul‑Yong • 14 Lee Chun‑Soo • 15 Lee Min‑Sung • 16 Cha Du‑Ri • 17 Yoon Jung‑Hwan • 18 Hwang Sun‑Hong • 19 Ahn Jung‑Hwan • 20 Hong Myung‑Bo • 21 Park Ji‑Sung • 22 Song Chong‑Gug • 23 Choi Eun‑Sung • Coach: Hiddink
Flag of South Korea
[show]
v • d • e
South Korea squad – 2004 Asian Cup
1 Lee Woon-Jae • 2 Park Jin-Seop • 3 Park Jae-Hong • 4 Choi Jin-Cheul • 5 Kim Nam-Il • 7 Kim Tae-Young • 9 Seol Ki-Hyeon • 10 Hyun Young-Min • 12 Lee Young-Pyo • 13 Lee Eul-Yong • 14 Chung Kyung-Ho • 15 Lee Min-Sung • 16 Cha Du-Ri • 17 Kim Jung-Kyum • 18 Kim Eun-Jung • 19 Ahn Jung-Hwan • 20 Lee Dong-Gook • 21 Park Ji-Sung • 23 Kim Yong-Dae • 25 Park Yo-Seb • 28 Kim Jin-Kyu • 30 Cha Gi-Suk • Coach: Bonfrere
Flag of South Korea
[show]
v • d • e
South Korea squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Lee Woon‑Jae • 2 Kim Young‑Chul • 3 Kim Dong‑Jin • 4 Choi Jin‑Cheul • 5 Kim Nam‑Il • 6 Kim Jin-Kyu • 7 Park Ji‑Sung • 8 Kim Do‑Heon • 9 Ahn Jung‑Hwan • 10 Park Chu‑Young • 11 Seol Ki‑Hyeon • 12 Lee Young‑Pyo • 13 Lee Eul‑Yong • 14 Lee Chun‑Soo • 15 Baek Ji‑Hoon • 16 Chung Kyung‑Ho • 17 Lee Ho • 18 Kim Sang‑Sik • 19 Cho Jae‑Jin • 20 Kim Yong‑Dae • 21 Kim Young‑Kwang • 22 Song Chong‑Gug • 23 Cho Won‑Hee • Coach: Advocaat
Flag of South Korea
[show]
v • d • e
Manchester United F.C. – current squad

1 Van der Sar · 2 Neville (c) · 3 Evra · 4 Hargreaves · 5 Ferdinand · 6 Brown · 7 Owen · 8 Anderson · 9 Berbatov · 10 Rooney · 11 Giggs · 12 Foster · 13 Park · 14 Tošić · 15 Vidić · 16 Carrick · 17 Nani · 18 Scholes · 19 Welbeck · 20 Fábio · 21 Rafael · 22 O'Shea · 23 J. Evans · 24 Fletcher · 25 Valencia · 26 Obertan · 27 Macheda · 28 Gibson · 29 Kuszczak · 30 De Laet · 31 C. Evans · 33 Hewson · 38 Zieler · 40 Amos · 41 King · 42 Eikrem · Manager: Ferguson
Persondata
NAME Park, Ji-Sung
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Park, Ji-Sung
SHORT DESCRIPTION footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1981-2-25
PLACE OF BIRTH Seoul, Republic of Korea
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Ji-Sung"
Categories: 1981 births | Living people | Football (soccer) midfielders | Football (soccer) utility players | South Korean footballers | South Korean expatriate footballers | South Korea international footballers | Kyoto Purple Sanga players | PSV Eindhoven players | Manchester United F.C. players | J. League players | Eredivisie players | Premier League players | Expatriate footballers in Japan | Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands | Expatriate footballers in England | 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players | 2002 FIFA World Cup players | 2006 FIFA World Cup players | Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics | Olympic footballers of South Korea | People from Suwon | South Korean expatriates in Japan | South Korean expatriates in the Netherlands | South Korean expatriates in the United Kingdom

andres inesta

Andrés Iniesta
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Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta 2006
Personal information
Full name Andrés Iniesta Lujan
Date of birth 11 May 1984 (1984-05-11) (age 25)
Place of birth Fuentealbilla, Spain
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current club Barcelona
Number 8
Youth career
1994–1996 Albacete
1996–2000 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2003 Barcelona B 54 (6)
2002– Barcelona 184 (16)
National team‡
2000 Spain U15 2 (0)
2000–2001 Spain U16 7 (1)
2001 Spain U17 4 (0)
2001–2002 Spain U19 7 (1)
2003 Spain U20 7 (3)
2003–2006 Spain U21 18 (6)
2006– Spain 35 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 04 October 2009.

† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 11, 2009
This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Iniesta and the second is Luján.

Andrés Iniesta Luján (born 11 May 1984 in Fuentealbilla, Albacete, Castile-La Mancha) is a Spanish football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona. His willingness to play anywhere on the pitch, coupled with a natural humility, has earned him the sobriquet El Ilusionista, El Anti-Galáctico and most recently San Andrés[2] or Don Andrés from the Catalan press.[3] After the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney asserted that he believed the midfielder to be the best in the world.[4]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Club career
o 1.1 Early career
o 1.2 2004–2007
o 1.3 2008–present
* 2 International career
* 3 All-time club performance
o 3.1 International goals
* 4 Honours
o 4.1 Barcelona
o 4.2 Spain
o 4.3 Individual
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career

Initially, the 12-year-old Iniesta's parents travelled to Barcelona and took a look at the Barcelona youth school, La Masia. The trip resulted in Iniesta's enrollment in the Barça youth ranks. Like fellow La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas, Iniesta originally started as a defensive midfielder[5] but his balance, close control and skill on the ball saw him make progress as an attacking midfielder. From that moment on he worked his way up the club ranks. Louis van Gaal handed him his debut on 29 October 2002, a UEFA Champions League game against Club Brugge He appeared 11 times in the league in 2003–04, mostly as a deputy for Camp Nou favourite Ronaldinho, scoring once as Barça sealed second place behind Valencia CF.
[edit] 2004–2007

In the 2004–05 season Iniesta successfully secured a permanent slot in the first team and figured in 37 of 38 league games — more than any other player. He displayed an unselfish attitude by regularly aiding forwards Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho but performed poorly in front of goal — denied by the woodwork on several occasions, he found the net just twice.
Iniesta with Barcelona in 2006.

Iniesta's improvement as a player continued in the 2005–06 season, and because of the absence of Xavi due to injury, he was given regular starts in midfield. The increased playing time offered to him at the highest level gave him the opportunity to blossom into a superb midfielder. His contribution to the team was praised by manager Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona won a league and Champions League double.

The 2006–07 season saw Iniesta's profile continue to rise and earned plaudits for his willingness to play in any position for his team. On August 22, 2006 Andres lifted the Joan Gamper Trophy as the captain of the team after defeating German side Bayern Munich 4–0. He played for the first time as a striker for Barcelona in two Champions League matches against Levski Sofia, finding the net twice. In the first knock out stage of the same competition, he played at left-back against Liverpool. Despite being moved around the pitch by manager Frank Rijkaard, the 2006–07 season remains Iniesta's highest scoring thus far.

According to the Spanish football magazine Don Balón, a member of European Sports Magazines, Iniesta has been one of the most consistent performers in the last two seasons of Primera Division, placing fifth in 2006–07,[6] and fourth in 2007-2008[7] on their annual rating system Ranking Don Balón. He also placed 9th in the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year voting, gaining 37 total points.[8] Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Xavi also featured in the top ten.
[edit] 2008–present
Iniesta training with Barcelona.

On 24 September 2008, Andrés Iniesta was chosen as one of the new Barcelona captains, with the former vice-captain Ronaldinho departing for AC Milan. According to local newspaper El Mundo Deportivo, Iniesta will be the Barça fourth-choice captain, behind fellow Spaniards, Carles Puyol (1st-choice), Xavi (second-choice), and Víctor Valdés (third-choice). This new achievement by Iniesta has been welcomed by all Culés worldwide, and, especially, by the pro-Barcelona press throughout Spain. In mid November 2008, Iniesta suffered a leg injury and was expected to return to action in 6 weeks. Iniesta, however, did not want to come back until he was 100 percent and finally returned to action on 3 January 2009 as a 65th minute substitute against RCD Mallorca. After only 10 minutes he scored a crucial goal and completed a Barcelona comeback in front of the Camp Nou.[9] His performances in the 2008–09 season have been highly lauded, receiving standing ovations both in Barcelona at the Camp Nou, as well as from rival supporters in away matches.[10]

On 5 February, Iniesta made his 250th appearance for Barcelona in the Copa del Rey match against Mallorca. Iniesta once again got injured in Barcelona's home match against Málaga CF, but returned to action for the first leg Champions League quarter-final clash against Bayern Munich, which Barcelona won 4–0.

His current contract with Barcelona ends in June 2014.[11] On July 19 2007, he was linked with a move to rivals Real Madrid, with reports in newspapers suggesting Real was prepared to pay €60 million for him,[12] which would trigger his release clause. Iniesta disregarded the rumours and reiterated his desire to remain with Barça by saying "I can’t do anything about it but I’d like to insist once again that I want to stay here. When I say I want to retire in Barça, I say it with all my heart."[13] Iniesta's release clause has since been raised to €150 million, to dissuade possible suitors.

Former teammate Samuel Eto'o described Iniesta as being 'the best player in the world; whenever Iniesta is on the pitch he creates a spectacle’.[14]
"I knew I would play injured and do more damage. For seventeen days all I thought about was the final in Rome and winning, even knowing that I would do more damage. I'd repeat it, for sure. I love this club and my profession and I wanted to win. If we had lost [the final] that would have been a total disaster.."
—Andrés Iniesta, September 2009[15]

On 6 May 2009, Iniesta scored the equalizing goal of Barcelona's semi-final against Chelsea, in the third minute of injury time; this goal sent Barcelona through to the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final against defending champions Manchester United[16], in which he had a very influential role (providing the assist for the first goal scored by Samuel Eto'o) as his team went on to win 2–0. After the game, Wayne Rooney described Iniesta as the best player in the world.[4] Don Balón rated him as the most consistent performer in the 2008-09 La Liga season, ahead of team-mates Xavi and Lionel Messi.[17] Iniesta suffered a small tear in his thigh prior to the final but played through the pain, aggravating the injury.

Iniesta made his first start of the 2009-10 season in a 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv.[18]
[edit] International career
Iniesta playing for Spain during Euro 2008

Iniesta burst on to the international scene in 2001, helping Spain win the UEFA European Under-16 Championship, and was in the squad that claimed the UEFA European Under-19 Championship the following year. Since then, he became a regular choice for the then youth coach Juan Santisteban. In 2003 he formed part of the Spanish side that reached the FIFA World Youth Championship final in the United Arab Emirates, and was named in the FIFA all-star team. During his spell with the Spain U21s side, Iniesta was named captain on several occasions.

Originally a fringe player, he was called up to represent Spain at the World Cup 2006 on 15 May 2006, much to the surprise of many. Iniesta won his first cap for Spain when he was brought on at half-time in a friendly against Russia on 27 May 2006.

He scored his first goal for Spain in a friendly against England on 7 February 2007. His long range effort, hitting the underside of the crossbar on the way in, gave Spain the lead on 63 minutes. Iniesta proceeded to play a pivotal part in Spain's qualification for Euro 2008 by scoring goals against the likes of Sweden and by assisting the strikers. Iniesta usually played in the middle of the pitch, but he was also trusted with roles further up the pitch when Spain was away from home, most notably in the game against Denmark where he was given an advanced left wing position.

Iniesta was selected in Spain's squad for UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Though a stomach bug somewhat hampered his performances, he still played an integral part in the midfield. He played in the first two of Spain's group stage matches and proved an important part of the team providing a particularly notable pass for David Villa's second goal against Russia. He was not rested, unlike most of Spain's regulars, for the final group game against Greece (which Spain won 2-1 thanks to a fantastic volley from Rubén de la Red and a late winner from Daniel Güiza), and returned for the quarter final as Spain beat Italy on Penalties. Iniesta was substituted before the penalties as in his other starts. In the semi-final against Russia he played the entire 90 minutes and produced a quality cross which Xavi converted to open the scoring. The Technical Study Group named him the Man of the Match.[19] He played the full duration of the final in Spain's 1–0 win over Germany. Iniesta was named in the Team of the Tournament alongside fellow Spain midfielders Xavi, Cesc Fàbregas and Marcos Senna and 5 other teammates.

Iniesta did not participate in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa due to a thigh muscle injury.[20]
[edit] All-time club performance

As of 04 October 2009 [21][22]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other [23] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Barcelona B 2000–01 10 0 - - - - - - 10 0
2001–02 30 3 - - - - - - 30 3
2002–03 14 3 - - - - - - 14 3
Total 54 6 - - - - - - 54 6
FC Barcelona 2002–03 6 0 0 0 3 0 - - 9 0
2003–04 11 1 3 1 3 0 - - 17 2
2004–05 37 2 1 0 8 0 - - 46 2
2005–06 33 0 4 0 11 1 1 0 49 1
2006–07 37 6 6 1 8 2 5 0 56 9
2007–08 31 3 7 0 11 1 - - 49 4
2008–09 26 4 6 0 11 1 - - 45 5
2009–10 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 0
Total 184 16 27 2 57 5 6 0 275 23
Career totals 238 22 27 2 57 5 6 0 329 29
[edit] International goals

[24]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 February 2007 Old Trafford, Manchester, England England 0–1 0–1 International Friendly
2. 28 March 2007 ONO Estadi, Palma de Mallorca, Spain Iceland 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
3. 2 June 2007 Skonto stadions, Riga, Latvia Latvia 0–2 0–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
4. 8 September 2007 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Iceland 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
5. 17 November 2007 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain Sweden 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
6. 15 October 2008 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Belgium 1–1 1–2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
[edit] Honours
[edit] Barcelona

* La Liga (3): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
* Copa del Rey (1): 2008–09
* UEFA Champions League (2): 2005–06, 2008–09
* Supercopa de España (3): 2005, 2006, 2009
* UEFA Super Cup (1): 2009

[edit] Spain

* 2008 UEFA European Championship
* 2001 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship
* 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
* 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up

[edit] Individual

* Euro 2008 Team of the tournament
* Don Balón Award for Best Spanish Player of the Year : 2009
* Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano Runner-up : 2009

[edit] References

Source national teams caps and goals: HISTORIA DEL FÚTBOL ESPAÑOL, SELECCIONES ESPAÑOLAS (Spanish) ISBN 978-84-8229-12-3-9

1. ^ http://www.andresiniesta.azplayers.com/
2. ^ http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/138/spain/2009/05/07/1250897/barcelona-hero-andres-iniesta-in-raptures-after-breaking-chelsea-
3. ^ http://euro2008.uefa.com/tournament/players/player=58031/index.html
4. ^ a b http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5398387/Manchester-United-v-Barcelona-Wayne-Rooney-backs-Andres-Iniesta-for-Ballon-dOr.html
5. ^ FCBarcelona.cat. "Andrés Iniesta Lujan". http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/temporada_07-08/plantilla/jugadors/iniesta.html. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
6. ^ donbalon.com. "RANKING DB 2006-2007". http://www.donbalon.com/front/default.asp?OPT=RER&RERID=1964. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
7. ^ www.donbalon.com. "Ranking DB 07-08". http://www.donbalon.com/front/default.asp?OPT=RER&RERID=2005. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
8. ^ fifa.com. "FIFA World Player Gala 2008". http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/classic/awards/99/15/28/resultsmenforfifa.combyplayer.pdf. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
9. ^ Goal.com. "Iniesta Enjoys Barcelona Return Against Mallorca". http://www.goal.com/en/news/1706/barcelona/2009/01/04/1039882/iniesta-enjoys-barcelona-return-against-mallorca. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
10. ^ Goal.com. "Player Ratings: Almeria 0-2 Barcelona". http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/03/15/1157494/player-ratings-almeria-0-2-barcelona. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
11. ^ www.footballdatabase.com
12. ^ Real Madrid chasing Barcelona midfielder Iniesta
13. ^ FCBarcelona.cat
14. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1173336/Samuel-Etoo-exclusive-Sign-team-England-Why-I-quit-best.html
15. ^ Iniesta: "No me veo para jugar 90 minutos" Público; 10 September 09; Accessed 11 September 2009 (Spanish)
16. ^ "Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (agg 1-1)". BBC Sport. 6 May 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8010840.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
17. ^ http://www.donbalon.com/front/default.asp?OPT=RER&RERID=2357
18. ^ http://www.goal.com/en/news/1716/champions-league/2009/09/29/1530963/barcelona-2-0-dynamo-kiev-messi-pedro-unlock-stubborn
19. ^ euro2008.uefa.com - Fanzone
20. ^ Injured Iniesta to miss Confederations Cup
21. ^ Official site statistics
22. ^ Soccernet player statistics
23. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
24. ^ Fútbol en la Red(Spanish)

[edit] External links
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andrés Iniesta

* Andrés Iniesta's official website
* BDFutbol profile
* National team data (Spanish)
* FC Barcelona profile
* Andrés Iniesta FIFA competition record
* FootballDatabase career profile and statistics
* Andres Iniesta Fan Zone

henry

Thierry Henry
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Thierry Henry Thierry Henry 2008.jpg
Personal information
Full name Thierry Daniel Henry
Date of birth 17 August 1977 (1977-08-17) (age 32)[1]
Place of birth Les Ulis, Essonne, France
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Striker / Winger
Club information
Current club Barcelona
Number 14
Youth career
1983–1989 CO Les Ulis
1989–1990 US Palaiseau
1990–1992 Viry-Châtillon
1992 Clairefontaine
1992–1994 Monaco
Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
1994–1999 Monaco 105 (20)
1999 Juventus 18 (3)
1999–2007 Arsenal 254 (174)
2007– Barcelona 62 (31)
National team‡
1997– France 113 (50)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:31, 27 September 2009 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:31, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Thierry Daniel Henry (French pronunciation: [tjɛʁi ɑ̃ˈʁi]; born 17 August 1977) is a French footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona and the French national team predominantly as a striker.

Henry was born and in the tough neighbourhood of Les Ulis, Essonne—a suburb of Paris—where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Serie A defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999.

It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premiership, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to Barcelona for a fee of €24 million. His first honours with the Catalan club came in 2008–09 when they won the league, cup and Champions League treble.

Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. His footballing style and personality have ensured that he is one of the most commercially marketable footballers in the world; he has been featured in advertisements for Nike, Reebok, Renault, Pepsi and Gillette.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early years
* 2 Club career
o 2.1 Monaco (1992–1999) and Juventus (1999)
o 2.2 Arsenal (1999–2007)
o 2.3 Barcelona (2007–present)
* 3 International career
* 4 Style of play
* 5 Awards and honours
o 5.1 Monaco
o 5.2 Arsenal
o 5.3 Barcelona
o 5.4 International
o 5.5 Individual
o 5.6 Orders
* 6 Career statistics
o 6.1 International
* 7 Outside football
o 7.1 Personal and family life
* 8 Social causes
o 8.1 UNICEF
o 8.2 Stand Up Speak Up
o 8.3 Other work
* 9 Endorsements
o 9.1 Renault
o 9.2 Nike
o 9.3 Reebok
o 9.4 Gillette
o 9.5 Pepsi
* 10 Notes and references
* 11 External links

[edit] Early years

Henry is of Antillean heritage:[2] his father, Antoine, is from Guadeloupe (La Désirade island), and his mother, Maryse, is from Martinique. He was born and raised in a tough environment in the heavily urbanized Les Ulis district of Paris which, despite its hardships, provided good footballing facilities.[3] As a seven-year-old, Henry showed great potential, prompting Claude Chezelle to recruit him to the local club CO Les Ulis. His father pressured him to attend training, although the youngster was not particularly drawn to football.[4] He joined US Palaiseau in 1989, but after a year his father fell out with the club, so Henry moved to ES Viry-Châtillon for two years.[2] US Palaiseau coach Jean-Marie Panza, Henry's future mentor, followed him there.[3]
[edit] Club career
[edit] Monaco (1992–1999) and Juventus (1999)

In 1990, Monaco sent scout Arnold Catalano to watch Henry in a match. Henry scored all six goals as his side won 6–0. Catalano asked him to join Monaco without even attending a trial first. Catalano requested that Henry complete a course at the elite Clairefontaine academy, and despite the director's reluctance to admit Henry due to his poor school results, he was allowed to complete the course and joined Arsène Wenger's Monaco as a youth player.[4] Subsequently, Henry signed professional forms with Monaco and made his professional debut in 1994. Wenger put Henry on the left wing because he believed that his pace, natural ball control and skill would be more effective against full-backs than centre-backs. In his first season with Monaco, Henry scored three goals in 18 appearances.[2]

Wenger continued to search for the perfect playing position for Henry, and suspected that he should be deployed as a striker instead, but he was unsure.[2] Under the tutelage of his manager, Henry was named the French Young Footballer of the Year in 1996, and in the 1996–97 season, his solid performances helped the club win the Ligue 1 title.[4][5] During the 1997–98 season, he was instrumental in leading his club to the UEFA Champions League semi-final, setting a French record by scoring seven goals in the competition.[2][6] By his third season, he had received his first cap for the national team, and was part of the winning team in the 1998 World Cup.[2] He continued to impress at his tenure with Monaco, and in his five seasons with the French club, the young winger scored 20 league goals in 105 appearances.[5]

Henry left Monaco in January 1999, one year before his friend and teammate David Trézéguet, and moved to Italian Serie A club Juventus for £10.5 million.[4] He played on the wing,[7] but he was ineffective against the Serie A defensive discipline in a position uncharacteristic for him, and scored just three goals in 16 appearances.[8]
[edit] Arsenal (1999–2007)
Henry was made captain following the departure of fellow Frenchman Patrick Vieira to Juventus in 2005.

Unsettled in Italy, Henry transferred from Juventus in August 1999 to Arsenal for £10 million, reuniting with his former manager Arsène Wenger.[9] It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer,[10] and although his transfer was not without controversy, Wenger was convinced he was worth the transfer fee.[2] Brought in as a replacement for fellow French forward Nicolas Anelka, Henry was immediately moulded into a striker by Wenger, a move that would pay rich dividends in years to come. However, doubts were raised about his ability to adapt to the quick and physical English game when he failed to score in his first eight games.[3] After several difficult months in England, Henry even conceded that he had to "be re-taught everything about the art of striking."[3] These doubts were dispelled when he ended his first season at Arsenal with an impressive goal tally of 26.[11] Arsenal finished second in the league behind Manchester United, and lost in the UEFA Cup final against Turkish side Galatasaray.[2]

Coming off the back of a victorious Euro 2000 campaign with the national side, Henry was ready to make an impact in the 2000–01 campaign. Despite recording fewer goals and assists than his first season, Henry's second season with Arsenal proved to be a breakthrough, as he became the club's top goal-scorer.[9] Armed with one of the league's best attacks, Arsenal closed in quickly on perennial rivals Manchester United for the league title. Henry remained frustrated however by the fact that he had yet to help the club win honours, and frequently expressed his desire to establish Arsenal as a powerhouse.[2]

Success finally arrived during the 2001–02 season. Arsenal finished seven points above Liverpool to win the league title, and defeated Chelsea 2–0 in the FA Cup Final.[2] Henry became the league's top goal-scorer and netted 32 goals in all competitions as he led Arsenal to a double and his first silverware with the club.[4][9] There was much expectation that Henry would replicate his club form for France during the 2002 World Cup, but the defending champions suffered a shock exit at the group stage.[2]

2002–03 proved to be another productive season for Henry, as he scored 32 goals in all competitions while contributing 23 assists—remarkable returns for a striker.[9] In doing so, he led Arsenal to another FA Cup triumph, although Arsenal failed to retain their Premiership crown.[12] Throughout the season, he competed with Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy for the league scoring title, but the latter edged Henry to the title by a goal.[2] Nonetheless, Henry was named both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.[13][14] His rising status as one of the world's best footballers was affirmed when he emerged runner-up for the 2003 FIFA World Player of the Year award.[10]
Henry in a game against Charlton Athletic in 2006

Entering the 2003–04 season, Arsenal were determined to reclaim the Premiership crown. Henry was again instrumental in Arsenal's exceptionally successful campaign; together with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pirès, Henry ensured that the Gunners became the first team in more than a century to go through the entire domestic league campaign unbeaten, claiming the league title in the process.[15] Apart from being named for the second year running as the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year,[13][14] Henry emerged once again as the runner-up for 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award.[10] With 39 goals scored in all competitions, the Frenchman led the league in goals scored and won the European Golden Boot.[4][16] However, as was the case in 2002, Henry was unable to lead the national side to honours during Euro 2004.[2]

This dip in success was compounded when Arsenal failed again to secure back-to-back league titles when they lost out to Chelsea in the 2004–05 season, although the club did win the FA Cup (the final of which Henry missed through injury).[5] Henry maintained his reputation as one of Europe's most feared strikers as he led the league in scoring,[4] and with 31 goals in all competitions,[17] he was the co-recipient (with Diego Forlán) of the European Golden Boot, and is currently the only player to have officially won the award twice in a row (Ally McCoist also had two Golden Boots in a row, but both were deemed unofficial).[16] The unexpected departure of compatriot Vieira in mid-2005 led to Henry being awarded club captaincy, a role which many felt was not naturally suited for him; the captaincy is more commonly given to defenders or midfielders, who are better-placed on the pitch to read the game.[4] Along with being chief goal-scorer, he was responsible for leading a very young team which had yet to gel fully.[18]
After the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp, Henry regularly partnered Robin van Persie up front in the Arsenal attack.

The 2005–06 season proved to be one of remarkable personal achievements for Henry. On 17 October 2005, Henry became the club's top goal-scorer of all time;[19] two goals against Sparta Prague in the Champions League meant he broke Ian Wright's record of 185 goals.[20] On 1 February 2006, he scored a goal against West Ham, bringing his league goal tally up to 151, breaking Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record.[21] Henry scored his 100th league goal at Highbury, a feat unparalleled in the history of the club, and a unique achievement in the Premier League.[22] He completed the season as the league's top goal-scorer,[4] and for the third time in his career, he was voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.[5]

Nevertheless, Arsenal failed to win the league title again, but hopes of a trophy were revived when Arsenal reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. The Gunners eventually lost 2–1 to Barcelona, and Arsenal's inability to win the Premiership for two consecutive seasons combined with the relative inexperience of the Arsenal squad caused much speculation that Henry would leave for another club. However, he declared his love for the club and accepted a four-year contract,[14] and said he would stay at Arsenal for life.[23] Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein later claimed the club had turned down two bids of £50 million from Spanish clubs for Henry before the signing of the new contract.[24] Had the transfer materialized, it would have surpassed the world record £47 million paid for Zinédine Zidane.[24]

Henry's 2006–07 season was marred by injuries.[25] Although he scored 10 goals in 17 domestic appearances for Arsenal, Henry's season was cut short in February. Having missed games due to hamstring, foot, and back problems, he was deemed fit enough to come on as a late substitute against PSV in a Champions League match,[26] but began limping shortly after coming on. Scans the next day revealed that he would need at least three months to heal from new groin and stomach injuries, missing the rest of the 2006–07 season.[27] Wenger attributed Henry's injuries to a protracted 2005–06 campaign, and reiterated that Henry was keen on staying with the Gunners to rebuild for the 2007–08 season.[25]
[edit] Barcelona (2007–present)
Thierry Henry greets the Camp Nou supporters at his introduction.

On 25 June 2007, in an unexpected turn of events, Henry was transferred to Barcelona for €24 million. He signed a four-year deal for a reported €6.8 (£4.6) million per season.[28] It was revealed that the contract included a release clause of €125 (£84.9) million.[29] Henry cited the departure of Dein and continued uncertainty over Wenger's future as reasons for leaving,[30][31] and maintained that "I always said that if I ever left Arsenal it would be to play for Barcelona."[32] Despite their captain's departure, Arsenal got off to an impressive start for the 2007–08 campaign, and Henry admitted that his presence in the team might have been more of a hindrance than a help. He stated: "Because of my seniority, the fact that I was captain and my habit of screaming for the ball, they would sometimes give it to me even when I was not in the best position. So in that sense it was good for the team that I moved on."[33] Henry left Arsenal as the club's all-time league goal-scorer with 174 goals and all-time goal-scorer in Europe with 42 goals;[4] in July 2008, Arsenal fans voted him as Arsenal's greatest player ever in Arsenal.com's Gunners' Greatest 50 Players poll.[34]

At Barcelona, Henry was given the number 14 jersey, the same as he had worn at Arsenal. He scored his first goal for his new club on 19 September 2007 in a 3–0 Champions League group stage win over Lyon,[35] and he recorded his first hat-trick for Barça in a league match against Levante ten days later.[36] However, with Henry mostly deployed on the wing throughout the season, he was unable to reproduce the goal-scoring form he achieved with Arsenal. Henry expressed dissatisfaction with the move to Barcelona in the initial year, amidst widespread speculation of a return to the Premier League. In an interview with Garth Crooks on BBC Football Focus, Henry described missing life "back home" and even "the English press".[37] However, Henry concluded his debut season as the club's top scorer with 19 goals in addition to nine league assists, second behind Lionel Messi's ten. He went on to surpass this tally in a more integrated 2008–09 campaign, winning the first trophy of his Barcelona career on 13 May 2009 when Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final. Barcelona won the league and Champions League soon after, completing a treble for the Frenchman, who had combined with Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o to score 100 goals between them that season. The trio was also the most prolific trio in Spanish league history, scoring 72 goals and surpassing the 66 goals of Real Madrid's Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo di Stefano and Luis del Sol of the 1960–61 season.
[edit] International career

Henry has had a successful career with the France national team. His international career began in June 1997, when his good form for Monaco was rewarded with a call-up to the Under-20 French national team, where he played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside future teammates William Gallas and David Trézéguet.[4] Within four months, France head coach Aimé Jacquet called Henry up to the senior team. The 20-year-old made his senior international debut on 11 October 1997 in a 2–1 win against South Africa.[38] Jacquet was so impressed with Henry that he took him to the 1998 World Cup. Although Henry was a largely unknown quantity at international level, he ended the tournament as France's top scorer with three goals.[39] He was scheduled to appear as a substitute in the final, where France beat Brazil 3–0, but Marcel Desailly's sending off forced a defensive change instead. In 1998, he was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur, France's highest decoration.[40]

Henry was a member of France's Euro 2000 championship squad, again scoring three goals in the tournament, including the equalizer against Portugal in the semi-final, and finishing as the country's top scorer.[41] France later won the game in extra time following a converted penalty kick by Zinédine Zidane. France went on to defeat Italy in extra time in the final, earning Henry his second major international medal.[42] During the tournament, Henry was voted man-of-the-match in three games, including the final against Italy.[43]

The 2002 FIFA World Cup featured a stunning early exit for both Henry and France as the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage after failing to score a goal in all three games.[4] France lost their first match in group play and Henry was red carded for a dangerous sliding challenge in their next match against Uruguay.[2] In that game, France played to a 0–0 draw, but Henry was forced to miss the final match due to suspension; France lost 2–0 to Denmark.[2]

Henry returned to form for his country at the 2003 Confederations Cup. Despite playing without team stalwarts Zidane and Patrick Vieira, France won, in large part owing to Henry's outstanding play, for which he was named Man of the Match by FIFA's Technical Study Group in three of France's five matches.[4] In the final, he scored the golden goal in extra time to lift the title for the host country after a 1–0 victory over Cameroon.[4] Henry was awarded both the adidas Golden Ball as the outstanding player of the competition and the adidas Golden Shoe as the tournament's top goal-scorer with four goals.[4]

In Euro 2004, Henry played in all of France's matches and scored two goals.[5] France beat England in the group stages but lost to the eventual winners Greece 1–0 in the quarter-finals.[44] During the 2006 FIFA World Cup Henry remained as one of the automatic starters in the squad. He played as a lone striker, but despite an indifferent start to the tournament, became one of the top players of the World Cup. He scored three goals, including the winning goal from Zidane's free kick against defending champions Brazil.[4] However, France subsequently lost to Italy on penalties (5–3) in the final. Henry did not take part in the penalty shootout, having been substituted in extra time after his legs had cramped.[45] Henry was one of 10 nominees for the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament, an award which was ultimately presented to his teammate, Zidane[46] and was named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.[47]

On 13 October 2007, Henry scored his 41st goal against the Faroe Islands, joining Michel Platini as the country's top goal-scorer of all time.[33] Four days later at the Stade de la Beaujoire, he scored a late double against Lithuania, thereby setting a new record as France's top goal-scorer.[48] On 3 June 2008, Henry made his 100th appearance for national team in match against Colombia, becoming the sixth French player ever to reach that milestone.[49]

Henry missed the opening game of France's short-lived Euro 2008 campaign, where they were eliminated in the group stages after being grouped together with Italy, the Netherlands and Romania.[50] He scored France's only goal in the competition in a 4–1 loss to the Netherlands.[51]
[edit] Style of play
Henry was the first-choice free kick taker for Arsenal.

Although Henry played up front as a striker during his youth,[3] he spent his time at Monaco and Juventus playing on the wing. When Henry joined Arsenal in 1999, Wenger immediately changed this, switching Henry to his childhood position, often pairing him with Dutch veteran Dennis Bergkamp.[7] During the 2004–05 season, Wenger switched Arsenal's formation to 4-5-1.[52] This change forced Henry to adapt again to fit into the Arsenal team, and he played many games as a lone striker.[7] Still, Henry remained Arsenal's main offensive threat, on many occasions conjuring spectacular goals. Wenger once said of his fellow Frenchman: "Thierry Henry could take ball in the middle of park and score a goal that no one else in the world could score".[53]

One of the reasons cited for Henry's impressive play up front is his ability to calmly score from one-on-ones.[54] This, combined with his exceptional pace, means that he can get in behind defenders regularly enough to score.[3][55] When up front, Henry is occasionally known to move out wide to the left wing position,[56][57] something which enables him to contribute heavily in assists: between 2002–03 and 2004–05, the striker managed almost 50 assists in total and this was attributed to his unselfish play and creativity.[19] Henry would also drift offside to fool the defence then run back onside before the ball is played and beat the offside trap,[58] although he never provided Arsenal a distinct aerial threat.[58] Given his versatility in being able to operate as both a winger and a striker, the Frenchman is not a prototypical "out-and-out striker", but he has emerged consistently as one of Europe's most prolific strikers.[2] In set pieces, Henry was the first-choice penalty and free kick taker for Arsenal, having scored regularly from those positions.[59]
[edit] Awards and honours

Henry has received many plaudits and awards in his football career. He was runner-up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award;[10] in those two seasons, he also won back-to-back PFA Players' Player of the Year titles.[13] Henry is the only player ever to have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2006),[14] and the French Player of the Year on a record four occasions. Henry was voted into the Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade in the 10 Seasons Awards poll in 2003,[60] and in 2004 he was named by football legend Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.[61]

In terms of goal-scoring awards, Henry was the European Golden Boot winner in 2004 and 2005 (sharing it with Villarreal's Diego Forlán in 2005) and is the first ever player to retain the award.[16] Henry has also been the top goal-scorer in the Premiership for four seasons (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006).[4] In 2006, he became the first player to score more than 20 goals in the league for five consecutive seasons (2002 to 2006).[62] Henry is currently third in the list of all-time English Premiership goal-scorers, behind Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Given his accomplishments, France's all-time goal-scorer is today regarded by many coaches, footballers and pundits as one of the best footballers in the world.[9][63][64][65] In November 2007, he was ranked 33rd on the Association of Football Statisticians' compendium for "Greatest Ever Footballers".[66] Arsenal fans honoured their former player in 2008, declaring Henry the greatest Arsenal player.[34] In another 2008 survey, Henry emerged as the favourite Premier League player of all time among 32,000 people surveyed in the Barclays 2008 Global Fan Report.[67]
[edit] Monaco

* Ligue 1: 1996–97
* French Super Cup: 1997

[edit] Arsenal

* FA Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04
* FA Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05
* FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004

[edit] Barcelona

* La Liga: 2008–09
* Copa del Rey: 2008–09
* UEFA Champions League: 2008–09
* Supercopa de España: 2009
* UEFA Super Cup: 2009


[edit] International

* FIFA World Cup: 1998
* UEFA European Football Championship: 2000
* FIFA Confederations Cup: 2003

[edit] Individual

* UEFA Football Championship Team of the Tournament: 2000
* Confederations Cup top goalscorer: 2003
* Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 2003
* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2006
* Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 1996–97
* PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04
* European Golden Boot: 2004, 2005
* Premier League top scorer: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06.
* Onze d'Or: 2003, 2006
* PFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
* FWA Footballer Of The Year: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06
* World XI Striker: 2006
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
* French Player of the Year: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
* English Football Hall of Fame: 2008
* Barclays Player of the Month: April 2000, September 2002, January 2004, April 2004
* FIFA 100
* Time 100: 2007

[edit] Orders

* Légion d'Honneur: 1998

[edit] Career statistics

(Correct as of 27 September 2009)[4][5][68][69]

Club Season League Cup[70] Europe[71] Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
AS Monaco 1994–95 8 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 3 1
1995–96 18 3 5 3 0 1 1 0 0 22 3 6
1996–97 36 9 8 3 0 1 9 1 4 48 10 13
1997–98 30 4 9 5 0 2 9 7 1 44 11 12
1998–99 13 1 3 1 0 0 5 0 2 19 1 5
Total 105 20 26 12 0 4 24 8 7 141 28 37
Juventus 1998–99 18 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 20 3 2
Total 18 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 20 3 2
Arsenal 1999–00 31 17 9 5 1 0 11 8 2 47 26 11
2000–01 35 17 3 4 1 0 14 4 0 53 22 3
2001–02 33 24 5 5 1 2 11 7 0 49 32 7
2002–03 37 24 23 6 1 0 12 7 1 55 32 24
2003–04 37 30 9 4 4 2 10 5 3 51 39 14
2004–05 32 25 15 2 0 1 8 5 1 42 30 17
2005–06 32 27 7 2 1 0 11 5 2 45 33 9
2006–07 17 10 6 3 1 1 7 1 0 27 12 7
Total 254 174 77 31 10 6 84 42 9 369 226 92
Barcelona 2007–08 30 12 9 7 4 0 10 3 2 47 19 11
2008–09 29 19 8 1 1 0 12 6 4 42 26 12
2009–10 3 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 7 0 0
Total 62 31 17 10 5 0 24 9 6 96 45 23
[edit] International

(10 September 2009)[72]

National team Season Apps Goals Assists
France 1997–98 10 3 1
1998–99 1 0 0
1999–00 11 5 2
2000–01 8 2 1
2001–02 9 2 1
2002–03 13 10 7
2003–04 12 5 6
2004–05 7 2 1
2005–06 15 7 3
2006–07 6 3 3
2007–08 10 6 1
2008–09 9 3 1
2009–10 2 2 0
Total 113 50 27
[edit] Outside football
[edit] Personal and family life

Henry married English model Nicole Merry on 5 July 2003.[3] The ceremony was held at Highclere Castle, and on 27 May 2005 the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Téa.[73] Henry dedicated his first goal since Téa's birth to her by holding his fingers in a "T" shape and kissing them after scoring in a match against Newcastle United.[74] When Henry was still at Arsenal, he also purchased a home in Hampstead, North London.[3] However, shortly after his transfer to Barcelona, it was announced that Henry and his wife would divorce; the decree nisi was granted in September 2007.[75] Their separation concluded in December 2008 when Henry paid Merry a divorce settlement close to her requested sum of £10 million.[76]

As a fan of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Henry is often seen with his friend Tony Parker at games when not playing football. Henry stated in an interview that he admires basketball, as it is similar to football in pace and excitement.[77] Having made regular trips to the NBA Finals in the past, he went to watch Parker and the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals;[78] and in the 2001 NBA Finals, he went to Philadelphia to help with French television coverage of the Finals as well as to watch Allen Iverson, whom he named as one of his favourite players.[77]
[edit] Social causes
[edit] UNICEF
Henry's club Barcelona has no commercial shirt sponsor; instead, they have a UNICEF-branded jersey.

Henry is a member of the UNICEF-FIFA squad, where together with other professional footballers he appeared in a series of TV spots seen by hundreds of millions of fans around the world during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. In these spots, the players promote football as a game that must be played on behalf of children.[39]
[edit] Stand Up Speak Up

Having being subjected to racism in the past, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. The most prominent incident of racism against Henry was during a training session with the Spanish national team in 2004,[79][80] when a Spanish TV crew caught coach Luis Aragonés referring to Henry as "black shit".[74] The incident caused an uproar in the British media, and there were calls for Aragonés to be sacked.[81] Henry and Nike started the Stand Up Speak Up campaign against racism in football as a result of the incident.[82] Subsequently, in 2007, Time featured him as one of the "Heroes & Pioneers" on "The Time 100" list.[83]
[edit] Other work

Along with 45 other football players, Henry took part in FIFA's "Live for Love United" in 2002. The single was released in tandem with the 2002 World Cup and its proceeds went towards AIDS research. Henry also supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Cystic Fibrosis Trust.[84]
[edit] Endorsements

In 2006, Henry was valued as the ninth most commercially marketable footballer in the world,[85] as well as being the eighth richest Premiership player, with £21 million.[86]
[edit] Renault

Henry featured in the Renault Clio advertisements in which he popularised the term va-va-voom, meaning "life" or "passion". His romantic interest in the commercial was his then-wife, Claire "Nicole" Merry. "Va-va-voom" was subsequently added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.[87]
[edit] Nike

In 2004, Henry signed with sneaker giant Nike. In one of the advertisements, Henry pits his wits against football stars such as Claude Makélélé, Edgar Davids and Freddie Ljungberg in locations such as his bedroom and living room. The advertisement was partly inspired by Henry himself, who revealed that he always has a football nearby, even at home.[88] Henry was also featured in Nike's "Secret Tournament" advertisement along with 24 superstar football players including Ljungberg, Ronaldinho, and Francesco Totti. In tandem with the 2006 World Cup, Henry also featured in Nike's Joga Bonito campaign, Portuguese for "play beautifully".[89]
[edit] Reebok

Henry's deal with Nike ended after the 2006 World Cup, when he signed a deal with Reebok to appear in their "I Am What I Am" campaign.[90] As part of Reebok Entertainment's "Framed" series, Henry was the star of a half-hour episode that detailed the making of a commercial about Henry directed by Spanish actress Paz Vega.[91]
[edit] Gillette

In February 2007, Henry was named as one of the three ambassadors of Gillette's "Champions Program," which purported to feature three of the "best-known, most widely respected and successful athletes competing today" and also showcased Roger Federer and Tiger Woods in a series of television commercials,[16] though Henry was later replaced by Derek Jeter in subsequent spots broadcast in the United States.[92]
[edit] Pepsi

Henry was part of Pepsi's "Dare For More" campaign in 2005, alongside the likes of David Beckham and Ronaldinho.[93] In the 2008 version, Henry appeared in the Pepsi Universe advertisement along with Ljungberg, Beckham, Cesc Fàbregas, Steven Gerrard and Lionel Messi.
[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ Thierry Henry, fcbarcelona.cat, accessed 24 August 2008.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Thierry Henry Bio, jockbio.com, accessed 5 May 2008.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Anthony, Andrew, "Thierry Henry, you're having a laugh", The Observer, 3 October 2004, accessed 18 May 2008.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Goal.com Profile: Thierry Henry (web archive), goal.com, accessed 23 September 2007.
5. ^ a b c d e f HENRY, footballdatabase.com, accessed 20 October 2007.
6. ^ Soccerbase stats for AS Monaco Semi Final game, soccerbase.com, accessed 30 September 2007.
7. ^ a b c Clarke, Richard, "Henry - Why I must adapt to our new formation", arsenal.com, 14 November 2006, accessed 26 March 2007.
8. ^ Thierry Henry - France, cbc.ca/sports, accessed 30 September 2007.
9. ^ a b c d e Thierry Henry, soccernet.espn.go.com, accessed 30 September 2007.
10. ^ a b c d Ronaldinho wins Fifa player award, BBC Sport, 20 December 2004, accessed 23 September 2007.
11. ^ Games played by Thierry Henry in 1999–2000, soccerbase.com, accessed 25 March 2007.
12. ^ Freedman, Dan, "Gunners take home Cup", The Football Association, 17 May 2003, accessed 24 April 2007.
13. ^ a b c PFA Players' Player of the Year Roll of Honour, givemefootball.com, accessed 25 July 2007.
14. ^ a b c d Henry to stay a Gunner until 2010, BBC Sport, 19 May 2006, accessed 21 March 2007.
15. ^ Hughes, Ian, "Arsenal the Invincibles", BBC Sport, 15 May 2004, accessed 26 March 2007.
16. ^ a b c d Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Thierry Henry Are Introduced As the Faces of the New Gillette Champions Program, Procter and Gamble, 4 February 2007, accessed 22 March 2007.
17. ^ Games played by Thierry Henry in 2004/2005, soccerbase.com, accessed 26 March 2007.
18. ^ Lowem Sid, Wenger hopes Henry will stay and usher in new era, The Guardian, 22 February 2006, accessed 26 March 2007.
19. ^ a b Winter, Henry, "Record-breaking Henry still a master of humility", The Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2005, accessed 25 March 2007.
20. ^ China Daily. Thierry Henry eases to scoring record, people.com.cn, 22 October 2005, accessed 22 March 2007.
21. ^ Arsenal 2–3 West Ham, BBC Sport, 1 February 2006, accessed 23 March 2007.
22. ^ MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH HIGHBURY - HENRY, sportinglife.com, accessed 26 March 2007.
23. ^ Henry Happy To End Career At Arsenal, goal.com, 13 November 2006, accessed 26 March 2007.
24. ^ a b Xinhua News. "Arsenal rejected 50 million-pound bids for Henry, says Dein", people.com.cn, 22 May 2006, accessed 26 March 2007.
25. ^ a b Wenger: Henry staying with Gunners, soccernet.espn.go.com, 6 April 2007, accessed 7 April 2007.
26. ^ Clarke, Richard, "Wenger - The hidden benefits of having Henry", arsenal.com, 7 March 2007, accessed 24 March 2007.
27. ^ Clarke, Richard, "Henry ruled out for the remainder of season", arsenal.com, 8 March 2007, accessed 26 March 2007.
28. ^ Thierry Henry signs for Barcelona, nationmultimedia.com, 23 June 2007, accessed 22 July 2007.
29. ^ Henry seals deal with Barcelona, The Daily Express, 25 June 2007, accessed 28 June 2007.
30. ^ Thierry: Why I'm going, The Sun, 23 June 2007, accessed 28 June 2007.
31. ^ Arsenal announce Henry departure, BBC Sport, 23 June 2007, accessed 28 June 2007.
32. ^ Henry hoping Wenger remains Gunners' boss, soccernet.espn.go.com, 26 June 2007, accessed 15 October 2007.
33. ^ a b Fabregas was right about me, says Henry, soccernet.espn.go.com, 14 October 2007, accessed 15 October 2007.
34. ^ a b Gunners' Greatest Players - 1. Thierry Henry, arsenal.com, accessed 18 July 2008.
35. ^ Thierry Henry scores as Barcelona take charge, The Daily Telegraph, 20 September 2007, accessed 23 September 2007,
36. ^ Levante 1-41 Barcelona, soccernet.espn.gp.com, 29 September 2007, accessed 5 October 2007.
37. ^ Thierry Henry Interview - Football Focus - 26/04/08 - BBC, youtube.com, accessed 13 April 2009.
38. ^ A striking comparison, The Football Association, accessed 26 March 2007.
39. ^ a b 2006 FIFA World Cup - Thierry Henry, top scorer and role model, UNICEF, accessed 26 March 2007.
40. ^ Décret du 24 juillet 1998 portant nomination à titre exceptionnel, JORF, vol 1998, issue 170, p 11376, 25 July 1998, accessed 12 March 2009.
41. ^ France 2-1 Portugal, UEFA, 28 June 2000, accessed 23 March 2007.
42. ^ France 2-1 Italy, UEFA, 2 July 2000, accessed 23 March 2007.
43. ^ Thierry Henry, sportsillustrated.cnn.com, accessed 9 July 2009.
44. ^ France 0–1 Greece, BBC Sport, 25 June 2004, accessed 26 March 2007.
45. ^ Stevenson, Jonathan, "Italy 1–1 France (aet)", BBC Sport, 9 July 2006, accessed 22 September 2007.
46. ^ Sent-off Zidane named best player, BBC Sport, 10 July 2006, accessed 23 September 2007.
47. ^ Ronaldinho regains FifPro crown, BBC Sport, 6 November 2006, accessed 23 September 2007.
48. ^ France 2-0 Lithuania: Henry smashes Platini record, soccernet.espn.go.com, 17 October 2007, accessed 18 October 2007.
49. ^ Henry reaches 100-cap milestone, BBC Sport, 3 June 2008, accessed 22 June 2008.
50. ^ France 0-2 Italy: World champs dispose of French, soccernet.espn.go.com, 17 June 2008, accessed 18 June 2008.
51. ^ France Team Page, soccernet.espn.go.com, accessed 22 June 2008.
52. ^ Hatherall, Chris, "Henry defends Arsenal's pursuit of beautiful game", The Independent, 30 October 2006, accessed 23 April 2007
53. ^ Clarke, Richard, "Wenger - Don't compare Eduardo to Henry", arsenal.com, accessed 27 July 2007.
54. ^ Mike Woitalla, Claudio Reyna, (April 2004). More Than Goals: The Journey from Backyard Games to World Cup Competition. Human Kinetics. pp. 122. ISBN 0736051716.
55. ^ Hansen, Alan, Alan Hansen's column, BBC Sport, 13 March 2006, accessed 27 March 2007.
56. ^ Jacob Daniel, The Complete Guide to Coaching Soccer Systems and Tactics, pg 190, (Reedswain Inc., 1 March 2004).
57. ^ Papin: attack at the double, BBC Sport, 12 April 2002, accessed 26 March 2007.
58. ^ a b "English Debate: Can Arsenal Lift Major Silverware This Campaign?", Goal.com, 22 September 2008, accessed 22 September 2008.
59. ^ Henry ready to get ugly, sportinglife.com, 28 August 2003, accessed 30 October 2007.
60. ^ THIERRY HENRY, premierleague.com, accessed 25 July 2007.
61. ^ Fifa names greatest list, BBC Sport, 4 March 2004, accessed 25 July 2007.
62. ^ Thierry Henry: The wizard of Highbury, abc.net.au, 25 April 2006, accessed 27 March 2007.
63. ^ Lacey, David, "The best player in the world is wearing Arsenal's colours", The Guardian, 30 August 2003, accessed 27 March 2007.
64. ^ Ingle, Sean, "First half good, second half not bad either", The Guardian, 11 July 2006, accessed 27 March 2007.
65. ^ China Daily. Wenger: Henry is the world's greatest, people.com.cn, 7 November 2005, accessed 27 March 2007.
66. ^ Raynor, Dominic, "Your Verdict: 100 greatest ever footballers", soccernet.espn.go.com, 7 November 2007, accessed 10 November 2007.
67. ^ Brown, Oliver, "Cristiano Ronaldo pipped by Fernando Torres in Premier League popularity stakes", The Daily Telegraph, 11 December 2008, accessed 12 December 2008.
68. ^ Thierry Henry History, soccernet.espn.go.com, accessed 5 June 2009.
69. ^ Barcelona FC's player statistic for Thierry Henry, www.fcbarcelona.com, accessed 5 June 2009.
70. ^ Includes French Cup, French League Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, League Cup, FA Community Shield and Supercopa de España.
71. ^ Includes UEFA Champions League and European Supercup.
72. ^ Thierry Henry, national-football-teams.com, accessed 3 August 2009.
73. ^ Thierry Va Va Vooms Away From Wife, Sky News, 16 July 2007, accessed 19 July 2007.
74. ^ a b FAMOUS FATHERS: THIERRY HENRY, FQ magazine, accessed 26 March 2007.
75. ^ Henry's wife is granted divorce, BBC News, 3 September 2007, accessed 23 September 2007.
76. ^ 'Thierry Henry pays wife £8m divorce settlement ', The Daily Telegraph, 5 December 2008, accessed 5 December 2008.
77. ^ a b The Dish: Thierry Henry, nba.com, June 2001, accessed 20 June 2007.
78. ^ Your Gripping NBA Champions, deadspin.com, 15 June 2007, accessed 20 June 2007.
79. ^ Aragones fined for Henry remarks - BBC Sport, 1 March 2005, accessed 24 March 2007.
80. ^ Witzig, Richard (May 2006). The Global Art of Soccer. CusiBoy Publishing. pp. 44. ISBN 0977668800.
81. ^ Family urged Aragones to resign - BBC Sport, 1 December 2004, accessed 26 October 2007.
82. ^ Caborn welcomes anti-racism stand, BBC Sport, 9 February 2005, accessed 26 March 2007.
83. ^ Parker, Tony, Thierry Henry, Time magazine, accessed 20 October 2007.
84. ^ Thierry Henry, looktothestars.org, accessed 25 February 2009.
85. ^ Ronaldinho's brand worth more than Beckham's, Reuters, 30 May 2006, accessed 27 March 2007.
86. ^ The Rich List top ten..., The Daily Mail, 6 December 2006, accessed 27 March 2007.
87. ^ Va-va-voom is in the dictionary, BBC News, 8 July 2004, accessed 24 March 2007.
88. ^ Unknown Author, "[1]", mirror.co.uk, 30 May 2004, accessed 19 February 2009.
89. ^ Stevenson, Seth, "Keep Soccer Beautiful!", slate.com, 17 April 2006, accessed 24 March 2007.
90. ^ Bond, David, "Henry drops bombshell by moving to Reebok", The Daily Telegraph, 12 April 2006, accessed 27 March 2007.
91. ^ REEBOK GETS THE PICTURE, Reebok, accessed 5 March 2008.
92. ^ Smack Talkin' Tiger (with clips) - GoToTennisblog.com, 13 July 2008, accessed 17 November 2008.
93. ^ Mitchell, Susan, "Footballers kick off Pepsi campaign", The Sunday Business Post, 10 April 2005, accessed 28 January 2008.

[edit] External links
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Thierry Henry
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puyol

Carles Puyol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Joan Gamper-Tr.jpg
Personal information
Full name Carles Puyol i Saforcada
Date of birth 13 April 1978 (1978-04-13) (age 31)
Place of birth La Pobla de Segur, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Barcelona
Number 5
Youth career
1993–1995 C. Pobla de Segur
1995–1997 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
1997–2000 Barcelona B 83 (4)
1999– Barcelona 304 (5)
National team‡
1995 Spain U18 3 (0)
2000 Spain U21 4 (0)
2000 Spain U23 5 (0)
2000– Spain 78 (2)
2001– Catalonia 3 (0)
Honours[show]
Competitor for Spain
Men's Football
Silver 2000 Sydney Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 04 October 2009.

† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2009

Carles Puyol i Saforcada (born 13 April 1978 in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia) is a Spanish footballer who plays with Barcelona and the Spanish national team.

Mainly a central defender, he can also appear on either flanks, especially as a right back. He also served as a longtime team captain, after taking over from Luis Enrique on August 2004.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Club career
* 2 International career
* 3 Club statistics
o 3.1 International goals
* 4 Honours
o 4.1 Barcelona
o 4.2 International
o 4.3 Individual
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] Club career

Puyol started playing football for his hometown club, La Pobla de Segur, as a goalkeeper. However, after injury problems with his shoulder, he switched to striker. In 1995, he moved to join FC Barcelona's youth team, switching positions again, to play as a defensive midfielder. In 1997, Puyol stepped up to play for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right back.

In 1999, then coach Louis van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team. He made his first division debut on October 2, 1999, at Real Valladolid, in a 2-0 win. After that, he successfully made another reconversion, now to central defender; he was awarded "Best European right back" award by UEFA in 2002 and "Best European centre back" in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Puyol also won the trophy "UEFA Club Best Defender" in 2006.
Carles Puyol

Puyol was first chosen as the captain of Barcelona at the end of the 2003-04 season, after the retirement of Luis Enrique. On September 16, 2008, he made his 400th appearance in all competitions for the Barça first team in a Champions League match against Sporting Clube de Portugal.[1]
[edit] International career

Puyol won his first Spanish cap on November 15, 2000 against the Netherlands, and remained a regular fixture ever since. He played for the nation at the 2000 Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2008 and the Confederations Cup 2009.

At Euro 2008, Puyol started throughout the vast majority of the competition, as the defensive backline only conceded two goals in five games, in an eventual final win against Germany. He was named in the Team of the Tournament with defensive partner Carlos Marchena of Valencia CF.

Puyol started three out of five games at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and captained the team when Iker Casillas was rested for the last group stage match. As Spain finished third, he and three other teammates were named in the Team of the Tournament.

Additionally, Puyol also appeared regularly for the Catalonian national team.
[edit] Club statistics

As of 4 October 2009 [2][3]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other [4] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Barcelona B 1996–97 1 1 - - - - - - 1 1
1997–98 36 1 - - - - - - 36 1
1998–99 38 2 - - - - - - 38 2
1999–00 8 0 - - - - - - 8 0
Total 83 4 - - - - - - 83 4
FC Barcelona 1999–00 24 0 5 0 8 0 0 0 37 0
2000–01 17 0 2 0 5 0 - - 24 0
2001–02 35 2 1 0 15 0 - - 51 2
2002–03 32 0 0 0 14 0 - - 46 0
2003–04 27 0 4 0 7 0 - - 38 0
2004–05 36 0 1 0 8 0 - - 45 0
2005–06 35 1 3 0 12 0 2 0 52 1
2006–07 35 1 7 0 8 1 5 0 55 2
2007–08 30 0 7 0 10 1 - - 47 1
2008–09 28 1 6 0 11 0 - - 45 1
2009–10 5 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 10 0
Total 304 5 36 0 100 2 10 0 450 7
Career totals 387 9 36 0 100 2 10 0 533 11
[edit] International goals
International Goals[5] # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. April 17, 2002 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 0–4 0–5 International Friendly
2. October 11, 2008 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia 0–3 0–3 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
[edit] Honours
[edit] Barcelona

* La Liga: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
* Copa del Rey: 2008–09
* UEFA Champions League: 2005–06, 2008–09
* Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006, 2009
* UEFA Super Cup: 2009

[edit] International

* Sydney Olympic Games Silver Medal : 2000
* UEFA European Football Championship: 2008

[edit] Individual

* Don Balón Award for Breakthrough player of the year : 2001
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008
* UEFA Club Best Defender: 2006
* FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008
* UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament[6]
* FIFA Team of the Year: 2008
* 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Tournament

[edit] References

1. ^ The captain makes it to 400 games fcbarcelona.cat
2. ^ Official site statistics
3. ^ Soccernet player statistics
4. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
5. ^ National team data (Spanish)
6. ^ "Spain dominate Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. 2008-06-30. http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=729372.html#spain+dominate+team+tournament. Retrieved 2008-06-30.

[edit] External links

* FC Barcelona profile
* BDFutbol profile
* National team data (Spanish)
* Carles Puyol FIFA competition record
* Carles Puyol career stats and news at the Global Football Database
* FootballDatabase profile and statistics
* Official website (Catalan) (Spanish) (English)

[show]

Carles Puyol - Navigation boxes and awards
[show]
v • d • e
Spain squad – 2000 Summer Olympics Silver Medalists
1 Aranzubia • 2 Lacruz • 3 Capdevila • 4 Marchena • 5 Unai • 6 Albelda • 7 Angulo • 8 Xavi • 9 José Mari • 10 Gabri • 11 Ferrón • 12 Puyol • 13 A. Luque • 14 Amaya • 15 Ismael • 16 Velamazán • 17 Tamudo • 18 Felip • Coach: Sáez
Flag of Spain
[show]
v • d • e
Spain squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Casillas • 2 Curro Torres • 3 Juanfran • 4 Helguera • 5 Puyol • 6 Hierro (c) • 7 Raúl • 8 Baraja • 9 Morientes • 10 Tristán • 11 de Pedro • 12 A. Luque • 13 Ricardo • 14 Albelda • 15 Romero • 16 Mendieta • 17 Valerón • 18 Sergio • 19 Xavi • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Joaquín • 23 Contreras • Coach: Camacho
Flag of Spain
[show]
v • d • e
Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2004
1 Cañizares • 2 Capdevila • 3 Marchena • 4 Albelda • 5 Puyol • 6 Helguera • 7 Raúl (c) • 8 Baraja • 9 F. Torres • 10 Morientes • 11 A. Luque • 12 Gabri • 13 Aranzubia • 14 Vicente • 15 R. Bravo • 16 Xabi Alonso • 17 Etxeberria • 18 César Martín • 19 Joaquín • 20 Xavi • 21 Valerón • 22 Juanito • 23 Casillas • Coach: Iñaki Sáez
Flag of Spain
[show]
v • d • e
Spain squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Casillas • 2 Salgado • 3 Pernía • 4 Marchena • 5 Puyol • 6 Albelda • 7 Raúl (c) • 8 Xavi • 9 F. Torres • 10 Reyes • 11 Luis García • 12 A. López • 13 Iniesta • 14 Xabi Alonso • 15 S. Ramos • 16 Senna • 17 Joaquín • 18 Fàbregas • 19 Cañizares • 20 Juanito • 21 Villa • 22 Pablo • 23 Reina • Coach: Aragonés
Flag of Spain
[show]
v • d • e
Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2008 Winners (2nd Title)
1 Casillas (c) • 2 Albiol • 3 F. Navarro • 4 Marchena • 5 Puyol • 6 Iniesta • 7 Villa • 8 Xavi • 9 F. Torres • 10 Fàbregas • 11 Capdevila • 12 Cazorla • 13 Palop • 14 Xabi Alonso • 15 S. Ramos • 16 S. García • 17 Güiza • 18 Arbeloa • 19 Senna • 20 Juanito • 21 Silva • 22 De la Red • 23 Reina • Coach: Aragonés
Flag of Spain
[show]
v • d • e
Spain squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Third Place
1 Casillas (c) • 2 Albiol • 3 Piqué • 4 Marchena • 5 Puyol • 6 Pablo H. • 7 Villa • 8 Xavi • 9 F. Torres • 10 Fàbregas • 11 Capdevila • 12 Busquets • 13 D. López • 14 Xabi Alonso • 15 S. Ramos • 16 Llorente • 17 Güiza • 18 Riera • 19 Arbeloa • 20 Cazorla • 21 Silva • 22 Mata • 23 Reina • Coach: del Bosque
Flag of Spain
Awards
Preceded by
John Terry UEFA Champions League Best Defender
2005–06 Succeeded by
Paolo Maldini
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Luis Enrique Barcelona captain
2004-Present Succeeded by
Incumbent
[show]
v • d • e
FC Barcelona – current squad

1 Valdés · 2 Dani Alves · 3 Piqué · 4 Márquez · 5 Puyol (c) · 6 Xavi · 8 Iniesta · 9 Ibrahimović · 10 Messi · 11 Bojan · 13 Pinto · 14 Henry · 15 Keita · 16 Busquets · 17 Pedro · 18 Milito · 19 Maxwell · 21 Chygrynskiy · 22 Abidal · 24 Touré · 35 Jeffrén · Coach: Guardiola
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carles_Puyol"
Categories: 1978 births | Living people | People from Pallars Jussà | Spanish footballers | Catalan footballers | Football (soccer) defenders | La Liga footballers | FC Barcelona footballers | Spain under-21 international footballers | Spain international footballers | 2002 FIFA World Cup players | UEFA Euro 2004 players | 2006 FIFA World Cup players | UEFA Euro 2008 players | 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players | UEFA European Football Championship-winning players | Olympic footballers of Spain | Olympic silver medalists for Spain | Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics