Players Who Will Be Remembered For The Wrong Reasons, Part 4
Thierry Henry-II: The 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons were somewhat disappointing, as Arsenal watched Chelsea claim back to back titles, something they had been unable to do. Henry had earned himself the reputation of being one of Europe’s most lethal strikers and won the European Golden Boot for a second year in a row with 31 goals in all competitions. The same year he was awarded club captaincy when Patrick Vieira left the club, surprisingly he was well suited in the role and the following season he had an excellent season in terms of personal achievements. It wasn’t long before he scored his 100th league goal and finished the league’s top goal scorer once again and for a third time in his time at Arsenal, he was named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. He broke legend Ian Wright’s record of 185 goals and brought his league goal tally to 151 goals, breaking Cliff Bastin’s record in the process.
His last season with Arsenal was stained with injuries. He made only 17 appearances in which he scored 10 goals. He had a hamstring and foot injury and suffered back problems, and even after he returned against PSV in a Champions League fixture he started limping after a short while and had to be taken off. He was sidelined again for three months and missed the remainder of the 2005-2006 season. He restated that he would stay at Arsenal despite an uneventful season but the summer of 2007 saw him transferring to Barcelona.
He was heavily criticized for his decision to leave, but the Frenchman said in a statement, “I always said that if I ever left Arsenal it would be to play for Barcelona.” He also said how he felt that his continued stay at Arsenal would adversely affect the club. He said, “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.”
At Barcelona he reverted back to the left wing position and was disappointed with less goal scoring opportunities. Despite that he finished as the club’s top goal scorer, scoring 19 goals to beat Lionel Messi. He surpassed his last season’s goal tally in the 2008-2009 season and won the Copa del Rey final early on in the season. That same season Barcelona won the Serie A and Champions League, the Spanish Supercup, the UEFA Supercup and the FIFA Club World Cup. However, with the arrival of Pedro Rodriguez his place in the starting 11 was no longer confirmed and he decided to leave.
In the summer of 2010 Henry signed a contract with Major League Soccer side New Your Red Bulls. In his debut match he was responsible for both the goals, providing excellent assists for both the goals to Juan Pablo Angel. He currently plays for the club and intends to remain there. Despite having successful stints at the clubs he had played in, he will be remembered for something else. The controversial incident took place during the 2010 World Cup playoffs against Ireland.
Henry was at the center of the controversy, the game was tied at 1-1 and in extra time Henry visibly controlled the ball with his hand twice before providing a cross to William Gallas, which the defender easily converted and won the game for France. After various replays the Football Association of Ireland lodged a complaint against the incident, seeking a replay of the game which was declined by FIFA. It wasn’t the incident itself, but Henry’s reaction afterwards that was pathetic. A short while after the incident he revealed that he was thinking of retiring from international football but later held that he was not a cheat and after FIFA had ruled out a replay, said that he believed that “the fairest solution would be to replay the game.”
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