Thierry Henry’s Forgotten Six Months – A Glimpse into a Troubled Time

When you think of Thierry Henry, the first images that come to mind are of the prolific French striker dominating the pitch for Arsenal, leaving defenders in the dust, and scoring incredible goals. Yet, like every legend, there’s a lesser-known chapter in his story, a time when things didn’t go as smoothly. For Henry, that challenging period took place at Juventus, and that’s what we’re shining a light on in OlyBet.TV’s new series of stories.

While Henry’s footballing journey started in his hometown of Les Ulis, his first steps as a professional were made at AS Monaco under the guidance of none other than Arsène Wenger. And we all know what happened later: Wenger moved to Arsenal and, in time, brought Henry along, where the striker would blossom into one of the Premier League’s most iconic players.

But before Henry could become the Gunners’ legend, he briefly donned the black-and-white stripes of Juventus. However, unlike his time in North London, his stint in Turin didn’t go as planned.

Price tag that set the tone

In the 1998/99 season, Juventus paid AS Monaco €12.5 million for a 21-year-old Henry. To put that into perspective, that season, it was the 15th most expensive transfer and the world record had just been set at €30 million for Brazilian star Denílson.

But Juventus had every reason to spend big. Henry had shown glimpses of brilliance at the 1998 World Cup, scoring three goals in six matches for the French national team. Although he didn’t play in the final, his presence in the squad was highly valued by his teammates.

“He has the qualities to be a success. Juventus do not take on a player without being sure he has a good chance of succeeding in their colors,” said Lilian Thuram, Henry’s fellow French international who, at the time, was playing for Parma.

So the expectations were high for Henry to deliver, but in the football world, things aren’t always so straightforward.

A sudden coaching change

The coach who had signed Henry, the famous Marcello Lippi, decided to move on to Inter Milan. Although Lippi intended to do so respectfully and finish the season with Juventus on good terms, the Turin club decided to rip the band-aid off quickly to avoid further pain. So, in February, Lippi was sacked, and a young Carlo Ancelotti was brought in from Parma as his replacement.

Ancelotti’s arrival changed everything for Henry. Under Lippi, Henry was given a striker’s role. But under Ancelotti, he was moved out to the left wing – a role Henry had fulfilled in France’s U21 team –, sometimes even being deployed as a makeshift wing-back.

“I didn’t think I could play Henry in the middle. He never told me he could,” Ancelotti later admitted in the book Thierry Henry: Lonely at the Top. Whether this was a true misunderstanding or a misstep by the manager, Henry’s natural ability as a goal-scorer was overlooked.

But according to some of Henry’s then-Juventus teammates, the real reason for Henry’s demotion from a central striker role was more complicated. It had a lot to do with the influence of the team’s superstar at the time: Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane, arguably the world’s best player, had threatened to leave the club on more than one occasion. To keep their prized asset happy, Ancelotti tailored the team’s tactics to suit Zidane’s preferences, and that meant Henry had to make sacrifices.

After Alessandro Del Piero suffered a serious injury, the primary striking responsibilities fell to Filippo Inzaghi and Daniel Fonseca, with Nicola Amoruso being the first off the bench. And Henry, despite his talent, was left trying to find his place out wide.

Decided to sit tight

Henry’s personality also didn’t help his situation. Unlike some players who might have demanded a more central role or knocked on the manager’s door to assert their case, Henry was relatively reserved. He accepted the role he was given, even if it didn’t suit him.

“I’ll play [at Juventus] as I did at Monaco, on the wing, either on the left or the right. I’m not like David Trezeguet. People shouldn’t expect bagfuls of goals from me,” Henry said, per Paul Joseph’s book Thierry Henry: Fifty Defining Fixtures.

Thus, in the half-season he spent at Juventus, Henry managed only three goals from the wing. The only consolation was that Ancelotti gave Henry playing time, as he appeared in 18 matches for Juventus, most of them as a starter.

The final blow

Though Henry had signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Juventus in January, by the summer of 1999, he was already wearing Arsenal’s red and white. The reason? A sense of betrayal.

At the end of the season, Henry learned that Juventus’ CEO, Luciano Moggi, had been trying to use him as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

“Juve wanted to sign Marcio Amoroso and Udinese wanted me as a replacement. [Coach Carlo] Ancelotti didn’t want to sell me or let me leave on loan. The directors, though, thought differently and I felt this was a lack of faith in me,” Henry later revealed. “I refused the Udinese move but I asked to go somewhere else. They agreed.”

Thus Henry was sold to Arsenal for €16.1 million in the summer of 1999 – meaning Juventus also earned a €3.6 million profit for Henry’s relatively unsuccessful stint.

But Arsenal’s money was well spent on Henry. Arsène Wenger knew exactly what the Frenchman was capable of and restored him to a central striker role. Thus, already in his first season Henry repaid that faith with 26 goals in 48 matches across all competitions.

Over the next eight seasons, Henry became Arsenal’s all-time top scorer, netting 226 goals in 370 appearances before eventually moving to FC Barcelona, where he would go on to lift the Champions League trophy.

But Juventus didn’t come out of the deal too badly, either. In addition to the €3.6 million profit, they also replaced Henry with David Trezeguet, who would wear the black-and-white stripes for a decade and score 171 goals in 320 appearances.