At the headquarters of the FFF,
The 3F succeeded. By appointing Thierry Henry as coach of the Espoirs, one year before the Paris Olympic Games, instead of more traditional profiles for this age category who were in competition with him (Jocelyn Gourvennec, Sabri Lamouchi and Julien Stéphan) , the Federation has made this launchpad to the A’s an attraction that everyone will follow with much more attention from now on.
It was enough for us to take a look at the huge press room at 87 boulevard de Grenelle, not crowded but not far away, Wednesday noon, to understand that it is not a simple coach who arrives in the square, but a legend of the France team, a man whose track record and charisma are enough to make everyone agree. “Thierry Henry is the perfect embodiment of what we were looking for in view of an event that only happens once a century, the Olympic Games at home. It is an important, ambitious choice to see one of the legends of football arrive, ”said Philippe Diallo, the boss of the FFF.
Accompanied by his two assistants Gérald Baticle and Gaël Clichy, Thierry Henry took the floor to diplomatically salute the work of his predecessor Sylvain Ripoll and to express all the happiness that was his at the idea of “being able to sing the Marseillaise again with pride. For nearly an hour, the former Gunner answered frankly to questions from journalists, with the seriousness that his new position gives him, far from his usual lightness when he officiated as a consultant for Sky Sports or Prime Video.
- Why get your hands dirty again?
This was the first question asked. So why did you choose to leave the comfortable costume of consultant to come and throw yourself into such a quagmire, in a selection that does not arouse passions and which has not been successful for nearly forty years? Instant response: “Firstly because I was not fulfilled, I like the field, I was waiting for an opportunity. I was fine, but I was not fulfilled. And then the France team can’t be refused, whatever the level. Yes I was fine, I had a life, but I was missing that side that makes me vibrate a little, a lot even. »
- Doubts to be lifted after two mixed experiences
Fine football analyst, Thierry Henry knows that it is above all for his name and his aura that he was preferred to his competitors. He is aware of the doubts that accompany his appointment after two more than mixed experiences as No. 1, first in Monaco, then at the Montreal Impact. If he made a point of specifying that it would have been difficult for any coach to succeed in Monaco in the space of only two months, also defending his record in MLS with a qualification in the play-off in a context of bubble health linked to the Covid, “Titi” admitted that the doubts about him were “legitimate” and that only performance on the ground will be able to put them out.
“You asked yourself questions, me too, he assured. Self-criticism is very important. But he assures him, his recent experiences on a bench have changed him. “I evolved from Monaco. The Covid period (in MLS) also changed me a lot, I learned to delegate, to show more empathy. You have to put water in your wine and I put some. A lot. “His ego as a (great) player, which accompanied him during his early career on the Monaco bench, and which was able to inhibit or disturb some of his players, would therefore be ancient history. In any case, we must hope so if he wants to succeed one day in becoming a coach at the height of the player he was.
- A man close to today’s youth
Moreover, we also welcome the coup attempted by the Federation. Instead of replacing Ripoll with one of his clones molded in the federal waffle iron, Philippe Diallo and the members of the Comex took a 180 degree turn by installing an old player that the younger generations, failing to have seen him play , know, recognize and admire. Let’s say things as they are: to go and stuff yourself with wooden matches in the depths of Europe, on cardboard lawns and in wooden stadiums, it’s always more motivating when the coach is called Thierry Henry.
Especially since the former Arsenal player has this young fiber, he knows their codes and adapts to their language. “I like working with young people, I find it easy to talk to them. You have to adapt to them, try to understand the codes even if it is not always easy, there is a lot of education to be done, he warned. I knew that if I arrived late I didn’t play on weekends, now we have to explain to them. You always have to be in the discussion and convince”.
- Create a “French spirit”
To manage to bring on board players who are not always over-motivated at the idea of joining the Espoirs, Henry declared that he wanted to “create a France spirit so that the players are happy to come to the selection”. How ? “We all have to pull in the same direction, it’s not a punishment selection, very often it’s seen like that,” he explained. It’s a difficult selection to manage, we know that. When you have to go and play a match in Slovenia, with an average pitch, when you have to play in small stadiums, it forges you. After, yes, it is the eternal problem with this selection. But it is a selection that must be respected, that must be honored. Even if there are not the two stars on the jersey, there is the rooster, you represent something. Now it’s easy to talk, but if it’s been so long since we won, there’s a problem somewhere. We’ll have to try to resolve that. »
- Thierry Henry at “Didier World”
For that, it will also be necessary to deal with its former captain in Blue Didier Deschamps, who will not hesitate to come and steal his best elements if he judges that they can bring more to the A. On this point, Henry will not be the type to make waves, as evidenced by this declaration of allegiance in good and due form: “Anything DD will say, I will say yes, it’s simple (laughs)! He’s the boss, if he needs a player, he takes him, we’re first there for the France A team. There will of course be discussions before each list but, as I often say: stay in your place. All this will be done according to the rules of the art. »
- What about the association with Mbappé at the Olympics?
If the route is most often made from the Espoirs to the A, Olympic year obliges, certain tauliers of the Blues of DD did not hide their desire to go down the time of August 2024 with the Bleuets, like Kylian Mbappé, whose complicity with Thierry Henry is no secret. Asked about this possible collaboration of space with the “Kyks”, the coach of the Hopes did not wish to come forward, simply explaining with a smile that their association “on the ground (…) would have been not bad”. For the rest, he said he had “the head in Nancy for the match (qualifying for the Euro) against Denmark”, and on his first list for September. The appointment is given.