St Petersburg: The man who France wanted on their bench is now in the rival camp. Thierry Henry, a member of the 1998 World Cup winning France squad is now an assistant coach in Belgian ranks. But then he is in no way an assistant to manager Roberto Martinez, and if sources are to be believed, he is the most revered by players.
Henry, however, doesn’t like the limelight. Since his arrival in Russia he has shied away from interviews – the only one given to the Belgium public broadcaster. And during that short succinct discussion, the legendary Arsenal striker has said, “Why should I talk, the manager should talk, players should talk, my job is just to guide players… not to talk.”
Such has been his influence on the Belgium side, that even France are viewing him with a lot of caution. France striker Olivier Giroud has said that it would have been wonderful to have Henry on the French bench. “It is really strange to see Henry on the Belgium side,” Giroud has been quoted as saying by the French media. “He is an idol for the entire French team. But I will feel very proud if I can prove to him that he has chosen the wrong side to coach. It would have been great if we had benefitted from his advice the way Belgium are now doing,” the striker added.
Giroud, however, has asserted that ‘Henry or no Henry’ France are the favourites in the semifinal game, Tuesday.
“They (Belgium) have a compact defence, but then every team who have reached the semifinals will have that. However, along with Kylian (Mbappe) and Antoine (Griezmann) we are confident of breaking the Belgium defensive well.”
Amid all the consternation going around him, Henry is continuing to do the job that he likes the most – preparing the Belgium attackers. He is the most decorated among the Belgium coaching staff. No one else has a World Cup, Euro Championship and a Champions League winner’s medal; no one among the Belgium support staff has played 123 games for the national side as Henry has done for the Les Bleus. And hence is practical know-how of the game is turning out priceless for the Belgium players.
“He has taught me that a striker is not only about scoring goals, but also assisting others,” Romelu Lukaku told the Belgium media Sunday. Since coming on board in 2016, he has taught me small things, but those in the larger picture have turned out to be invaluable. His idea about the ball and field is geometrical and perfect. Why me, I think everyone in the team have learnt from Henry,” Lukaku added.
In spite of not wanting to be in limelight, fate has pushed Henry in focus. It remains to be seen though whether that fate will help him Tuesday.
‘To prove him wrong is our goal,” said Giroud. But then is Thierry Henry really wrong? Father time has the answer.
