Only a few footballers have managed to hang up their boots after a stellar career and later return to command the game from the sidelines and manage a team to glory.
While Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti are rare cases of individuals being extraordinary players and even better managers, many who have tried their hand at both roles have failed in one or the other.
Managing legends Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho had average careers on the pitch, while legends of the game like Diego Maradona and Steven Gerrard failed miserably to replicate their greatness in management.
Thierry Henry, the iconic French striker who was the leading goal-scorer for his national team until recently and remains the top scorer for English club Arsenal where he spent most of his prime, belonged to the second category until he managed the French side to a ‘magical’ silver medal in the now-concluded Paris Olympics.
Trophies galore
Henry’s playing career was one that is beyond the dreams of many. With several domestic leagues, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA European Championship, and a FIFA World Cup lining up in his trophy cabinet along with countless individual honours, including two podium finishes in the Ballon d’Or race, his career is one for the history books. And when a player of such stature wears the managerial suit, it generates great expectations.
Henry began his managerial career in 2015 with a temporary stint with Arsenal’s youth squad, after retiring from the game in 2014. With his aim set on global glory, the same he won as a twenty-year-old, he took up the role of second assistant manager under Roberto Martínez, who had created a generational team in Belgium. The golden generation of Belgians finished third in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the best in the country’s history.
THE GIST
“Henry is the best thing that has happened to me because since I came to England aged 18 I have had the best mentors. Thierry, for me, is the best. Every day, whether it is positive or negative, I take it in my stride because I know what is expected from the top level,” Belgian star striker Romelu Lukaku said about working with Henry.
Soon after the World Cup, Henry was promoted to assistant manager, but the stint was short-lived. His childhood club AS Monaco came calling for him, setting the stage for the return of the ‘not-so-prodigal’ son. But it was all downhill for Henry from there, as he struggled to deliver what was asked of him. He was soon let go, without even completing a full season.
He moved to the U.S., to Major League Soccer, which many consider to be the ‘graveyard’ where top European footballers go to end their careers. He joined Montreal Impact, currently named CF Montreal, in 2019. Travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic left Henry stranded in the American continent, miles away from his family in London, and after prolonged separation, he stepped down from his charge ahead of the 2021 season and returned home.
But he found it hard to stay away from the pitch and found himself on the sidelines again within months; this return saw him reunite with Martínez and the Belgians. He continued his role through the 2020 Euros (held in 2021 owing to the pandemic) and the 2022 Qatar World Cup, but the team could not live up to its potential in both tournaments. Martinez decided to call it a day after the World Cup, and along with him came the end of Henry’s Belgian journey.
While Henry had racked up experience, no teams found an ideal manager in him until his own country came calling to hand him the U-21 national team. Henry took on the challenge, and the story, which still has a long way to go, has seen Henry celebrating a silver medal with his national team on his own soil.
Even though countries send their Under-21 teams to the Olympics, with only three senior players allowed to satisfy FIFA’s need to maintain the World Cup as the premier footballing event, they still play under their national flags, and a gold medal amounts to something.
No senior players
With clubs reluctant to release their players for the tournament immediately after a gruelling Euros and right before the start of the new domestic season, teams found themselves without big names even for the allotted three slots. This meant Les Bleus were deprived of the services of talisman player Kylian Mbappe, who is not just a footballing star but a national icon.
But that did not deter Henry and his boys from looking to win France its first Olympic gold in football since 1984. The team brought out its best and went on a streak.
It won all three games in the group stage, edged out World Champion Argentina, and beat Egypt in extra time to reach the final before bowing down to European Champion Spain, which is seeing a resurgence and a return to its glorious era of domination.
The final went to extra time, as Henry’s men came back from being 3-1 down to equalize in injury time. But the Spaniards were a class apart, keeping their heads as they netted two more in extra time to clinch the gold.
Nevertheless, it was, in Henry’s words, a ‘magical’ performance by the French youngsters and one that gave the man who has seen it all ‘goosebumps.’
“I think it’s going to be difficult waking up. Every night I watch and get goosebumps when I see the guys win,” he said on the eve of the final.
“I told the players they had done something magical and that I was so proud of them. In the end we have medals. It didn’t finish the way we wanted it to, but it was still really an extraordinary evening,” he said after the final.
France was embroiled in uncertainties in the run-up to the event, after a snap election failed to generate a clear winner and concerns about the pace of preparations left the country divided. But the Games managed to bring the country together, and leaving out odd attempts at alleged sabotage, the Games were as smooth as they could be.
Henry and his team had a role to play in bringing the country together. “As I often say, when we know how to come together, to unite, we are still not bad. And then we have a beautiful country,” he said, projecting his pride for his country ahead of the final.
Now that the legend has attained something to show for the experience he has gathered during his managerial career, there is no doubt that there are doors waiting to open for him. It will be curious to track where Henry goes from here.
Celebration time
Will he try his luck at club football again, go for national glory, or stay on in his current duty and help the boys be the best version of themselves and churn out another Henry or two? Time will tell. For now, Henry is celebrating.
“Did I ever think I would be part of an Olympic team? Never,” said Henry before the Olympic final.
That is the thing with the ‘beautiful game.’ It takes people and players on journeys beyond their wildest imagination, like taking a world-class striker through years without success and putting him on the podium on one of the biggest stages in all of sports.
