Why is Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry coaching Belgium and does he manage a club side?
THIERRY HENRY would never have imagined that he would be associated with a team nicknamed ‘the Red Devils’.
But thankfully for Arsenal fans, their legend is coaching Belgium rather than Manchester United.
The Arsenal legend has made his desires clear as he wishes to become a head coach himself after learning under the likes of Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola during his playing career.
However, for now, he holds the role as second assistant to Belgium boss Roberto Martinez.
But why is the Frenchman part of the coaching team and does he manage a club side? We have all the answers.
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Why is Thierry Henry coaching Belgium?
Embarking on his coaching journey with Arsenal’s youth teams back in 2015, he was later offered the job of under-18’s coach.
But this decision was overruled by Wenger, wanting a full-time coach for the side rather than Henry, who wished to continue on a part-time basis alongside working for Sky Sports.
This led the Frenchman to look for roles elsewhere before joining Martinez’s backroom staff at Belgium and remained part of the team for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, helping the European giants finish third.
Does Thierry Henry coach a club side?
Henry’s first club role came in October 2018 after speculation surrounding the Bourdeaux job in his home country, but declined this opportunity and took the reigns at his former club Monaco instead.
However, the manager was dismissed from his role in France while his side were 19th in Ligue 1 with a four wins, five draws and 11 defeats from 20 matches.
10 months later, Henry embarked on his second spell in club management after being appointed at Montreal Impact, returning to the MLS for the first time since playing for New York Red Bulls between 2010 and 2014.
Henry’s time in Canada was more successful than his stint at Monaco, leading his Montreal Impact team to their first play-off finish in four seasons.
However, he stepped down in February 2021 to be closer to his children in London, having been unable to travel to see them for the whole of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two months later, Henry re-joined the coaching staff of Belgium ahead of the rescheduled Euro 2020.
Is Thierry Henry looking to return to club management?
The Belgium coach has recently confirmed his intentions to return to club management.
Henry said: “Yes, I would like to think so, maybe. I turned some down because I want to see it through with Belgium and not leave them on the way to the World Cup, because, you know, it’s a weird one to leave.
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“I just want to go back and help, especially with the youngsters. After that (Monaco) I went to Montreal. People will say that’s not very glamorous, but it’s not about that.
“It’s about me getting better and also, the best relationships I’ve had at those teams so far is with the youngsters.”
Therefore, it looks like we could see Henry return to management in the near future.