Thierry Henry, a former world-class striker, has taken the helm of his native France’s Under-21 team.
“The executive committee met and appointed Henri as head coach of the U-21 national team,” the French Football Federation (FFF) said on its website on Wednesday. Henri was the head coach of France’s neighbor Belgium at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar late last year. After Belgium’s unexpected exit from the group stage, Henri’s assistant Roberto Martinez left to take over the Portuguese national team.
Henri, meanwhile, has been away from the bench for a while, doing commentary for CBS in the U.S., and has now accepted a job as head coach of France’s U-21 national team, a position that requires him to coach young French talent and get results.
“We are delighted to appoint Henri for two years until 2025,” said the FFF, “following a discussion phase led by the selection committee and subsequent proposals. “The FFF studied several profiles and salutes the high professional and human qualities of the various candidates,” the FFF said, noting that Henri beat off strong competition.
Henri’s task is clear. His task is clear: win gold at the Summer Olympics, the first time France has hosted the Games in its capital city since 1924. “Henri will be in charge of the FFF’s main objectives: the next qualification for the UEFA U-21 European Championship in 2025 and the Paris Olympics, which will take place from July 25 to August 10 next year,” the FFF said.
For now, Henri will make his debut in charge of the U-21s in a France-Denmark friendly in Nancy, France, on September 7, followed by an away match against Slovenia in a U-21 qualifier on September 11.
Henri is a world-class attacking coach who led France to the 1998 World Cup in France and the 2000 European Championship in Belgium-Netherlands.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan was most famous for his eight-year stint with English giants Arsenal from 1999 to 2007, where he scored 174 goals in 254 Premier League games. He won the PFA Player of the Year award twice and was the Premier League’s top scorer four times. 안전놀이터
After retiring from the game with FC Barcelona in Spain in 2007 and the New York Red Bulls in 2010, Henri went on to coach Belgium, AS Monaco in France and the Montreal Impact in Canada before returning to Belgium as head coach at last year’s World Cup.
This time around, he’s putting his coaching career on the line and taking charge of France’s U-21 team as they head to Paris.