Henry hoping for a break in Champions League

ONE newspaper headline described Thierry Henry as “cursed” in the wake of his managerial bow with Monaco, and the France great will be desperate to put that behind him in tomorrow’s (12.55am Malaysian time) Champions League encounter with Club Brugge.

Henry’s long-awaited first game as a coach in his own right ended in a 2-1 defeat at Strasbourg on Saturday, with Monaco’s night marred by goalkeeping errors, a sending-off and injuries.

The headline in question appeared in the following day’s edition of sports daily L’Equipe, and that game certainly made it clear to the 41-year-old that he has a massive job on his hands.

Monaco may often be mocked for their paltry attendances, but they have a passionate fan base who will be worried for their team, less than 18 months after they won the Ligue 1 title in style.

“I was aware that it would be hard to put something in place after just two days of work,” said Henry at the weekend, having had limited time on the training ground since taking over.

Better will be required, however, if Monaco are to register their first points in Champions League Group A when they go to Belgium.

Defeats against Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund mean Monaco remain pointless in Europe, and tomorrow’s match against the Belgian champions offers both sides a last chance to keep their hopes alive in the group.

More realistically, these teams are now fighting it out for third place and a berth in the Europa League knockout rounds. They meet again at the Stade Louis II on Nov 6.

“We need to take the positives. The team is starting from zero,” insisted Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans. – AFP