ADULT CHAT LINE
THIERRY HENRY told how Arsene Wenger opened his mind and Pep Guardiola retaught him football, then backed his playing record to help his new coaching career.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona forward said he was coming “home” to his first club during a glitzy, Monte Carlo-style presentation yesterday.
And the Monaco chief will use valuable lessons learned from two of the top bosses in the game as he embarks on his first managerial job.
“Arsene unlocked a lot of stuff in my mind and made me understand what it was to be a professional, what it was to perform and I’ll never forget that,” said Henry.
“Pep is the reference, for me. I relearned how to play the game when I went to Barcelona under him. You guys know some of the inventions he’s had in the game, he’s way ahead of the game. I saw it closely.”
Henry started at Monaco under Wenger in 1993 before moving to Juventus and then Arsenal. “I had more hair then – and more speed,” he said.
The 41-year-old, who declined to speak about approaches from Bordeaux and Aston Villa, added: “When the offer here came, it was quite logical. My heart spoke.
‘‘Everyone knows of my attachment to a club in London but Monaco is my first club, where I scored my first goal and grew up. It has a special place in my heart.
“Thanks to everyone for the chance to come home where it all started. It’s a dream come true.”
Exactly 11 years to the day that he overtook Michel Platini’s France goals record, Henry reckoned his playing reputation would help: “I hope it’s going to be an ace. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. But I wouldn’t say it’s a sacrifice for me – it’s a way of living since I was seven. It’s like breathing.”
Henry spoke to his former team-mate Patrick Vieira – now Nice coach – and wanted to emulate his fellow World Cup winners Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane as managers.
“I have to win like them – these are two people I admire a lot,” he said.
But speaking at the Monaco Yacht Club yesterday, Henry’s first task is to steady the ship with the 2017 French champions 18th in Ligue 1. His first match in charge is at Strasbourg on Saturday night.