FEAR CAN’T WIN, IT WILL ONLY UNITE FRANCE
THERE is nobody better qualified than Thierry Henry to emphasise the importance of Euro 2016 to France this summer, both on and off the field. Eighteen years ago, he was part of the famous French ‘Rainbow Team’ that won the World Cup on home soil. A million people packed into the Champs Elysees to celebrate the achievements of Zinedine Zidane, the son of Algerian immigrants, Senegalese-born Patrick Vieira and the rest of Les Bleus.
For Henry, a 20-year-old winger at Monaco whose own family hailed from French Antilles in the Caribbean, it marked the start of a glittering career that took him to Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona and New York Red Bulls.
In north London, he inspired a new phrase, Va Va Voom, on the way to becoming Arsenal’s all-time record goalscorer.
Now 38, his voice is important as France hosts a major international football tournament for the first time since 1998, seven months after Paris was rocked by terrorist attacks that killed 130 people and saw the Stade de France targeted.
Henry will be commenting on the championship for the BBC and in this time of racial and religious tension, he craves football to become a unifying influence again, both within and outside France.
He is confident his former World Cup-winning captain Didier Deschamps can lead France again to a major trophy, this time as manager. ‘I don’t know what star the guy was born under,’ he says, smiling.
But the singlemost important priority is for the Euros to pass off peacefully and be enjoyed by tens of thousands of supporters flocking to host cities Lens, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Toulouse, Marseille, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne and Nice. ‘People will go there and make a statement saying that we are not scared. We are all going to go there and not be scared,’ says Henry. ‘Do you stop or carry on? This is what we are choosing to do. Let’s not make it a French thing, what happened in Paris happened in Belgium and is happening around the world on a daily basis. But, hopefully for Europe, the Euros will be able to help. It can galvanise the whole continent.’ He cites the England-France friendly played just a few days after the Paris attacks as an example of the power of sport. ‘The reaction of English fans was amazing. I never thought I’d hear them singing our national anthem. It was just crazy and that’s what football is all about,’ he says.
‘I know sometimes people talk about the money and players don’t really care, but you can see when it does matter people care.
‘We will pray nothing will happen at the Euros and then it will already be a success.’
Given that serious subject matter, it is a welcome sign of optimism to hear Henry speak enthusiastically about the football itself; the prospects for France in the tournament that starts on June 10.
Henry made waves last year when he said Arsenal would not win the league with Olivier Giroud as their main striker.
Now with Karim Benzema left out because of an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged blackmail, Giroud could be key to French hopes and goes into the tournament having finished the Premier League season with a hat-trick.
Henry is keen to clarify his views on the 29-year-old, saying. ‘I have always said Giroud is good enough for France. He will have to show it now because Benzema isn’t there.
‘Is Giroud the guy who will run in behind like Jamie Vardy or dribble past six players? No. But he has other attributes. He’s good with his back to the goal.
‘He has that touch and is clever around that box, he will score that goal in the air. I would have enjoyed playing with him because he would have been there taking all the kicks and I could have run off him.’
As for Deschamps, France’s habitual winner, Henry sees a man with the Midas touch. The 47-year-old won the World Cup, Euro 2000 and two Champions Leagues as a player, and lifted every domestic trophy in France as a manager.
‘He’s done an amazing job as the France manager. Once again we can finally say we have a good team again, not just good players. And we have a habit of winning tournaments at home,’ says Henry.
‘We had a good World Cup two years ago, losing to Germany in the quarter-finals, and since then we’ve added Anthony Martial and N’Golo Kante.
‘I think France can win it, not because I am French but because maybe we have the best team. They do have the best team.’