The Paper's reporter Chen Jun intern Wu Yang
Henry directs Fertonghen.
During the European Championship, the Belgian team circulated such a story. In a training session for the team, an assistant coach was teaching players set pieces, and he easily scored a direct free kick with his left foot, which he was not good at, and the goalkeeper did not react.
The Belgian team has a lot of talented players, de Bruyne, Lukaku, Hazard and other stars are all free kick masters, but in just one instant, the assistant coach conquered them.
His name is Henry, a legendary superstar of history. Now he is belgium's chief assistant coach, the team's unique big brother.
Henry leads belgian players in training.
The angry players left the training ground directly
"We trained for half an hour and scored a couple of goals, but Henry beat us with his left foot and that was the most important thing. We still have a game tomorrow, is this good? ”
Lukaku exclaimed: "This guy has been retired for almost 10 years, but he broke through the players of our entire national team and his goal beat all of us. ”
In fact, this scene is not unfamiliar, in The revelations of Lukaku and the media, the last time Henry entered the Belgian coaching staff in 2016-2018, he had a similar operation, "Once the coach juggled and humiliated one of our teammates, so angry that he left the training ground directly, who is he?" I still won't reveal his name. ”
At present, Belgium has ended the journey of the European Championship, and the "golden generation" has left people's vision with a lamentable and regrettable attitude, but the story about the Belgian team and a French assistant coach may not end here, as the national team welcomed back Henry in May this year, the official tweeted, "The legendary unfinished business, let us welcome Thierry." ”
In next year's World Cup, the duo may have one last chance to hit the top, after all, there is already too much beauty between them.
Henry communicates with the Belgian players.
Could it be that Henry was a bad coach?
Henry's encounter with the Belgian national team was somewhat fortuitous.
Because the most brilliant stages of his career were spent at Arsenal, after retiring at the end of 2014, Henry also chose Arsenal for his first stop, when he was the coach of the club's youth team. However, because Sky Sports did not protect Arsenal when he explained the game, Wenger was a bit angry, which made Henry determined to leave the team.
It was definitely not a pleasant experience for the Frenchman's heart, and even made him a little sad, and it was at this delicate moment that Belgium coach Martinez extended an olive branch and invited him to serve as his assistant coach.
Henry thought the burden on the assistant coach would be lighter, after all, the focus of public opinion was on the head coach – so in August 2016 he accepted the invitation, and the salary was only 8,000 euros per month.
The first experience of following the Belgian national team was memorable to Henry, who reached the final four of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, only to lose to the final champions, France, in the semi-finals.
At that time, Henry revealed that it was difficult for him to face Deschamps, a former national team teammate, "That feeling makes you a little strange." ”
Henry and Martinez.
After the World Cup, Henry left the Belgian national team to coach Monaco in Ligue 1 and Montreal in the Us major leagues, but neither experience was successful.
Especially in Monaco, in 104 days of coaching, I only won 4 victories and had to leave class... Could it be that Henry was a bad coach?
In the eyes of professionals, Henry is a competent coach, but Henry met the wrong team at the wrong time - when he coached his former parent team, Monaco was in the relegation zone and the club's top brass simply did not have enough patience.
Winger Ronnie López, who used to play for Monaco, admired Henry, revealing to Athletic: "It was a very difficult time for Henry because 17 players in the team were injured and the strikers who played in the Champions League were only 18 years old, even if they were good. ”
"He doesn't have enough time, but his training sessions are good, the ideas are good and attractive."
What particularly puzzled López was that "when the players were recovering from injuries and the team began to develop as expected, the club fired him. Before he was fired, I could see signs from training that the team was getting better. ”
Deschamps also believes that Henry has all the qualities to be a good coach, and le Grage, president of the French Football Association, always looks back at the national team and Henry's missing hand: "Our vision at that time was a bit narrow, and Henry's connection with the French Football Association was not close. Life is like that. He has lived in England all year round and I have very little contact with him. ”
The bond between the players and the manager
The pain of the club's coaching experience can only be erased by the Belgian national team.
Henry is the kind of coach who can deeply influence the players, and Lukaku has always been in contact with him, calling him a "mentor".
When Henry first entered the Belgian coaching staff, the young international Tillermans also established close ties with him, and when Henry took over Monaco, Tillermans had already received invitations from Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, but because of Henry's relationship, Tillermans chose to stay in Monaco.
People familiar with the matter recalled, "Until one day, Henry was fired. As soon as he got out of class, Tillermans decided to go to England. If Henry had stayed in Monaco, none of this would have happened. ”
In fact, even Belgian coach Martinez has a crush on Henry. Speaking to the Team newspaper after leaving monaco, Martinez said: "Belgium's doors are always open to him. ”
Henry mingled with the Belgian players.
Martinez is well aware of Henry's ability and charisma, and belgian players believe that Henry is the perfect link between the player and the manager.
When Henry first walked into the Belgian dressing room, he was fascinated by some of the players — Benteke and Batshuayi had put up posters of Henry in their bedrooms as children; Henry sometimes trained with the players, and he was in pretty good shape, speaking fluent English, French and Spanish at the same time, and was closer to the dressing room than the English-speaking Martinez.
During the 2018 World Cup, Henry was primarily responsible for attacking set-pieces, and he devised tactics with captain Kompany to help Belgium beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
Knowing that Brazilian coach Tate had visited City's training ground before the World Cup, Pep Guardiola had noticed that Brazil had adopted a defensive structure similar to Manchester City's, and explained to Henry the similarities between the two teams' defenses, both Thierry and Compani thought that such defenses could be cracked by passing the ball to the front post...
As a result, Belgium's first goal was a oolong ball scored by Fernandinho from a corner, and their tactics proved crucial.
Henry's physical condition remained good.
"I'm like brothers to this legend"
On the occasion of this year's European Championship, the BBC and Henry had negotiated a commentary on an expert commentary mission, and in a statement on May 20, he had even signed a contract with the BBC.
However, within 10 days, Martinez persuaded him to return to the Belgian coaching staff – and it was clear that Henry was still eager to prove himself on the football pitch.
A Belgian national team insider said that Henry and Martinez have a clear division of labor, "Henry and all the players talk, he is a perfect person, and Martinez must focus on the whole team." ”
In the Belgian national team, Henry was photographed playing basketball with Hazard and Benteke, and in the group stage victory over Russia, he pulled Lukaku to the bench several times to coach.
"Sometimes the coach comes to have tea with us or play games and he'll take Benteke and Hazard with him. We also spent a lot of time on the game video, where he pointed out our mistakes and told us what to do. Lukaku said.
Lukaku also wrote an article in the Players Forum Network describing his relationship with Henry, "When I was a kid, we didn't have the money to watch Henry play. And now I can learn from him every day. I am with this legend, as close as brothers. ”
At present, Henry's contract with the Belgian national team will expire after this European Championship, and there are also rumors that there are already teams that have expressed interest in Henry, and Bournemouth has even negotiated with him when the coaching position is vacant, but without success.
According to foreign media analysis, if there is no suitable club manager position, it is not ruled out that Henry will continue to travel to Qatar with belgium next year.
Perhaps, it will really be the absolute sound of him and the Belgian "golden generation".
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas