Le Monde | • Updated | Interview by
How do you react to the news of Thierry Henry to end his career? It was an open secret?
At 37, it did indeed surprising. It’s a bit like Johnny necro that is ready in the newsroom! Seriously, with the announcement of his retirement, it is a French football page is turned, a large and glorious page. Moreover, it is also a European football page because Thierry Henry is one of the great players that have marked the world football. And what is remarkable is the length. It has been performing for nearly twenty years. This is not one of those players, as there are many who have blazed for three or four seasons. Twenty years is a major brand.
If you were to keep a picture of Thierry Henry, which would it be?
A picture of World Cup 2006, I have kept. It was after the match against Brazil or Spain, I do not know. Thierry Henry had jumped me. In the photo, we see it in the air with a big smile. He was expressing a true moment of happiness. I often told him to Thierry: “Smile! “ But it was not easy for him to externalize emotions. It’s a shame because he really loved football, the game. Unlike other players, he had no prejudices in relation to so and so. It was not pretentious.
However, in France, Thierry Henry keeps a picture, say, haughty …
In France, yes. But it is an image that does not correspond to reality. Thierry Henry was someone booked a tormented soul. In France, people do not like him. But in England, there was no doubt.
The episode of “the hand of Thierry” against the Blues Ireland qualifies for the 2010 World Has -it definitely not dented his image?
There was a problem with the French public before the episode of the hand. During his 100 th match with the team of France [in June 2008 in a friendly against Colombia] was released booed at the Stade de France! I planned to get him out fifteen minutes before the end of the meeting to the public to pay tribute to him. And it is called. That can only happen in France. In England, they would have stopped the game for five minutes and it would have put a wreath. The least we can say is that it was more complicated for him in France and England.
The hand against Ireland has marked deeply?
We should ask him, but obviously he has resented. And again, there was a strange reaction of the French. Everyone fell desssus him. All moralizing had a field to their heart: “outrageous”, “no one has the right to do that …” Williams Gallas, too, had embarked on this controversy. It was he who scored the goal, but all were criticized Thierry Henry. It fell on him as he fought for this qualification.
This is also why he chose to end his career abroad rather than France?
No, I think not. Many great players end their careers abroad. If we had proposed to me to finish my career in New York, I would not hesitate either. A big city like New York, it was a breath of fresh air for a player like Thierry Henry. He could walk, shopping in the greater anonymity. He could not live as normally in France or England.
Thierry Henry has announced that now work for the British channel Sky Sport. All former world champions in 1998 are scheduled to become TV consultant?
No, what becomes automatic is that the chains called once their career. These are not the players that show up with strings to tell them “Take me, I’m better than your journalists” These are the strings that come to pick them because they want players who have marked the history of football to boost their audiences. Now, for a player who stops his career, consultant, this is the perfect job to stay in the middle. We continue to see and go to the games. And on Sky Sports, it will be well paid. TV consultant, is the ease. Players like Willy Sagnol and Claude Makelele, themselves, who decided to become a coach, did not choose the easy. But maybe if we had not offered to become a consultant, Thierry Henry would be oriented coaching career. Moreover, in three or four years, I’m sure that Thierry Henry will be enough player to the consultant and will want to head to coaching to find the scent of the locker room.
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