Former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was officially unveiled as France U21 manager at the French FA’s headquarters in Paris on Tuesday. At a press conference attended by GFFN, the former Arsenal man justified his choice of returning to management, and why he took on his role despite his other punditry-related obligations.
“I was not fulfilled,” began the Frenchman when asked about his TV work. “I love the pitch and to help people learn and understand things.” The former Monaco and Montreal manager went on to say “You simply don’t refuse the French National team. I love working with young players and it was only a plus to add to my life.”
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Henry, who was most recently the assistant coach of Belgium under Roberto Martinez, explained that he was missing the ‘thrill’ of life as a coach, “I had a life and lived well – but I was missing a part of my life that thrilled me.“
The Frenchman announced that he would be continuing work with CBS Sport alongside Micah Richards, Kate Abdo, and Jamie Carragher – but he would not be continuing with Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of Ligue 1.
The 1998 World Cup winner has signed a two year contract with French FA, and was overwhelmingly the favourite for the job after Sylvain Ripoll lost his job following France U21’s Euro elimination. He is joined by former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Gael Clichy in his coaching staff.
GFFN | George Boxall
