Thierry Henry, the new coach of the French junior team, is gradually leaving his mark on the Bleuets, a talented generation aiming for an Olympic medal at the Paris Games.
Pleasure, high standards, performance and kindness are the key words of the Thierry Henry method, appointed coach of the French junior team at the end of last August. A method that has evolved since his first stint on the bench, in Monaco in 2018. “Luckily I changed“, he slips at a press conference, before the Bleuets’ meeting on Tuesday October 17 against Cyprus (6:30 p.m.), in the qualifiers for Euro 2025. Known for being uncompromising with himself but also with others, Henry thought and still analyzed like a player. But his experience at Impact Montreal in 2020 was a pivotal moment in his young career.
The Covid year has changed me a lot. You find yourself in a hotel for four months playing away matches, having to manage egos, it’s not always easy.
Thierry Henry,during a press conference
“We learn a lot on a human level. It really helped me. I can tell you that six years ago, I don’t think I would have had the same speech, but that’s a bit normal too“, rewinds the second top scorer in the history of the Blues. He therefore knew how to put water in his wine. “You get an education and sometimes it’s the players who re-educate you. Especially with the new codes, what they have to manage and which we didn’t have to manage.“
A rigid frame, to then offer more freedom
This is one of the words that comes up so often: the framework. Thierry Henry relies on rules to be respected, on and off the field, to subsequently give more freedom to his players. “These are professional methods, we set a collective working framework where within this framework, everyone must flourish“, explains for Franceinfo his assistant at the Bleuets, Gérald Baticle. “He is demanding in performance. But the idea is to have fun on and off the field, that the players want to come to the junior selection and that we help them to perform. And whether in their group life, in moments of sharing life, they must have fun on the pitch.“
But there are basic rules to respect: Thierry Henry, for example, does not compromise on punctuality. “If a player arrives late at the table, he must serve one of his teammates throughout the meal.“, a regular from the hopefuls group tells France Info. The same goes if there is a delay in catching the bus, the latecomer will not be waited for. A question of respect.
Players in tune
Henry, a “passionate, inhabited“by football says Gérald Baticle, loves discussing the subject with players and staff. Friendly, accommodating, he knows how to put the right distance when necessary. He also listens to the advice of his assistants.”He is very open, we have a lot of discussions, and I always try to argue as much as possible to, at the right moment, bring him choices to make, headaches to have.” Baticle explains, all smiles. “Then at other times, I make sure that he doesn’t have any headaches so that he is lucid“.
A method that seems to please players. “We have a lot of respect for the player he was and the coach he is.“, advances, admiringly, the Monegasque midfielder Maghnes Akliouche to France Info. “He’s a legend, he left his mark on football, so we’re very attentive to the advice he can give us“.
Thierry Henry, an iron fist in a velvet glove. “The players were involved, engaged in this process“, concludes Gérald Baticle. “The moments when it’s fun, it’s fun. The moments when you have to be serious are total seriousness, the search for efficiency and performance“. Efficiency and performance are there for the moment, since the Bleuets have won their first three matches under Thierry Henry.