An assistant manager to Roberto Martínez for the Belgium national team for quite some time, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry got his full first taste of being a manager at one of his former clubs, AS Monaco.
It didn’t go very well, with him failing to last a whole season, but he’s now landed on his feet at Montréal Impact, where he’s been in charge since November of 2019.
Having worked with the likes of Pep Guardiola, he’s a fan of the beautiful game, which is perhaps why he’s fascinated by what Marcelo Bielsa is doing at Leeds United.
The former Arsenal striker sat down with So Foot for a lengthy interview about what it’s like to be a manager after playing on the pitch for so long, and he feels few are given enough time to put forward their ideas, just like what happened to him at Monaco.
Constantly watching football to learn everything there is to know about in order to better himself and his team, Henry was asked which was the last team to really ‘glue him’ to the TV.
He said: “These days, I like to see Leeds play. It’s extraordinary. I still watch Ligue 1, whether it be Brest or Lens… I don’t follow anyone, so I’m going to watch everything I can”.
And for him, the fact Bielsa is given free-rein and time to put his ideas across is priceless, even if it means they get occasionally beaten.
He added: “Look at what Bielsa is doing in the Premier League: he can win 4-0 or lose 4-0, but in the end, everyone watches Leeds. That’s what I like”.
Perhaps, in a few years time, we might get to see an Henry led Gunners at the Emirates playing football the Bielsa way? Arsenal fans can dream.
