Thierry Henry: 'You have to start somewhere, that’s how you acquire experience'

"It’s about coming back, always. You have to get up and be in front of what happens. The only mistake that you can make is not learning from what happened.” Those were the words of the new Montreal Impact manager and legendary footballer Thierry Henry at his first press conference for the Major League Soccer (MLS) club. Henry was announced as the manager last week by the American club.

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Return to America

This is Henry's second professional involvement in American football, or 'soccer' - as the Americans like to call it. Henry played for the New York Red Bulls between 2010 and 2014. Henry subsequently retired from professional football and went on to take up roles as a football pundit and also coached with the Arsenal youth team, the assistant coach to Roberto Martinez for the Belgium national football team, leading them to the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Club. Henry also had a short stint as the coach of Ligue 1 club, Monaco. 

At the press conference, Henry said, "I fell in love with this city. I also have a relationship with MLS so it was really quick for me. Also, like [sporting director] Olivier [Renard] said, his vision and his way of seeing the game was quick [to agree with]. This is an extraordinary city and a big market, not a lot of people are aware of that, but I am."

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He further spoke about learning as a coach and seeking experiences. He said, "You have to start somewhere. That’s who you acquire experience, for me with Belgium and Monaco, where I learned a lot about myself. It’s about fighting. This isn’t just my story but the story of everyone in life. Everyone falls. It's about how you get up.” 

Henry now has time to adjust to the city, the club and the general running of the club. He will be leading the club from January 2020 onwards, when the team meets ahead of the new MLS season. 

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