Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has admitted that he would be interested in the job of coaching the United States men’s team. The former star forward for the Gunners, Barcelona and New York Red Bulls has been a coach since 2015.
CBS Sports presenter Kate Abdo asked Henry directly about the job opportunity during the Champions League on Wednesday. “Would you put my name in the hat? First of all, it’s hard to talk about it,” Henry said. “Roberto Martínez went to train in Portugal and I am not going with him. Being number two is not something I would like to do anymore.”
“Huge respect for the boss, he gave me a chance when no one else did. I would like to have a crack [at management] again.”
The former striker has experience as a coach in MLS
Henry has held managerial positions twice before, but neither was particularly successful. He managed to win just four of 20 total games during his stint with Monaco in 2018. He then moved to the Montreal Impact the following year. Henry earned just nine wins in 29 games with the Major League Soccer team. However, the former striker admitted that conditions were difficult in Montreal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We talked the other day about how difficult it was in Montreal because of COVID. We play all the games away from home. That was tough, I’ll be honest,” Henry admitted. Due to the closure of international borders, Montreal had to play a portion of its home games in New Jersey.
“Do I know the [American] players? Yes, I know the players. Do I know the league? Yeah, I know the league,” Henry also stated. “It’s a different ball game to talk about it now, but would I want to be a manager at any level? Yes, of course, that’s something I’d like to do.”
Henry wants clarification on the direction of USMNT
The legend also admitted that he would need to discuss the direction of the team with US Soccer before potentially committing to the job. “But to get back to the US national team and the US in general, what’s the plan? What is the philosophy? What do you want to be?”
Fellow Paramount+ contributor Jamie Carragher followed up on Henry’s comments about USMNT’s work by imploring US Soccer to consider the former Arsenal striker. “US Soccer, come on,” Carragher yelled. You know what you have to do! Name the man!
The USMNT is currently being led by interim head coach Anthony Hudson. Former head coach Gregg Berhalter is still under investigation for a domestic violence incident and his future with the team is up in the air. Hudson will remain as acting boss for the foreseeable future.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Fotoarena
