In quotes picked up by RTL and L’Équipe, Thierry Henry spoke following being unveiled as the new Head Coach of MLS side Impact Montréal.
“I am coming back in because of my passion for the pitch, it is my life, this is a new departure. I am still in contact with a lot of AS Monaco players. I took something from that experience.”
It has been said that you contacted Montréal Impact yourself. Can you tell us about that?
There are things that have been done in the rules of the game. Everyone was aware that I did not have a job. There was a meeting with Kevin (Gilmore, the President) and Olivier (Renaud, Sporting Director), then an agreement, a mutual desire to work together. I came here in 2011 to play a friendly with my last team (New York Red Bulls) and I fell in love with the city. I also have an attachment to the MLS so it went very quickly. For me, this is an extraordinary city and a very big market. Not many people are aware of that, but me, yes.
What have you taken from your time with AS Monaco today?
I have already spoken about it. I have maximum respect for the club because that is where I started. It did not work, but I wish them the best. We win or we learn and I learned a lot there. You need to know how to rebound, that is everyone’s story. The only mistake is to learn nothing. It was a nice experience to learn from and I am very happy to be here today, to be the coach of Impact Montréal.
Since your departure through retirement in 2014, have you been following the MLS?
I have not watched all the matches, especially being in Europe but I have followed it a lot. During my career, it has changed a lot and now even more. When you see the clubs that are incoming, the full stadia, the happy people. I don’t have any particular expectations but it is good to see how the league has evolved. People speak about it everywhere. For me, that’s great.
Do you feel ready for this new challenge at a club that typically has a high turnover of managers?
That is not the sort of thing that I think about. Sometimes things go well, sometimes they don’t. I had a good experience with Belgium, a little less well with Monaco but I learned a lot in a difficult situation. I have no fear, I can only see positives because I have played here and I have seen people’s passion.