Thierry Henry has been appointed as Montreal Impact’s head coach, signing a two-year deal.
Former Arsenal legend has joined the Major League Soccer side until 2021, with an option for a further year.
Henry, just 42 years of age, has a good deal of experience in the coaching field. He started his second career in February 2015, when he was coaching the Gunners’ youth teams.
Just over a year later, he was appointed as the forwards’ coach for Belgium under head coach Roberto Martinez. He eventually stayed there until 2018 where he helped the Red Devils reach the quarter-final. He also provided a positive effect on players such as Romelu Lukaku, who had words of praise for the Frenchman.
“He’s helped me so much. My awareness, my skills, my shooting, my control, where I have to be on the field, scoring goals out of nowhere.’’
Henry was promoted to assistant coach but didn’t last long in that position after he was offered the head coach role at Monaco.
Unfortunately for Henry, he was dismissed by the board four months later, with a record of four wins, five draws and 11 defeats.
Montreal impact are desperate for a redemption after a challenging season; they finished ninth out of 12 clubs in the Eastern conference, with an embarrassing 17 defeats.
Montreal will also be relying on Henry’s experience considering he spent five seasons in the MLS with New York Red Bulls. He scored on 52 occasions in 122 appearances.
His name as head coach will be potentially attracting some big names in the coming transfer windows, which could make his return to the MLS even more intriguing.