Thierry Henry, a show-stopper on the pitch, effortlessly transferred his flair to the coaching scene after he hung up his boots. The skilful forward, who delivered a treasure trove of moments in an Arsenal shirt and claimed Champions League glory with Barcelona, bid adieu to his illustrious playing career in 2014 before quickly turning his hand to punditry and coaching.
In August 2016, Henry ventured into his first significant assignment when he joined Roberto Martinez's staff as an assistant coach for Belgium's national team.
Not one to put aside his dazzling on-field instincts, Henry made quite an impression on Belgian marksman Romelu Lukaku. The former Manchester United and Chelsea ace relished the chance to reflect on Henry's skills in a memorable exchange with the French maestro during a 2020 Puma Instagram call.
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Reminiscing over past training sessions, Lukaku lauded Henry, saying: "I think, in the national team when you were there, I think for us, the strikers, we had maybe the best time we could have ever had because the competition was there.
"Everyone played at a high level, thanks to you. We constantly wanted to do better, outdo each other. And even you were joining in the competition! That was the funny part. You may have been retired, but it was not visible at times."
The legendary forward concluded his career with New York Red Bulls where he demonstrated his undimmed prowess, bowing out mere months after contributing a goal and three assists against Columbus Crew, etching his name as the club's top assist provider.
Lukaku further recalled a training incident to Henry, continuing: "I remember when my brother came, and he was like, 'You did this skill in training', but I'm not going to say any names, but the player left the pitch," followed by a quick interjection from Henry: "No, don't."
"Jordan [his brother and team-mate] came to me," Lukaku continued. "He said, 'Rom! I've seen some s*** today! Damn!' He was like, 'Damn man, that s*** was crazy!'"
After his departure from the national team in 2018, Henry had an unsuccessful stint at his old club, AS Monaco, before moving to Montreal Impact in Canada. He later returned to the Belgium national set-up only for them to suffer a group stage exit at the Qatar World Cup.
Henry then took the reins of the France U21 side and led their Olympic team at Paris 2024 to a silver medal. He is currently without a coaching role, opting instead to provide punditry for American broadcaster CBS.
