Thierry Henry Amazes Belgium Stars In First Day As Assistant Coach, Will Donate Wage To Charity

Thierry Henry has officially started his new career as an international coach following his decision to become the new assistant coach of the Belgium national soccer team.

Thierry Henry Amazes Belgium Stars In First Day As Assistant Coach

The 39-year-old former Arsenal striker and France international was confirmed as manager Roberto Martinez’s new assistant on Friday afternoon.

Since retiring from the sport in 2014– having last played for the New York Red Bulls– Henry has worked as a pundit for Sky Sports, thus combining his television career with his UEFA coaching course.

He had previously been working as a coach at Arsenal, although he left the role earlier this year after manager Arsene Wenger expressed concerns over his broadcasting commitments.

Now, the former France national team superstar has already had an impact on some of Belgium’s top players.

Forward Michy Batshuayi, who joined Chelsea earlier this summer in a £30m deal, hailed the impact of Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer.

“Not sure I ever listened to my parents like this,” the 22-year-old tweeted, with the hashtag ‘#LearnFromTheBest.’

Belgium face Spain in an international friendly on Thursday before beginning their World Cup qualification campaign against Cyprus on Tuesday.

Henry played a strong role in the Red Devils’ training session, running drills and giving Belgian players, including Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, several one-on-one tutorials.

Belgium are currently second in the FIFA world rankings.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Henry revealed he was unable to resist the offer from Martinez, a Spaniard who formerly managed Premier League club Everton.

“Being able to be part of Belgium and working with Roberto Martinez, who has been in the game a very long time, and learn under him is going to be key for me,” said Henry. “Let’s see how far we go but yes, eventually, if you work well and you go through the right process then maybe one day, why not (I’ll become a manager).

“You need to understand you can do it. The team has the quality to do it. We all know how hard it is to make a team be a team but that is the aim.”

Henry also plans to donate his salary from his role as Belgium’s assistant coach to charity, according to Sport/Foot Magazine. 

Sport/Foot Magazine reported on Wednesday that the Frenchman will hand over his annual salary for the role, thought to be around €50,000, ($55,800) to charity organizations in Belgium.

The magazine states Henry made the decision for two reasons: Firstly, he is already guaranteed a reported £4 million ($5.25 million) per year through his long-term contract with Sky Sports. Secondly, he is grateful for the opportunity to work with the team ranked No. 2 in the world despite having earned little coaching experience thus far.