Thierry Henry’s journey in management has been fraught with challenges, but it has now yielded unexpected rewards, evident in his heartfelt and emotional press conference on Thursday. Henry, who will lead a youthful French team into the Olympic final against Spain on Friday night, spoke passionately for nearly 40 minutes about his country, his patriotism, and the poetic completion of their journey at the Parc des Princes, near his childhood home in Les Ulis.’I don’t usually go into the extremes but I’m living a dream, really, and it will be hard to wake up,’ he said, expressing how these Olympics have temporarily healed the racial divisions that marred French politics earlier in the summer.’I don’t know how to say this… When we put our minds to it, no one can stop us. We needed this after what happened before the Olympics started. When we unite, we are a beautiful country.’At 46, Henry’s relationship with French football fans has had its ups and downs, but recently, he’s shown a newfound warmth and paternal care with the Espoirs — “the hopefuls” or “the Crazies,” as he affectionately calls them. A viral video of him dancing after their semi-final win over Egypt, with his players recording him, has captured the public’s imagination.Thierry Henry 😂🕺🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/tlrbIQZtYH— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) August 5, 2024 Henry’s initial hopes of including star players like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, or Olivier Giroud among the three over-age players allowed in the Olympics were dashed. Likewise, young talents such as Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga and Manchester United’s Leny Yoro were unavailable. Some of France’s early performances were shaky.However, Henry, whose previous managerial stints at Monaco and Montreal Impact were not successful, has instilled a sense of optimism.’What can be your poison sometimes can be your medicine,’ he said, when asked how it felt to manage such youngsters. ‘Those guys do things they shouldn’t be doing at the end of games — not keeping balls in the corner flag — but they will also do something, because you are young and that means you are learning. They are re-educating me, teaching me that at times I need to let go. These guys do things you are not supposed to do and it works and you then think, “That works?”.’Paris Olympics: The roar from the Atlas! Lions take the bronze medal!Among his squad are Alexandre Lacazette, now at Marseille, and Michael Olise, who moved from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich this summer and contributed a goal and an assist in their 3-1 comeback win over Egypt.’You rarely have players like Michael,’ Henry said. ‘It’s his will. He wanted to play for the French team. This gives me the chills because before he announced the decision we didn’t know what he wanted to do. He could have gone and played for England, but this is his dream.’There is a sense of historical destiny for the French team. They won the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and members of that team will be present at the Parc des Princes. That same year, France also won the European Championship, defeating Spain 2-0 in the final.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Henry spoke movingly about the personal significance of his children seeing him in a competitive environment for the first time.’It’s something better than anything you can win, having your family and kids watching you. I’ve never had that before. If you’re not emotional about that, you have a problem.’Spain & France will compete for the Olympic Gold medal this time. The last time a European country won an Olympic Gold in Men’s Football was in 1992. LOOOOOOOL! pic.twitter.com/T4pesYPbgG— Revenant (@HereHeIsAgain) August 8, 2024 Despite the emotional stakes, Henry cautioned his players not to let the occasion overwhelm them. ‘You’ve got to feel it, but don’t become it.’Describing the magic of playing at the Parc des Princes, Henry said, ‘Parc des Princes is George Weah, David Ginola, Bernard Lama,’ he said. ‘I can still see images of Ginola playing in here. It’s the Parc des Princes — what can I say? It’s everything.’Spain defeat France 2-0 to win the U19 Euros 🏆🇪🇸They’re now the reigning champions in:▪️ Women’s World Cup▪️ Men’s Euros▪️ Men’s Nations League▪️ Women’s Nations League▪️ Women’s U20 World Cup▪️ Women’s U17 World Cup▪️ Women’s U17 Euros▪️ Women’s U19 Euros▪️ Men’s… pic.twitter.com/iIp79abLvZ— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 28, 2024 L’Equipe has hinted that a victory on Friday might lead to the US approaching Henry to coach their team at the 2028 LA Olympics, even as France’s FA aims to retain him. But first, there’s a night of immense significance for the French team.’We have this vision of a gold medal and we find ourselves in this situation, so we can keep the dream alive,’ Henry said. ‘We go for the gold medal, as we wanted to from the start.’OLYMPIC GAMES – MEN’S FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTBronze-medal matchThursdayEgypt – Morocco 0-6 (0-2)/Ezzalzouli 23, Rahimi 26, 64, El Khannous 51, Nakach 73, Hakimi 87/Gold-medal matchFriday19.00: (2.45) France (3.15) Spain (3.05)***odds are subject to change***
