Could Thierry Henry be the next U.S. men’s national team head coach? He at least isn’t saying no to the possibility.
The USMNT is without a coach after Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired at the end of 2022. As U.S. Soccer also searches for a sporting director, federation president Cindy Parlow Cone has said to not expect a new USMNT coach until the end of summer.
Henry is an intriguing candidate to take over the USMNT. He was, of course, one of the greatest players of his generation, with his playing career including a stop in MLS with the New York Red Bulls.
After his retirement, Henry has served as head coach of Monaco and CF Montréal, while also taking in two separate stints as Roberto Martinez’s assistant with the Belgium national team.
Though his head coaching stints have been brief, Henry brings a unique combination of high-level playing success, coaching experience at the club and international level, and familiarity with American soccer.
Henry currently serves as a pundit for CBS Sports, where he was asked by host Kate Abdo on Wednesday if he would be interested in the USMNT job.
"Would you put your name in the hat?" @Kate_Abdo asks Thierry Henry whether he wants the #USMNT job. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/W7ygBpSfCi
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 15, 2023
“Would I put my name in the hat? First and foremost, that’s a tricky one to talk about,” Henry said. “Roberto Martinez went to coach Portugal and I’m not going with him. Being a number two is no longer something I would like to do. Massive respect for the boss, he gave me an opportunity when no one else did. I’d like to have a crack [at management] again.”
“Do I know the [American] players? Yeah, I know the players. Do I know the league? Yeah, I know the league. It’s a different ballgame to talk about it now like that, but would I want to be a manager at any level? Yes, of course, that’s something I would want to do. But to go back to the U.S. national team and the U.S. in general, what’s the plan? What’s the philosophy? What do you want to be?
“And it’s not because you’re going to host the [World Cup] that you’re going to go far automatically. We’ve seen that it’s not easy to do that. We’ve seen some big teams [struggle] at home.”
The question for any candidate now is whether they will still be available in several months, when U.S. Soccer will begin the process of hiring. Henry, at least, is currently employed at a position from which it would not be hard to leave should the right offer come along.
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