THIERRY HENRY is a contender to land the Belgium national team job, according to reports.
The position has been made vacant after Domenico Tedesco was sacked.
ReutersThierry Henry managed France at the Olympics last summer[/caption]
AFPDomenico Tedesco has been sacked by Belgium[/caption]
Tedesco, 39, had been in charge of the Belgian Red Devils since 2023.
He guided them to the Euro 2024 round of 16, before a run of two wins in 10 games saw him axed.
According to Belgian outlet Le Soir, Henry has emerged as a contender to land the job.
They add that federation chiefs have also considered Erik ten Hag, Mark van Bommel and Xavi, although none of these three remain in contention.
Henry worked as Roberto Martinez‘s assistant manager with Belgium between 2016 and 2018, and again from 2021 to 2023.
He briefly took charge of Monaco during the 2018-19 season, but was sacked after winning just four of his 20 games at the helm.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona forward managed MLS side CF Montreal between 2019 and 2021, but won only nine of his 29 matches in charge.
In August 2023 he was named France Under-21s boss, while it was confirmed that he would also take charge of Les Bleus’ Olympic team at Paris 2024.
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AFPHenry, 47, previously worked as Belgium’s assistant manager[/caption]
Following France’s silver medal at the Games, Henry resigned from both roles.
Tedesco’s Belgium exit comes following a row with key man Thibaut Courtois.
The Real Madrid goalkeeper had been overlooked for the captaincy in favour of Kevin De Bruyne, but was vice-skipper alongside Romelu Lukaku.
In August, Courtois revealed that he would not be available for selection while Tedesco remained in charge.
On their falling out he told Belgian outlet Sporza: “Look, if my departure was purely about the captaincy, I would have already resigned in March [when Tedesco chose De Bruyne].
“Kevin as captain? No problem. But then you had Romelu and I as vice-captains without hierarchy.
‘SOMETHING SNAPPED INSIDE ME’
“When he said that Romelu was captain against Austria and I was captain against Estonia on Tuesday, something snapped inside me. I couldn’t handle it anymore.
“The fact that I no longer felt appreciation from the federation and trainer made something explode within me.
“The coach made no effort to find a solution but simply said he would tell the press everything. He wanted to pressure me not to leave and threaten me.
“That is simply not possible, because it was a private conversation. Then there is a breach of trust between the player and the coach.
“Tedesco wanted to launch an attack on me, one he announced the day before. Go ahead, I thought – something like that doesn’t help and creates a breach of trust.
“Moreover, things were leaked to the press the next day, which I know came from his side.”
In addition to Henry, Rudi Garcia has been named as a possible contender for the job.
The Frenchman, 60, most recently had a brief spell in charge of Napoli in 2023.
He has also managed the likes of Lille, Roma, Marseille and Lyon – as well as Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Saudi side Al-Nassr.
ReutersThibaut Courtois quit Belgium duty in August[/caption]
GettyRudi Garcia has also emerged as a contender for the job[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
