Montreal and Thierry Henry: Why the hell not?
On Thursday, the Montreal Impact unveiled Thierry Henry as their new head coach. While the decision may ultimately backfire, for the Impact, why not take a punt on an MLS legend?
The mediocrity of Major League Soccer is nowhere interesting to be. Sometimes you might make the playoffs. Other seasons, you will narrowly miss out. There is little to look forward. Your rivals often outperform you. In essence, you become boring, and there are few things worse to be than boring.
The Montreal Impact are boring. They have finished ninth, seventh and ninth in the Eastern Conference in the last three years. They failed to qualify for the playoffs on each occasion, though narrowly every year. They have never been in MLS Cup but have reached the Conference Finals once. Their only trophy is the Canadian Championship, which they won for the first time in five years this season in large part because Toronto FC played a weakened side in the first leg.
But this is not to say they are bad. They ended the season with a 3-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls. Ignacio Piatti has been one of the premier players in MLS for the past half-decade. There are capable players in their midst. But first with Remi Garde at the helm and then Wilmer Cabrera, rarely were the Montreal Impact interesting.
And so, with this in mind, and potentially recognising the importance of brand value in an increasingly commercially aware modern MLS, Montreal made a splash move this offseason, not exercising a 2020 option in Cabrera’s contract and turning to the one and only Thierry Henry to lead them forward.
Henry, for what it is worth, is tremendously excited about the opportunity:
"“It’s an honor to coach the Montreal Impact and return to MLS. It’s a league I know well, in which I had some very nice moments. To be in Quebec, in Montreal, which has an enormous multicultural heritage, it’s extraordinary. I’ve always kept an eye on the club and now I’m here.”"
It is a sentiment echoed by Impact president and CEO Kevin Gilmore, who was keen to extol the qualities of one of the greatest footballers in the history of the sport:
"“Henry will bring a new energy to our club. He shares our vision to elevate this club and will help us achieve our goals on and off the field. He is a competitor and a leader who has proven himself at the highest level throughout his career. He now brings these qualities with him to Montreal, a place he wants to be.”"
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Perhaps part of the reason why Gilmore is so effusive in his praise of Henry is that the Frenchman’s last and only head coaching role was a tremendously unsuccessful one, flaming out at Monaco. He lasted a little over three months, managed only 20 games, losing 11 of them, and left Monaco at 19th in Ligue 1.
The jury is very much still out on his coaching qualities. He has taken his UEFA licenses and he also has experience with the Arsenal youth system and Belgium national team under Roberto Martinez, but based on his record thus far, it would be fair to say that he is not nearly as good a coach as he was a player.
Nevertheless, for the Montreal Impact, why not take a shot? Henry is a legendary footballer, he is in a rare position of also understanding the nuances of MLS having played for the New York Red Bulls, and he might just inspire players who likely cannot believe their luck to be playing under such an individual.
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And amidst all of this, Henry’s appointment makes Montreal interesting. They will garner national attention purely because of their head coach. The cynic might say this is why they hired him, and there is some truth in that, but what exactly have the Impact got to lose here? So, I say to Henry and the Montreal Impact, ‘why the hell not?’