Thierry Henry: Future France Coach After Zidane?

Thierry Henry has already felt the weight of a nation on his shoulders from the touchline. He did it in Paris at the 2024 Olympic Games, steering France’s Under-23s all the way to a final against Spain. It ended in extra-time heartbreak and silver medals for Michael Olise and his teammates, not gold, but it was a reminder: Henry is more than a legendary No. 12. He is a coach with serious ambitions.

For now, he is back in the studio, dissecting games rather than directing them. The 48-year-old has dipped in and out of management: a short, testing spell in the Monaco dugout, a stint in MLS with Montreal Impact, a role alongside Roberto Martinez in the Belgium national team setup. The CV is varied, the appetite clearly undimmed. He is keeping his options open, waiting for the right offer rather than any offer.

France National Team

There is one job that will always stir something deeper. France. The senior side. The seat that has just been vacated by Didier Deschamps after a 14-year reign that delivered the 2018 World Cup and the UEFA Nations League. A position that now passes to another icon of 1998, another Ballon d’Or winner, another totem of a golden generation: Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane’s appointment marks his first role outside Real Madrid, where he built a reputation as a serial winner and a master of tournament football over two spells. In France, expectations are no lower. He inherits a squad stacked with talent: Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, and a supporting cast that most international coaches can only dream of.

The natural question follows. When Zidane’s time eventually ends, could the class of ’98 produce a third straight France manager? Could Henry be next?

Jeremie Aliadiere, another member of that famous Arsenal “Invincibles” side and a man who knows Henry well, sees no reason to rule it out. Speaking to GOAL in association with ToonieBet, he did not hesitate.

“Why not? I'm sure Thierry will be delighted to get the job,” Aliadiere said. He pointed straight to Henry’s work in Paris. “We've seen how patriotic he is and how much he loves France. We saw him during the Olympic Games in 2024 as well. He's had a great tournament there. I'm sure that'll be in the back of his mind and he will love to get the opportunity at some point.”

The path is clear but the bar is absurdly high. Deschamps leaves behind an era defined by deep runs. World champions in 2018, regulars in semi-finals and finals, a team that has lived at the sharp end of major tournaments for a decade. Aliadiere knows Zidane is stepping into a role where anything short of a trophy quickly feels like failure.

“Zidane in France is something different and now we've touched the gods. Zidane will always be Zidane,” he said. “So I wish and I really hope that he succeeds and everything goes well.

“Because as much as Deschamps didn't win this World Cup, he's still all the time going to semis, to finals, won in 2018. So you just think it's still going to be a challenge for Zidane to get over the line.

“Because the next step now really for Zidane, he has to win something. He can't just come and then do a semi-final or a quarter-finals. And we know how hard it is to win it. Only one team can. And we know with England as well. They've been in tournaments lately where they are so close but not quite there. So you just start losing patience. Hopefully Zidane can do it.”

The demand is clear: with this France squad, finals are not enough. Zidane has to lift silverware.

On that point, Aliadiere is bullish about the future. The core of this group is still young, still hungry, still building towards its peak. Asked whether France will remain among the favourites for European Championships and World Cups in the coming years, he did not hesitate.

“Yeah, 100%. I think so,” he said. “I think as much as people might say that Didier Deschamps has only one World Cup, that is obviously more than a lot of anyone else. But you just think what he's done in terms of leading the team with such a great squad and great talent.

“Zidane's going to come in and he hasn't got a lot to do really. Everything's already set for him to succeed.”

The structure is there. The culture is there. The talent keeps coming.

Aliadiere rattled off the names that hint at how deep this pool really is. “[Rayan] Cherki who couldn't get much minutes in there, he'll be in for two years, four years. You think about [Hugo] Ekitike who was injured before it. It's like the names that you've got and the talent you've got, I think Zidane now has just got to put his little magic on it and then make it work.”

That is the task for Zidane: add his “little magic” to a machine already built to dominate. If he does, the trophies should follow. If they do, the France job will remain the most coveted seat in the country.

And somewhere down the line, if the class of ’98 is asked to deliver again from the bench, Henry will be waiting, Olympic silver around his neck, eyes still fixed on the one French prize he has never yet claimed as a coach.