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26th Aug 2016

Thierry Henry named as new Belgium assistant manager

He has been appointed as Roberto Martinez's No 2

Rob Burnett

Well we didn’t see this coming.

Roberto Martinez took over as manager of the Belgian national side this summer after he was sacked by Everton at the end of last season.

And now his first act has been to hire an assistant – and it’s not the first name we would have gone for.

When you’re a manager who is associated with fluid, attacking football but one whose teams have always struggled with defensive solidity, naturally you would appoint a defence-minded assistant to help with that side of the game.

Think Arsene Wenger and Steve Bould at Arsenal, for instance.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Arsenal assistant manager Steve Bould and manager Arsene Wenger look on during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Benfica at the Emirates Stadium on August 2, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

 

So who is Martinez’s choice for his No 2? Thierry Henry. Naturally.

Yes the former France star and Arsenal’s all time leading goalscorer is joining Martinez in the dug-out for the Red Devils (not those ones).

It is the most unlikely manager pairing since Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane, but then that didn’t work out too badly for the Republic of Ireland.

Still, the question remains: who is going to do the defensive coaching?

Henry won’t even know about defending corners since he used to take them for Arsenal.

Still, there will be goals.

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