Despite all his achievements, Zinedine Zidane is still not unanimously admired in France. The Les Bleus legend, who now dreams of managing the French national team, has come in for some harsh criticism from the father of Thierry Henry, his former team-mate.
French national team legends Thierry Henry and Zinédine Zidane left their mark on the history of football, notably between 1998 and 2006, when they won a World Cup, a Euro and two world finals. While their relationship seems cordial, comments made by Tony Henry, father of the former France striker, have thrown a spanner in the works.
During a live chat in 2018, Tony Henry, father of Arsenal’s all-time top scorer, spoke out vehemently about Zidane, in particular going back over the episode of the headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final. “The headbutt? What’s more, the guy comes out of Germany, he’s the best player! The guy kills Materazzi, and I know exactly what happened, I wouldn’t say. But he’s grown up, he’s grown up! And what’s more, Zizou has 18 red cards in his career, that’s huge,” he began, as relayed by parlons-basket. According to him, Zidane’s image should not have remained intact after this incident.
He went on to say that his son Thierry Henry was the real leader of Les Bleus in 2006, not the 1998 golden ball winner. He goes so far as to compare Zidane to Youri Djorkaeff, whom he considers to be statistically more successful than Zizou. “In all the matches in 2006, the boss on the pitch was Thierry Henry. Who scored against Brazil, Zizou? In addition to the fact that Thierry is the French team’s top scorer, Thierry is also the best passer. Youri Djorkaeff had better stats than Zizou,” he added.
Thierry Henry, far from the controversy
Unlike his father, Thierry Henry has always held Zidane in high esteem. Recalling their close relationship, he recalled an anecdote after their quarter-final against Brazil in 2006. “Zizou said to me: ‘Now people won’t be able to say I never gave you an assist’,” said Thierry Henry. The Gunners legend also regretted the artificial comparisons and oppositions between them. “With Zizou, we weren’t compared, we were pitted against each other. It was tiresome.
If Tony Henry’s comments reflect a personal frustration, they speak for themselves. Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane have always shown mutual respect, leaving the past and controversies behind them. Proof that, sometimes, the words of friends and family do not reflect the reality between the protagonists.
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