AGENCIES
KOLKATA
Former French international forward Thierry Henry visited the 'City of Joy' Kolkata on Tuesday and was impressed by what was on offer in his maiden trip to the Indian subcontinent.
Speaking at a promotional event, the Arsenal Invincibles legend was honest in his observations on Indian football. "I won't lie that I didn't know (anything about Indian football). Since I've arrived (in India), everybody is telling me about how passionate you (Indians) are about the game. I have to be honest, I've noticed that", said the 39 year-old.
Presently an assistant to Belgium national team head coach Roberto Martinez, Henry spoke about how the youth of the country is getting attracted to the sport at a greater pace than it's other contemporaries.
"From the past 10 to 15 years, you guys can see the games on TV. So what it does for the young generation and the one coming after, they can dream about it because they see the games. They can emulate action", he commented. "The game is going in the right direction from what I've been hearing. The guys are learning a bit earlier. It won't happen just tomorrow as you can imagine, but it is heading in the right direction," Henry said.
Any other sport in India is liable to be compared to cricket due to it's high popularity quotient, and Henry too made an outline on the subject. He stated, "I know for example that here (in India) cricket is massive because that was always on TV and it was always a dream but now you see other sports and kids want to play other sports. We all know which is the number one sport (football) in the world. So why not?"
"I do think that if you have the right commitment, with the right coaches and with the right amount of work, anyone can perform. Look at Iceland and Costa Rica in the last World Cup. You need to work at it and work at it well," Henry said on how to Indian hopes of making it big in the footballing fraternity at large.
The former FC Barcelona striker later watched the Indian Super League (ISL) tie between Atletico de Kolkata and Mumbai City FC at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata in the evening. Along with ISL chairperson Nita Ambani and ATK co-owner Sanjeev Goenka, Henry was the special guest. The stadium roared in unison as the announcer spelt out his name for the first time as Henry walked into the ground waving to his fans. The stadium roared "Henry Henry" as he waved to the crowds.
However, Henry made it clear that no approaches had been made to him to coach any ISL team. "No, and it's too late also," he clarified.
