Montreal (AFP)

New Montreal Impact coach Thierry Henry on Monday pleaded patience with this North American MLS championship club, which has just given him a chance to bounce back as coach after a resounding failure in Monaco.

"We do not build an inheritance in two months, three months or even a year, we will have to work hard, be patient ... but we know what we want to do with a certain identity and philosophy", insisted former French international striker for his first press conference since his surprise nomination Thursday.

The seventh coach in Impact history also assured that he was the one who approached the club's management after being sacked in Monaco in January.

"Everyone was aware that I did not have a job," he told a crowd packed with journalists.

"Many people, Belgian coaches, Italian coaches" also coveted the position, revealed the technical director Olivier Renard. With Henry, he added, "it was more or less around mid-October that there were first contacts and we felt that marriage could take shape."

"At the level of the vision of the game, it clicked quickly," acknowledged Renard. "I had several criteria for hiring the coach, I wanted someone motivated, who loves the city, who wanted to come and who advocates an offensive game."

Named for two years, Henry, had "come in 2011" for a friendly match with the Red Bulls of New York, where he evolved between 2010 and 2014. And "really, I fell in love with this city", assured the former player, now 42 years old.

"If you take the best of Europe and the best side of North America, it gives Montreal," noted the legend of Arsenal.

- "My passion, my life" -

"What makes me come back on the pitch is that it's my passion, it's my life, there's a new beginning and we have to go straight ahead, try to build well, that's what will happen here, "promised the former 1998 world champion striker.

"Often people focus on a player, an individual, I often talk about a team, for me it's the most important, you never win a title if the team is not there" he assured.

The game will not be easy for Henry, Montreal, who missed the MLS playoffs in the last three seasons.

"We'll have to bring the community back with us too, I think it's very important, because I think the fans need (...) to be on the team and see that the team represents the It's up to us to bring them back to our side, "he said.

For the young French technician, it is also, and above all, the opportunity to bounce back after a failed start as head coach in Monaco. Named with great fanfare in the fall of 2018 on the bench of his training club, Henry had been ousted after only 100 days on the Rock and five small victories in twenty matches.

Returning to his disappointments in Monaco, Henry was a philosopher: "It did not work.Either you win or you learn.I learned a lot in Monaco.The only mistake you can make is not to not learn. "

© 2019 AFP