Last Monday, Thierry Henry, the coach of the French U-21 national team, criticized the performance level of Ligue 1 clubs at the start of the season.
These criticisms were not well received by Montpellier coach Michel Der Zakarian, who strongly responded to the 1998 World Cup champion. « It doesn’t bother me at all. These consultants or former players should come and coach, and we’ll see. We play matches to win, not to entertain. If we don’t have the tools to defend well, you concede three or four goals, and then they say you lost. (…) »
« I don’t agree with Thierry Henry. Where has he coached? What did he do at Monaco? He lasted three months and then he was gone. The guy works for the FFF and criticizes French football. »
« It’s nonsense! It’s easy to denigrate the league when you’re the coach of the French U-21 team. He won 4-0 twice, but against whom? He beat nobody. Let him win 5-0 against Spain or Italy, and I’ll say bravo, » Der Zakarian criticized in an interview with the regional newspaper Le Midi-Libre this Monday.