Thierry Henry may be France’s all-time top scorer and leader of his country’s attack for over a decade yet he is set to fill an unaccustomed role as ‘super sub’ at the World Cup in South Africa.
Henry reportedly agreed to be deployed as what L’Equipe on Monday described as a ‘joker de luxe’ when national manager Raymond Domenech paid him a visit in Barcelona this month.
And sure enough Henry, who has scored 51 international goals, has started on the bench in both of France’s warm-up matches.
He came on for Nicolas Anelka at the start of the second half in the 2-1 win against Costa Rica in Lens last Wednesday, and entered the fray at the same juncture, again replacing Anelka, in the 1-1 draw with Tunisia in Rades on Sunday.
Domenech was guarded when he tackled on the reported tete-a-tete with the former Arsenal striker before unveiling his provisional World Cup squad on May 11.