PARIS — At the end of an epic Olympic men’s soccer final Friday, France coach Thierry Henry was asked what was next after leading his country to the silver medal at the Paris Games.
“My future? My future is to go to eat with the guys later on and their families. That’s my future,” he said after the 5-3 defeat to Spain.
It didn’t come close to answering the question after France’s exhilarating run to the final showcased Henry’s coaching qualities and possibly put him in the mix for some big jobs in club or international soccer.
The United States, for instance, is on the lookout for a new coach after Gregg Berhalter paid the price for a desperately disappointing exit from the Copa America.
Jurgen Klopp was quickly mentioned in connection with the role, along with Mauricio Pochettino. Perhaps Henry could be a contender, too, as a coach who looks ready to take the next step. He has ties to America through his role as a pundit on CBS and time in MLS with New York Red Bulls as a player and Montreal Impact as a coach.
Whatever he decides beyond the Olympics, it seems unlikely a return to coaching France’s under 21s would satisfy his ambition after playing in front of packed stadiums at the Games and taking part in one of the great finals, even in defeat to Spain.
If the present already looked bright for Spain, so does the future.
Less than a month after winning the European Championship, Spain took gold at the Olympics. It was also victorious in the under 19s European Championship to complete a golden summer for Spanish soccer.
Spain had to wait to add to its last major trophy — the Euros in 2012 — but it looks set for another period of dominance, with an apparent conveyor belt of talent coming through.
Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez was a fringe member of the Euros-winning squad in Germany, but he was his country’s leading scorer at the Olympics with six goals. That included two in the final against France.
Alex Baena also scored in the final and joined Lopez in winning both the Euros and the Olympics. Sergio Camello, meanwhile, came off the bench to score twice in extra time to seal gold and announce himself to a global audience.
To fans of Asian soccer, Soufiane Rahimi’s outstanding performances at the Games will have come as no surprise.
The 28-year-old striker was one of Morocco’s overage picks for a tournament that was restricted under 23s with the exception of three players. And he repaid the faith shown in him by Morocco coach Tarik Sektioui, scoring eight goals to seal his position as the leading scorer in the men’s competition and help his country take bronze.
Rahimi plays his club soccer for Al Ain in United Arab Emirates and eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr on the way to winning the Asian Champions League last season, when he was top scorer with 13 goals.
If that form wasn’t enough to grab the attention of top European teams, perhaps his performances at the Olympics will spark interest from overseas.
After the disappointment of the Copa America, when the U.S. was eliminated after the first round on home soil, a positive Olympics was welcome relief.
Expectation wasn’t high for coach Marko Mitrovic’s team ahead of the tournament and a 3-0 loss to France in its opening game left it with a job to do to advance the knockout phase.
But back-to-back wins against New Zealand and Guinea secured a place in the quarterfinals for the first time since Sydney 2000 before a 4-0 defeat to Morocco brought an end to that run.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
