‘It’s nonsense’ – Montpellier manager Michel Der Zakarian hits back at Thierry Henry’s criticism of Ligue 1
Montpellier HSC manager Michel Der Zakarian has hit back at Thierry Henry’s criticism of Ligue 1. The France U21 manager was recently critical about the lack of“action” in the top-flight.
“It isn’t even necessarily the lack of goals [that are making Ligue 1 boring currently. There is no action, no shots on target,” said Henry last week. His comments came in the wake of two low-scoring gameweeks in France’s top flight. 12 goals were scored across eight games in the week before the international break, and just 13 were scored the week before that.
There is no denying that the goals are drying up in Ligue 1 this season. However, Henry’s criticism has not sat well with Der Zakarian, who in an interview with Midi Libre, took a rather personal swipe at the France U21 manager’s own record. “I don’t agree with Thierry Henry. Where has he managed? What did he do at AS Monaco? He had three months and then he cleared off,” said the MHSC manager in reference to Henry’s short and unsuccessful stint at the Principality club (20 matches, five wins, four draws, 11 losses, 0.95 points per game).
Der Zakarian also believes Henry should not have made the comments about the level of Ligue 1, given his employer. “The guy works for the FFF and criticises French football. It’s nonsense! It’s easy to criticise the league when you’re the manager of the France U21 team. He won 4-0 twice but against whom? He hasn’t beaten anyone. If he wins 5-0 against Spain or Italy, I’ll say well done,” he added.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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