Thierry Henry picks Marco Van Basten over Michel Platini as the player who dazzled him most

The list of greats in the history of the sport is endless, no matter how far back you go. In this case, Thierry Henry mentioned the French names that impressed him the most when he was a kid, with Michel Platini among them, but he surprisingly selected Marco Van Basten over him.

Henry said: “I followed all the French greats of that time: Jean Tigana, Platini, Alain Giresse. But the one who dazzled me the most was Van Basten. He wasn’t French. But I loved his style.”

In his interview with Marca during an event for an electronics manufacturer, Henry also spoke about the great Champions League semifinal between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, which he described as a “otherworldly match, beyond any analysis. Pure joy, pure fun, pure total soccer, with managers that encourage it.”

Henry avoids saying who the best player ever is

A discussion that usually comes up in any sport is who the best ever is. This presents a series of challenges, as everything evolved over time and players now have more tools at their disposal than before.

The former striker was part of the group that decided to enjoy what they see, without comparing it with what was done before. Even if he was a huge talent who left a mark on many fans, he did not come up with an answer.

Henry said: “It’s impossible to compare eras because not even the rules are the same. Now we have Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Harry Kane, but everything is overanalyzed, and it’s unfair because there’s more attention to the mistakes than the quality. All the good players should be enjoyed.”

Henry’s match to relive

An interesting question that the Frenchman was asked was which match he would like to relive. His selection was understandable, as the context was huge, with the pressure not allowing him to enjoy it.

Henry said: “The World Cup final in 1998 (France won 3-0 over Brazil). I was only 20 years old, and I was too focused on winning, not on enjoying it. I would love to relive it. To sit and watch it again live for what we were capable of doing.”