Thierry Henry will wear his new clothes as Espoirs coach, replacing Sylvain Ripoll, this Monday, September 4 at Clairefontaine. The former Arsenal legend has taken advantage of the last few days to put the finishing touches to his staff.
To his two assistants, Gaël Clichy and Gérald Baticle, recently joined Jérémie Janot, 45, as goalkeeper coach. We still have to recruit a physical trainer. For this position, still vacant, the name of Robert Duverne was first whispered. Free since leaving Auxerre in the fall of 2022, he held this position with the A from 2006 to 2010 where he rubbed shoulders with Henry and his deputy Gaël Clichy.
Other profiles have been examined, starting with that of Grégory Dupont, present in 2018 in Russia during the World Cup won by the Blues, then passed by Real Madrid between 2019 and 2021. This specialist in sports performance has also exercised in Lille (2009 to 2017), then in Strasbourg as a consultant.
A former world savate champion
But in the end, according to our information, the choice fell on a third man, in this case Alan Berrou, in office in Angers from 2021 to 2023 where he rubbed shoulders with Gérald Baticle. Aged 29, the native of Lorient presents an atypical profile.
This former world champion of professional French boxing (2018), world champion of kickboxing (2015), also holds two Masters in physical preparation. In Anjou, he first worked with the training center, then the reserve before officiating with the professional section.
