Tuesday, 16th December, 2014
Juventus legend Alessio Tacchinardi has hailed Thierry Henry and revealed the Frenchman was in tears when told he was leaving the Serie A club.
Tacchinardi played alongside Henry at Juventus, with the forward enjoying a brief stint with the Bianconeri in 1999 before being sold to Arsenal, where he went on to achieve legendary status.
For Tacchinardi, seeing Henry go was disappointing and it was disappointment that the then-young Frenchman also shared.
Tacchinardi told Tutto Mercato: "I have beautiful memories of him, a great guy, such good character and spirit and I've seen a few. He was an elegant gentleman.
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"I am left with the image of him in tears when he learned he was leaving. He was fond of the group and he left reluctantly."
Tacchinardi, who admits he saw Henry's qualities in training, is nevertheless surprised that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger converted him to a central striker.
"I saw great qualities during training, but not so much that I thought he would explode as a spearhead.
"I remember he had great physical power. [Carlo] Ancelotti put him on the left in a diamond midfield or wide in a 4-4-2 and he failed to make the space his own as expected."
Henry, who retired today, is taking a role as a TV pundit with British broadcasting company Sky Sports.
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