Griezmann’s comparison to Zidane, Platini apt: Henry
11 July 2016 12:26 AM GMT
France football’s new poster boy Antoine Griezmann deserves to be compared to legendary compatriot Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini, according to another French great Thierry Henry.
Griezmann has been the star of the ongoing European Championship, scoring six times to lead France into Sunday’s final against Portugal in Paris. Many have drawn parallels between the Atletico Madrid forward and his legendary compatriots Zidane and Platini -- the latter being the only one to score more at a single European Championship with nine strikes in 1984.
Henry, who made 123 appearance for France, said Griezmann’s performances warranted the plaudits.
“He deserves it, at the moment. How far he’s going to take it, that’s up to him. Hopefully he’s going to take it as far as Sunday. We have a guy that can make us win again, why not?” Henry was quoted as saying by BBC on Saturday. “If we win, you’re going to be almost sure that it’s because Antoine Griezmann scored.” Standing between Griezmann, France and a first major title since Euro 2000 are Portugal and star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored three times at the tournament so far, although Fernando Santos’ men have been criticised for their style of play. However, Henry warned the Real Madrid star only needed a couple of moments to potentially be decisive.
Interesting fact
Though Griezmann is the new French hero, his roots are in Portugal. It’s a known fact that Griezmann rose to fame from his time at Real Sociedad but a lesser known fact is that Griezmann began his footballing journey with a Portuguese community club, Sporting Macon. Among the first to emigrate there was Griezmann’s own grandfather, Amaro Lopes and Amaro died in 1992 but his efforts are remembered - an annual tournament is still played in Macon in his honour. According to his uncle, Griezmann even considered representing Portugal briefly when he was banned by France for being among those who visited a nightclub on Under-20 duty in 2013.
Though Griezmann is the new French hero, his roots are in Portugal. It’s a known fact that Griezmann rose to fame from his time at Real Sociedad but a lesser known fact is that Griezmann began his footballing journey with a Portuguese community club, Sporting Macon. Among the first to emigrate there was Griezmann’s own grandfather, Amaro Lopes and Amaro died in 1992 but his efforts are remembered - an annual tournament is still played in Macon in his honour. According to his uncle, Griezmann even considered representing Portugal briefly when he was banned by France for being among those who visited a nightclub on Under-20 duty in 2013.
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