Romelu Lukaku has disclosed that senior Belgium players actively campaigned for Thierry Henry to become head coach after Roberto Martinez departed following the 2022 World Cup. Speaking to La Dernière Heure, the Napoli striker did not spare criticism of successor Domenico Tedesco, claiming the tactical approach was flawed from the outset and ultimately contributed to Belgium's disappointing Euro 2024 campaign.
The Belgium squad saw Henry, an Arsenal and France legend who served as an assistant during the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, as the ideal successor. Players believed Henry possessed the authority to hold them accountable and maintain the standards they had established as a top-ranked international team. "We were spoken to in Qatar, after the draw against Croatia. Everyone was saying: 'Henry is the one we need.' He was going to hold us accountable for our mistakes," Lukaku explained. "When you aim for the top, you don't want people constantly stroking your ego."
The Tactical Breakdown at Euro 2024
Lukaku was direct about the problems under Tedesco's management during Germany's continental championship. Belgium crashed out in the round of 16 to France following a lackluster group stage that included a goalless draw with Ukraine. The striker insisted players recognised the tactical instructions were incompatible with tournament football. "There was a tactical plan that just wasn't going to work. As a player, you feel that. Ask Kev [De Bruyne]. You tell yourself: this isn't going to work out," he said. Young squad members also shared these doubts but remained silent, fearing exclusion from the starting eleven.
The contrast between Martinez's era and Tedesco's regime could hardly be starker. Under the Spanish coach, Belgium's golden generation produced consecutive high-scoring victories and reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals—their best performance in the modern era. The atmosphere in the dressing room reflected this confidence. "Under Roberto Martinez, we would walk into the dressing room before a match and the question was: how many goals are we going to score today?" Lukaku recalled. "Martinez would tell us where the spaces would open up, and we would win 3-0, 5-0, 8-1."
Initial Red Flags and Squad Overhaul
Concerns about Tedesco surfaced even before he took charge. Lukaku admitted players conducted their own background research on the incoming manager, uncovering issues that troubled them immediately. The sudden removal of experienced campaigners, including Thibaut Courtois, deepened the sense of disorientation. "When a manager arrives whom we, the players, don't know, we go fishing for information," Lukaku confessed. "We make phone calls. And we find things out. There were question marks right from the start." At the first international break under Tedesco, Lukaku and Courtois looked around unable to recognise any familiar faces from the previous squad structure. This wholesale change marked a decisive break from the winning culture that had defined Belgium's international football for half a decade, raising fundamental questions about whether such radical reconstruction was the appropriate path forward.
