Thierry Henry, the 48-year-old former football star, held a training session and fireside chat with young players from Lion City Sailors’ academy and Tasek Football Academy at the Lion City Sailors Training Centre in Singapore on May 25. He urged them to focus on teamwork rather than individual ego in football, a collective sport, despite rainy weather during the event on Mattar Road [1, 2, 3].

Henry told the young players, "You are in a collective sport and it is not an individual sport, so you need to understand how you can put your ego (aside) and be at the service of the team." He added, "Ego is good, very good… You need an ego, especially in whatever you’re trying to do, but always be at the service of the team" [1, 2].

Henry shared stories about his upbringing in Les Ulis, Paris, the discipline instilled by his father, and his time at the Clairefontaine national academy where he realized the high level of competition. These personal experiences illustrated the hard work needed to succeed at the highest level [1, 2, 3].

The event was hosted by UBS as part of their Craft of Sport community football initiative. Henry also took part in a fireside chat alongside former Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard and UBS Global Wealth Management’s head of sports for EMEA. Forrest Li, the Football Association of Singapore president and Lion City Sailors chairman, attended the event [1, 2, 3, 4].

On May 26, Henry spoke at a separate UBS event for 600 pupils aged 10 to 18 at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheatre. He encouraged youngsters to put in hours of hard work, saying, "Repetition creates habits, it brings that instinct you saw [in me]. If you saw me when I was young, you’d laugh because I was never hitting the target. What I did have was a work ethic; I worked hard with or without a goalkeeper or a coach, on rainy or snowy days, field or not field." He stressed that reflecting on himself while always thinking of others remains a key lesson that helps him today [4].

The young footballers and their parents in Singapore welcomed Henry’s visit enthusiastically despite the rain, showing strong interest in his advice on developing both skill and character in the sport [1, 2, 3].