So, handball specialist Thierry Henry is set to join the New York Red Bulls. Sigh. Not exactly helping the MLS shed its image. Look, this obviously makes sense on every level. Henry can still compete. He (should) be the best striker in MLS next season. The Red Bulls need him. He wants to be a star again, and this is probably the least embarrasing place to do it (would you rather live in New York or Krakow?). But it is sad that the MLS is still looking to be a retirement home than an academy. Look, it's one thing when Americans come home. That's great. McBride, Reyna, Keller, come on home when you like. Nobody thinks twice when Henrik Larsson goes back to Sweden, and similarly with American players. But, with Henry coming off the worst year of his career, when he's looking over-the-hill and out-of-form, to come over just reinforces the idea in everyone else's head that we are an inferior league. Look, Henry was a world-beater. He was without question one of the best strikers in the world for the better part of a decade. He is a better footballer than Beckham will ever be. But for all of that, I'd take a Freddy Montero over a Thierry Henry 10 out of 10 times in this situation, and hopefully he does decent. Well enough to show he still has some, but not well enough to embarrass the league. See? I never have to worry about this sort of stuff when Juan Pablo Angel comes over....
1 comment:
Henry in my opinion is great for the MLS. I'm not really a fan of his. In fact as a Spurs supporter I've always been predisposed to dislike Henry. But I greatly respect the man. His skill is undeniable. And I appreciate what he is going to do for the MLS. He legitimately wants to be here, which is what I thought Beckham was here. But obviously Beckham had other motives. Maybe Henry is not really that interested in "growing the game" here, as Beckham's PR team had promised, but he will have a good impact on the game, on the league. Having a LEGEND in your league, even one who is possibly over the hill, gives the younger guys in MLS a standard to aspire to. Henry will have wily old tricks up his sleeves. He will have the experience of big games. He knows how to be a professional soccer player at the highest level, which the current MLS crop could use a good example of. Don Garber should use a pick for him to play in the all-star game, I'd love to see him vs United one last time.
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