The Frechman Arrives: Thierry Henry Impresses in Debut

Thierry Henry finally got the chance to live up to the hype and answer the critics on July 22 with his first game in a Red Bulls uniform. After a less than convincing season at Barcelona and dismal World Cup on the French National team, predictions regarding Henry’s stay in the big apple have varied greatly. 

Some expect the 32 year old to continue on his downward slope in the twilight of an illustrious career. Others think the former second place Ballon D’Or finisher will bounce back from a poor campaign and return to the world class level he once played at. And still a third group think Henry, who only appeared in 19 of Barcelona’s 38 league matches last year, will lack motivation due to the lower quality of MLS play and his lesser pay.

But none of that mattered once he stepped on the field against English side Tottenham at the new Red Bull arena. Here is a minute-by-minute highlight summary of his first half Thursday night debut:

0th Minute: Can’t hold back a smile as the camera pans over him.

2nd Minute: First touch. Tries to redirect a pass through his legs but no one is behind him.

4th Minutes: Sends a curving through ball up to Seth Stammler from half way but it’s chased down by Tottenham.

5th Minute: Helps the Red Bulls produce their first chance of the game by laying the ball back twice to the top of the Tottenham box.

7th Minute: Is instrumental in conducting a seven piece move, by flicking on a ground pass and relaying the ball out wide, which results in one-on-one situation between him and goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini. Bangs it off his left shinguard from ten yards out. 

9th Minute: Makes a back door run in the Tottenham area and sends a dangerous ground cross across the face of the goal.

12th Minute: Attempts to flick it over and spin around a Tottenham defender. Creates some space but his 30 yard shot is wide.

13th Minute: Sends in a through a ball that breaks open the Tottenham defense. Seth Stammler and Mac Kandji miss a wide open goal during the ensuing scramble.

25th Minute: Goal! Joal Lindpere beats Alan Huton on the wing and sends in a bouncing near post ball. Henry outmuscles his man to the near post and cushions it past the keeper into the far corner.

32nd Minute: Juggles it twice and tries to loft the ball to Lindpere in the Tottenham box. The defense breaks it up.

35th Minute: Receives the ball unmarked far down the Tottenham touchline. His ensuing cross is a half-foot too high.

35th Minute: Makes another redirect between his legs at the top of the box. Immediately has the ball returned and he chips it out wide.

38th Minute: Tracks back to steal the ball from Luka Modric.

45th Minute: And... it’s over, well the important half anyway. Henry is subbed out, but not before his first goal.

Analysis

I am always wary of putting too much faith into preseason and exhibition games. However, this friendly was as close to a real MLS game as it gets; except for Henry the whole Red Bulls team was in midseason form and a preseason half-strength English Premier League side mimics a regular season MLS team (for example this game ended 2-1 for Tottenham, Bolton beat Toronto FC 4-3, Manchester United beat Philadelphia 1-0). And Henry played well.

Maybe it was the fact he took the train to the stadium, because Henry seemed to fit right into New York. Despite having only trained with the team four times, he connected well with teammates and actually made them better. One question that always arises when a superstar joins a team of lower caliber is how much they will improve their teammates. Henry found his teammates running into the open space and delivered them nicely weighted passes, which made them look good. 

Although he is a forward he also had a good half defensively. Henry tracked back once and won the ball. But for me his highlight defensively was how much pressure he helped put on the ball. Maybe it was partly preseason jitters, but there were many times when Tottenham was working hard just to keep possession in its own half in part due to the pressure of Henry. He certainly looked motivated in this game.

And the former Arsenal striker showed his prowess in front of goal. He took three shots, two of them legitimate chances and converted one. Not a bad success rate, especially against Arsenal’s massive rival Tottenham. It would have been nice to see him finish in the seventh minute, in truth a better chance, but his 26th minute goal was fine enough. It was not a pretty but it was not easy either.

Towards the end of the half he seemed to disappear a bit. Although Tottenham was certainly starting to play better soccer and gain more possession, Henry’s role on this team will be to influence the game in the Red Bull’s favor. He tried to juggle once or twice and attempted a few back heel flick-ons, some of which worked, but they were not the most productive things he could have done with the ball. Still, it was a friendly.

Going forward I think Henry will be a great addition to this team. The Red Bulls are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference yet have a minus one goal differential. This stems mainly from the fact their 18 goals ties them (with four other teams) for eighth most out of the 16 MLS clubs. He will improve that number. Henry and Juan Pablo Angel, the MLS’ second leading goal scorer with nine, might be the best attacking pair in the league, rivaled only by the Galaxy’s Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan. The designated player pair will compliment each other well as both are composed on the ball and capable of being great finishers.

But the reason Henry will help this team out so much is because Henry he is good enough to put the puzzle pieces together. He dish it outside to winger Dane Richards, who gives New York ridiculous pace down the right flank. He can get open for a midfield core of Joel Lindpere, Seth Stammler, and Sinisa Ubiparipovic. And he can find and put teammates in great position with the ball. With Henry in the mix the Red Bulls attack becomes pretty good. At least by MLS standards.

After one game optimism abounds. Let’s hope Henry can help raise the profile and popularity of soccer and the MLS in the city that never sleeps.