Thierry Henry: The Ideal MLS Designated Player

Thierry Henry made the New York Red Bulls a better club in every way.

New York Red Bulls captain Thierry Henry was not a fan-favorite on the night of April 16, 2011. Henry hadn’t notched a goal in roughly 600 minutes of play, and the perception held by some RBNY supporters was that the big-name designated player acquired by the Red Bulls in the summer of 2010 was merely cashing massive paychecks and not at all interested in helping the franchise end a trophy drought that began at the launch of the formerly-named New York/New Jersey MetroStars. It was a dark and stormy evening in Harrison, NJ when Henry led the Red Bulls onto the pitch for a home contest against the San Jose Earthquakes, and only a few thousand brave souls made the trek to Red Bull Arena to watch the match in-person.

The night did not begin well for Henry. He squandered multiple scoring opportunities, and some within the Supporters’ Section inside of Red Bull Arena went so far as to jeer the living legend of the sport throughout the evening. Henry got stronger as the night went along, however, running with more pace and more fire than he had at any prior point of his Red Bulls tenure. His moment in the

sun

pouring rain came two minutes from time when he raced into the left portion of the penalty area and smashed home a header to put the Red Bulls up 3-0, Henry’s first tally of the campaign.

That goal was the true start of Henry’s career with the Red Bulls, and his four full years with the club were an absolute joy to follow.

Henry shocked few earlier this week when he announced that he was leaving the Red Bulls following the club being eliminated from the 2014 Major League Soccer Playoffs by New England Revolution. I was first told before the start of the 2013 MLS campaign that Henry would only remain with the Red Bulls up through the end of 2014, and those whispers never disappeared over the past year and a half. His reasons for choosing to leave now after proving to critics that he can still feature for any team in MLS are his to have and to maybe disclose at some point down the road, but anybody who wants to float out a notion that Henry owes the Red Bulls anything as of the current holiday season clearly did not pay close enough attention to his overall body of work beginning with that rainy April evening.

Sep 6, 2014; Harrison, NJ, USA; New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry (14) reacts during the second half against Sporting KC at Red Bull Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Nobody can say for sure what Henry thought of MLS when he put pen to paper on a contract to join the North American top-flight. Perhaps Henry believed that he could be a superstar in the league at 75 percent as he was overseas when he was in his physical prime. Maybe Henry cared more about hitting up his favorite Manhattan steakhouses than he did about hoisting something known as a “Supporters’ Shield.” It’s possible that Henry was more concerned about his salary checks not bouncing than he was about scoring goals while wearing New York red and white.

Regardless of his mindset five summers ago, Henry undeniably got it as time went along. Henry sacrificed his body for the Red Bulls when some — looking at you, Rafa Marquez — couldn’t be bothered to go all-in for the club. He had a hand in 88 regular season goals from 2011-14; Henry scored 49 tallies, and he had a registered 39 assists (MLS counts secondary assists).

Red Bulls fans watched Henry make necessary changes to his style of play. As natural a goal-scorer as will ever feature up top, Henry evolved into the play-maker the Red Bulls have craved since the day before forever. Of course Henry struck his share of highlight-reel finishes over the past couple of years, but it was his ability to create for others that made the New York squad more of a complete team rather than one revolving around a single player.

Forward Bradley Wright-Phillips could be the biggest testament to what Henry has meant to the Red Bulls since the spring of 2013. A castoff of English football, Wright-Phillips has enjoyed a career resurrection while playing alongside Henry. Wright-Phillips tied the MLS single-season record by scoring 27 goals in 2014, and the Red Bulls rewarded BWP with his own designated player contract earlier this week.

So what if Henry never won MLS MVP? Red Bulls players have been robbed of that honor in back-to-back seasons; Tim Cahill in 2013 and Wright-Phillips this year. Henry often had a sour demeanor while speaking with reporters following matches, he never performed flippy-doos after scoring goals, and he isn’t an American footballer. A record would have needed to have been broken for Henry to have won MLS MVP during his time in the league.

Henry’s Red Bulls resume will forever contain the following:

– 49 regular season goals.

– Captain of the RBNY squad that ended the team’s trophy drought after it won the Supporters’ Shield (best overall regular season record).

– Scored the goal during the final game of the 2013 season that changed the momentum of that match and propelled the Red Bulls to winning the Supporters’ Shield.

– A true leader on the training ground, in the dressing room and on the pitch.

– Embraced the history of the club when he had no real reason to do so.

The two knocks on Henry’s RBNY career are that he would not play on artificial turf, and that the Red Bulls never won MLS cup while he was around. Veteran athletes take time off during NBA, NHL and MLB seasons every year, and that Henry did the same is not a reason to accuse him of not being dedicated to the cause. Henry not winning MLS Cup would not even be a discussion if he and not Robbie Keane had joined LA Galaxy years ago. You’re pointing fingers at the wrong person if you are upset that Henry could not help the Red Bulls fill the team’s trophy case.

Only David Beckham is David Beckham. Remember that before you mention that Henry did not routinely fill the seats at Red Bull Arena, or that he could not get the Red Bulls an abundance of exposure in the local press. Henry is a soccer superstar, yes, but he was never going to be a sports superstar let alone an icon on this continent.

In the end, Henry met every expectation fans of the Red Bulls could have had for him back in 2010. He lifted the play of those around him, he sold merchandise and brought some new fans to the Red Bulls, he became a leader in every sense of the word, and he helped the team win a title. There now exists only one question about Henry’s place in club history:

Where outside of Red Bull Arena does the Henrying statue go?

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