Henry shows New York the promise

Dozens of photographers lined up along the sidelines and scores of fans made the trip to Red Bull Arena for a match that would have been just another meaningless international friendly if not for the superstar making his debut.

Thierry Henry didn’t take a limousine to his first match as a member of the New York Red Bulls. No, he chose to take a PATH train in from Manhattan and walk to his new soccer home, surprising team officials and employees as he walked in off the street for the most important debut in the club’s 15-year history.

Henry didn’t disappoint. He flashed his trademark skills effortlessly and impressed the more than 20,000 who came out to see his debut. Every touch was perfect and every pass was accurate, showing us all a glimpse of the greatness that we have grown accustomed to from the Frenchman.

It was only fitting that Henry scored the match’s first goal, a nice re-direct from a slick Joel Lindpere pass. It was a simple finish, but it was the promise of more goals to come that sent the crowd into a frenzied state and led to Henry gesturing that Red Bull Arena was indeed his house now.

It didn’t seem to matter much that Tottenham eventually won the match, the opening fixture of the newly-created New York Challenge, a four-team tournament that also includes Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon. What mattered most to the majority in attendance was that Henry looked sharp and eager to impress and play with his new teammates.

“It is important, that’s why I wanted to play today, to be around them,” Henry said. “It’s important to go out there and be able to play with the guys, and that’s what I wanted to do today.”

MLS: June 23-25

 

Thursday, June 23
Home		Road
Seattle	4-2	New York	Recap
Saturday, June 25
Home		Road
DC United	2-2	Houston	Recap
San Jose	0-0	LA Galaxy	Recap
Philadelphia	3-2	Chivas USA	Recap
FC Dallas	4-0	Portland	Recap
Sporting KC	2-1	Vancouver	Recap
Real Salt Lake	3-1	Toronto	Recap
Sunday, June 26
Home		Road
Chicago	1-1	New York
Seattle	2-1	New England	Recap
Columbus	4-1	Colorado
MLS Scores | Table | Fixtures

 

As much as his 45-minute performance was an encouraging individual debut, Henry’s presence clearly inspired his Red Bulls teammates to step up their games. Yes, the team still missed a bunch of clear chances, but it could be argued that for the first half, with Henry on the field, the Red Bulls stood toe-to-toe with a Tottenham squad that was still strong despite scores of absences by World Cup participants.

Henry makes things easy for his teammates, whether by making well-timed runs or by dropping into midfield to receive passes and circulate the ball to teammates in good positions. It’s easy to forget amid all his goal scoring that Henry is very creative player who can set up goals as easily as score them.

If there was an underlying thought that lingered during Henry’s impressive display it was the thought of him playing alongside Red Bulls scoring leader Juan Pablo Angel, who missed Thursday’s match with an ankle sprain.

With Henry, Angel and the likely acquisition of Mexican star Rafael Marquez, the Red Bulls will be considered one of the favorites to win MLS Cup this year, especially if Thursday’s match was any indication of how smooth a transition Henry will make to MLS.

As Henry was quick to point out, just how far the Red Bulls get will depend as much on how his teammates play around him, and for 45 minutes on Thursday the Red Bulls appeared to work well with their new superstar. Joel Lindpere played a particularly inspired match, creating several chances for teammates and providing some evidence that he is capable of being the playmaker the team needs.

Henry appears to already be having a good time with his new team, as evidenced by his easy interaction with teammates he just met a week ago.

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“He’s humble. He’s down to earth,” said Red Bulls defender Carlos Mendes of Henry. “In just the couple of days he’s been here you see how he already talks to the guys, interacts with the guys.”

First things first ... Henry must work his way back into shape, with Sunday’s match against Manchester City serving as the next chance for him to get prepared for his likely MLS debut on July 31st against the Houston Dynamo. That’s when the real work will begin and Henry will take his first steps toward trying to lead the Red Bulls to their first league title in team history.

Friendlies against European teams in preseason is one thing. The physical battles of the fall in MLS are something else entirely, as many foreign stars have learned before upon arriving in MLS.

If his debut on Thursday is any indication, Henry could be everything the Red Bulls were hoping he would be. He sure looked the part for 45 minutes on Thursday, giving his new team and new fans reason to look forward to many more Henry train rides to Red Bull Arena and many more goals for Major League Soccer's newest star.

Ives Galarcep is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the U.S. national team and Major League Soccer.