-Jason Davis

Thierry Henry is in London, where he'll train with his old club Arsenal during the MLS off-season. The word of the agreement came out today, simply, and without much fanfare beyond the understandable legend-returns-to-his-old-club flavor. Henry will use the stint to stay fit during the MLS break, and provide guidance to some of Arsenal's younger players. Beyond the obvious potential for a training ground mishap in which Henry picks up an injury, everybody wins.

It must be tough being a highly paid professional athlete.  Sure, the money and fame seem nice, but when your every move is analyzed, criticized, and scrutinized, living a normal life must be nearly impossible.  One misstep, one mistake, one action that could be perceived as evidence that your commitment is lacking or that you're not holding up your end of the social contract, and BOOM, the world falls down upon your head.

Martin Hansson was the referee on that fateful night in Paris when Thierry Henry's handball saved the French and sparked an international incident. This documentary chronicles Hansson's quest to realize his dream of refereeing in the World Cup and the non-decision that derailed it.

The takeaway story from last night's hard-fought 2-2 draw between FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls was not what is should have been.


It wasn't the play of Dallas, down a man after Brek Shea's idiotic challenge on Chris Albright earned him a red card in the 29th minute. It wasn't the late own goal Jair Benitez put in to gift the Red Bulls a draw. It wasn't the exciting play of Eric Alexander, who scored Dallas' second. It wasn't Mehdi Ballouchy's goal in his Red Bull debut, it wasn't the once-in-a-blue-moon crowd at Pizza Hut Park, and it wasn't Juan Pablo Angel's odd benching to start the match.

The collective psyche of American soccer fascinates me. While it would be unfair to assign a singular outlook to a group constituted of millions of individuals, there are identifiable threads that run through the community. We're confident in our passion and understanding of the game, so much so that the belittling done by mainstream media here ("the five people that care about soccer") and disdainful media abroad ("Americans are football rubes") drives us insane. But we're also painfully self-aware of where the American game stands both domestically and internationally; this awareness manifests itself as a raging inferiority complex* entirely too often, and sometimes to our own detriment.


It's naturally interesting then, when an amazingly accomplished famous foreign player now suiting up in a kit emblazoned with an American flag declares flatly that the complex doesn't make much sense to him.


Okay, so maybe Titi is just being polite. He's playing here, he admittedly loves New York (and "America", though I wonder how much time he's spent in flyover country), and it follows that he would compliment a soccer culture that is currently affording him a very nice salary. But whether condescending pat on the head or truly-held belief, Henry's got a point. There are plenty of things to be proud of here. Most pointedly, believing as much doesn't necessarily make one naive, myopic, or uninformed. If the standard is one of the biggest leagues in the world, competitions that Americans are lucky enough to get on their televisions each week, then MLS certainly comes up short. But if the standard is simply "people watching/people caring/good players playing" then none of us have anything of which to be ashamed.


I don't really expect Henry to understand, though. Clearly he's identified the complex (through whom might be an interesting question, by the way); but can he really have any appreciation for why it exists or why it might be difficult for us to cast aside? I don't suspect so. The combination of historical factors, foreign influence, and cultural pressures conspire to fill our heads with images of American soccer as a second-rate product. There are just too many nicer versions of the game in evidence via TV and the Internet to allow us to breathe and be happy.


It's almost as if American soccer is kid in the neighborhood with his first car. He worked hard for it, he paid for it himself, and by most measures a very nice car. In the right setting he might show it off proudly, confident that it reflects well on him. There's no reason he should ever need to be ashamed of it.


Except the neighbor a few houses down has a Ferrari. Suddenly the American soccer's hard-won car doesn't look so good anymore.


Step one is to avoid over-doing the self-criticism. If Thierry Henry comes to the US, experiences the league and its fans, and feels the need to wonder out loud why we have such a complex, perhaps Americans are too quick to downplay the league and the fans. We don't need to crow from the rooftops that it's the greatest league in the world (there's room for realism here), but neither do we need to belittle and degrade our own league. I wonder how many potential fans are turned off by MLS followers saying "Our league really isn't very good, but..."


*The most interesting aspect of the inferiority complex situation are those Americans who attempt to separate themselves from the US game at all costs. You know these people - though they're American born and bred, they feel the need to argue about the word "soccer" in blog comment threads.

It really couldn't have gone better for Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls last night. Sure, it would have been nice to actually win the game, but in the end losing hardly matters. Henry played, shone, and scored. Red Bull fans have to be giddy with the anticipation of letting the Frenchman loose on unsuspecting MLS defenses.


Henry didn't look slow and he didn't look rusty. The New York attack was naturally focused through him, and though that might eventually lead to an imbalance that could hurt them, it's hard to imagine any other tact. There's enough talent in the lineup in other places to make the Red Bulls supremely dangerous when Henry is on the field.


Because man, can he finish. His goal was a perfect example of that fact; after Lindpere made hay on the right, Henry got just enough of a touch to steer the cross to the far post. A thing of beauty, it wasn't. Effective? Completely. Henry will score goals in this league (duh) and he will likely score some pretty ones. But New York will benefit most from his ability to put the ball in the net no matter the "beauty" of it all.


As I wrote before the game, Henry's debut was everything Beckham's wasn't. That doesn't mean the effect will be bigger, or that Beckham's poorly handled debut for the Galaxy didn't have it's own unique positives. But Henry brings a different type of attention, and because he scores goals for living, he will inevitably show up in more places more often for what he does on the field rather than what he does off it.


Henry took the PATH train to Red Bull Arena last night without telling anyone that he was going to do so. That speaks volumes about the man's love for that town and his understanding of what being here means. He might be a cheat, but it's hard to argue that his being here isn't good for the league.

Remember the summer of 2007? MLS had finally signed a big time player, and though David Beckham was clearly past his prime, he brought real star power to the league for the first time. We didn't know yet that Beckham's first year and a half would border on disaster, that Beckham would be looking for ways out of LA in subsequent winters, or that the vaunted "Beckham Effect" would fade so quickly. Amidst talk that he was just here to increase his star everywhere but the field, Beckham landed on American shores to pied-piper the masses toward the beautiful game.


Except he was injured when he got here, and when he did debut, it was in a meaningless friendly on a still-gimpy ankle. Ill-advised to say the least, it was clear at the time that the Galaxy (with Frank Yallop only a puppet) pushed Beckham onto the field for the cameras and the crowd. From a playing perspective, almost everything that could have gone wrong, did.


Tonight, the biggest name to cross the Atlantic since Beckham will make his own debut in an MLS shirt. Thierry Henry will face his old Arsenal rivals Tottenham at Red Bull Arena, and indications are that the Frenchman's debut will go off without a hitch (barring an injury - let's hope I'm not a jinx). Beckham's arrival was big news followed by injuries problems and disappointing play; Henry's, even if his play is mildly disappointing, can't possibly be anything but a thousand times better.


I'm not big on these friendlies during the season, but I am looking forward to seeing what should be a mostly-full stadium respond to Henry. I'm not sure how much we should expect out of him in terms of quality play, but the moment should be excellent.


Make no mistake: There's a sideshow element to Henry's arrival, just as there was for Beckham. But there's also a sense that the league has grown up a lot over the course of the last three years, and Henry being here is a different kettle of fish. The hype isn't there for Henry the way it was for Beckham, but for most of us that's a good thing.


If you want to watch the game tonight, it will be on FSC and streamed through Veetle for free. Veetle requires that you download a plugin, but the picture is excellent. The site will also have the other games in the "tournament."

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a strong Gallic accent present in Major League Soccer recently. Philadelphia’s Sebastien Le Toux has been ripping apart defenses, charging up the scoring table, and recently made the all-star roster. At the same time, a team in New Jersey is trying to buy legitimacy and win over a famously eurosnobbish fanbase by signing superstar Thierry Henry.

Henry and Le Toux have followed two very different paths to Major League Soccer. Henry, all-time leading scorer for Arsenal and the French national team, has won just about everything you can win at every level. The list of his gongs and cups reads like someone has had a bit too much time on Championship manager.

With Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, and Barcelona, Henry won 1 World Cup, 1 European Championship, 1 Confederations Cup, 1 Ligue 1 Title, 2 Premiership Titles, 3 FA Cups, 2 La Liga Titles, 1 Copa Del Rey, 1 Champions League Title, 1 European Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Championship. Add in his ridiculously long list of individual awards, and begin to get an idea of just how respected and talented Henry was in his prime.

A product of the legendary Clairefontaine youth academy, Henry developed into a talented winger at Monaco. In 1999, Henry was bought by Italian giants Juventus but stagnated in the rigorous tactics of Serie A. Just eight months after signing with Juventus, Henry was reunited with his manager at Monaco, Arsene Wenger, who had taken charge at Arsenal. Under Wenger’s tutelage, Henry blossomed into one of the finest players in the history of the game. After seven glory-filled seasons with the North London side, where he had risen to the post of club captain, Henry was sold to Spanish team FC Barcelona. After three seasons with Barcelona, Henry found himself out of favor due to the emergence of younger stars, and moved to MLS side New York Red Bulls following the 2010 World Cup.

Le Toux, on the other hand, had a much more modest route to America’s top division. He came through the youth system at Stade Rennes, and spent a brief spell with Ligue 2 side FC Lorient before crossing the Atlantic. After an unsuccessful trial with FC Dallas, Le Toux signed with the Seattle Sounders, then playing in USL.

It was in the Flanel City that Le Toux made his mark, and his name. His trademark style (Dangerous pace, great touch, 90 minutes of suicidal running everywhere, scoring, assisting, general brilliance) won him many fans and cult hero status as he scored 24 goals in 54 games in USL. It was no shock then, when the Sounders made him their very first signing for their move to MLS.

After a frustrating first MLS season with the Sounders, often used as a substitute or out of position (although he did have the winning assist in the 2009 US Open Cup Final), Le Toux was left unprotected in the 2009 MLS expansion draft and picked up by Philadelphia Union manager Peter Nowak to spearhead the Union attack.

In his few months with the Union, Le Toux has rediscovered and surpassed the form that made him such a favorite in Seattle. In just 12 games, he’s found the net a team-leading 7 times, and created as many assists. His contributions are even more impressive in context; The Union is, on average, the youngest team in the league, and an expansion side still finding its feet.

Despite the fact that they play for rival teams, Le Toux, who was just 14 when Henry was part of France’s World Cup winning side in 1998, is excited at the prospect of seeing his compatriot strutting his stuff in MLS. He recently told MLSsoccer.com “He is one of the best French strikers of all-time, and for me it’s really nice to see him come here.”

For now though, the title of “Best Frenchman in MLS” is up for grabs.

Hatin' on Henry

"BOYCOTT LE CHEAT!" goes up the cry from Sean O'Shea of Irish Central. Henry wronged Ireland in Paris those many months ago, and so the reasonable response is to actively avoid the Red Bulls and their new signing.


Because that'll teach them to sign a world class player who raises their profile off the field and helps them on it.


Forget the legitimacy of the reasons for a boycott of Henry and the Red Bulls from a purely sports standpoint; what interests me, as a product of the Irish diaspora myself (though I'm certainly not entirely Irish), is why Irish-Americans should feel strongly enough about Henry's handball to hold a grudge on American soil.


As a nation of immigrants, most of us have ancestors who came to the United States from somewhere else. Those of us beyond a few generations removed from the voyages that brought our families here will often latch onto the culture of the motherland; as a personal example, at various points in my life I've been known to explore all things Irish in an attempt to identify with something other than just my American-ness. I find this to be fairly natural.


Irish-Americans do it, Italian-Americans do it, Polish-Americans do it, people of Greek, English, Scottish, French, German, African and any other origin you can name do it. We're Americans, but also hyphenated Americans in many cases; our cultural pride is split between who we are and who our ancestors were. In soccer terms, this is the most prevalent reason people adopt a national team other than the US, or have a "second" side for which they cheer. Again, this is completely natural.


But, assuming O'Shea is speaking to Irish-Americans born and raised in the US (which it would seem to me he is), how far should this go? I've documented my disappointment with Americans who forsake the USMNT for another, so without rehashing that discussion, I simply wonder why Henry's actions, as deplorable as they were, would justify turning one's back on MLS in New York. What's there to be gained? How would such a thing not make Irish-Americans seem petty and misguided?


I wonder what the Irish, meaning those that were born and raised in Ireland, would make of O'Shea's suggestion. I think more than a few would be confused why an event involving a national team other than the Irish-Americans' "own" (meaning the US of course) would prompt a boycott of a club team. Henry-as-the-devil is pointless casting, the potential boycott an ugly example of Americans attempting to prove their ancestral worth ("Irish-ness" in this case) through misplaced "commiseration" with their old country brethren.


I'll admit that's harsh judgement, and entirely too broadly painted, but it's hard not to see as an element.


Because it's relevant, I leave you with the following video. Please take it in the spirit intended, realize it's slightly anachronistic, an enjoy the sound of The Duke's voice.

One of the more disappointing moments in my Wednesday was learning, simultaneously through my usual scans and Tom Dunmore on Twitter, that that the Guardian posted a misguided poll which attracted a majority of misguided responses.


Big names attract attention, I know, but a handful 30+ stars signing in Major League Soccer does not make a "retirement league." As Tom points out in his followup, the average age of the league is probably around 27 (I don't have the hard number either), MLS is more a stepping stone than a cushy rest home, and almost all of the stars landing here for their "retirement" made/would have made their country's World Cup team. Since it's Henry that prompted the discussion, let's focus on him; sure, France bombed in South Africa, but it's difficult to imagine that one of the world's former best who was with Les Bleus this summer is suddenly over-the-hill in such a way as to be a joke. Henry picked MLS for many reasons, but let's not pretend he couldn't be back in the Premier League if he wanted to be.


The Guardian has more pull than it should on American shores, a fact I recognize even as I find myself landing there on a daily basis. Their coverage of the Premier League and other Euro competitions is usually excellent; as soccer junkies, it's hard to conceive that they might get their American coverage, such as it is, completely wrong. For a lot of us, the Guardian is the outlet of record for soccer/football; simply by asking the question, they seem to be ascribing to the "retirement league" theory. To say that's a little disappointing is an understatement.



"Thierry Henry Won't Save Soccer in America" is perhaps the most ridiculous headline to come out of the Frenchman's signing. No, he won't, but only because soccer in America doesn't need saving. Again, it's the "retirement league" sentiment, although dressed up as "twilight league" (which sounds like some odd competition for tweens pretending to be werewolves and vampires), with poorly drawn conclusions based on zero understanding of MLS and why it's nothing like the NASL in the most important ways.


It's easy to fall into a hyperbolic trap with Henry's arrival. Because the ability to avoid absolutes has been lost by most of society, and soccer people are understandably excited, the inevitable response from MLS haters is that Henry's signing is nothing more than an dog and pony show involving a washed-up player who might succeed here, but only because the league is a joke. There's no winning with people who are already entrenched in the anti-MLS mindset.


For some people, the facts don't matter. What we have here is a retirement league.

It's finally here...Thierry Henry announcement day. Kinda. It's in the New York Times, so we know it's real, and after all the nonsense, acknowledgment is step one. No more beating around the bush. No more games, no more subterfuge, and no more clever marketing. The Red Bulls have an aging, cheating, France-disaster contributing (because they're ALL contributors, Anelka-like petulance or not) all-time great striker on their hands, and dammit if he isn't going to help them fill up that beautiful new building of theirs.


I imagine it's like freaking Christmas for Red Bull fans. I'm happy for them. I can put my cynicism on hold for the moment, because tough the timing is unfortunate, I have high hopes for what TH14 can bring to Le Toreaux Rouge. On the field, provided he can adjust quickly to the MLS style of play, he will score goals. Off the field, he will be the highest-profile ambassador for the league since you-know-who, and hopefully with a clearly picture of how he will compose himself.


He already has a leg up on Beckham because his arrival does not coincide with an injury. Henry will debut in a friendly and not in the league, but that's neither here nor there for the moment. Playing in America's media capital will give him ample opportunity to play league pitchman in his likable way, and while I'm reserving judgement on New York's chances to win it all until I see Henry make them markedly better, his arrival brings a rich new element to the rest of the campaign.


Rumors of a third DP landing in Harrison are swirling now. With Angel, Henry, and another possible name player, New York will suddenly live up to their rightful status as big market behemoth. The checks and balances of caps and playoffs make it extremely unlikely that they can run away with a title, but I am reveling in the silly nature of it all.


Even if the revised DP rules make little difference beyond New York and New Jersey, installing the mechanism for the richer teams to separate themselves, even if it's only in fading star power, is a step in the right direction.

by Vlad Bouchouev

After chasing Thierry Henry’s tail for nearly a year now, the NY Red Bulls are set to sign the Frenchman within the coming weeks. Henry once looked like the ideal candidate to fill a designated player slot in New York, but I’m afraid this is no longer the case. The issue lies in a number of things that just have not gone in Henry’s favor.


As a brief background, Henry has been expressing his interest in playing in the States and his appreciation for New York City for a few years. Once Henry transferred to FC Barcelona in 2007, many began to speculate that the Catalan club was his last pit stop before the Big Apple. He is also one of the most decorated French players of all-time. Having had some of the most dynamic partnerships on the field with legends like Zinedine Zidane and Dennis Bergkamp, Henry has been no stranger to success. As a result, his undisputed legacy seemed to have been locked as a legend of the game - that is until things began to turn sour.


Barcelona seemed to have always been just a bit too crowded for a player of his age. With players like Messi and Eto’o, Henry struggled to get a lot of playing time there. That was the first of several obstacles to a smooth end to Henry’s career.


Then came the big one: the infamous handball against Ireland in the second leg of the 2010 World Cup Qualifier playoff. The controversy was huge. The Football Association of Ireland launched a formal complaint to FIFA seeking to replay the game. Although the complaint was rejected, the damage to Henry’s legacy was done. Nasty headlines were published across the world describing Henry as a “cheat” and death threats soon came after. Even the President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, described the move as “blatant unfair play.” The whole thing got blown out of proportion. Henry never meant to “cheat.” It was clearly a natural reflex to handle the ball and the play was missed by the referee. Henry helped France qualify for the World Cup but never did he try to cheat his way in. That’s just not him. Regardless, Henry’s reputation was no longer the same.


Seven months later, karma came around and slapped the French team in the face. The French national team fell into shambles at the 2010 World Cup after head coach Raymond Domenech dismissed starting forward Nicolas Anelka from the team and the rest of the team threatened to boycott the rest of the tournament. The team finished the tournament with 0 wins, 1 tie, and 2 losses. To top it off, France had themselves further embarrassed after Domenech refused to shake the hand of the host country’s head coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, after their 2-1 loss to South Africa. Bottom line, even though Henry was in the background of all of these events, he was still a part of it all.


Assuming the deal goes through, Henry will no longer be bringing the excitement to New York City that once seemed so appealing about him. Instead, Henry will look to use MLS as an escape from everything that he has experienced in the past year or so. And unfortunately most Red Bull fans aren’t as keen on him as they once were. Although he still is Thierry Henry, his reputation has been tarnished and excitement levels in New York City have fallen. With Juan Pablo Angel slowly coming back into form, some people don’t even want Henry to come.


Personally, I welcome Henry with open arms as I don’t blame him for anything that has happened. He obviously will not have the same effect on the MLS as David Beckham, but he will definitely bring in a little bit more quality to the league. And at the very least, we can still expect him to sell a few shirts and score some goals.

There's now a preponderance of evidence that the long rumored move of Thierry Henry to MLS, and specifically the New York Red Bulls, is all but done. While the signing is a massive coup for New York on the field, the arrival of any Designated Player will inevitably lead to analysis of his larger effect beyond how many goals he scores. Henry will be the first since Freddie Ljungberg, and the biggest since Beckham, to focus scrutiny on the league both from abroad and from domestic soccer fans who rarely pay attention to MLS.


Henry's signing, after the back-and-forth dance of rumors, whispers, and denials, means that MLS clubs (at least in the biggest markets) can actually follow through on major signings; one player doesn't represent a sea change necessarily, but it does indicate that big stars aren't always using the league as leverage to get new contracts in Europe. It helped get the deal in place that Henry is an admitted Amero- and NYC-phile, but even those factors don't take away from the gravity of the signing for the league and the club.


Unlike David Beckham's arrival back in 2007, Henry's coming to the States brings a player with a proven pedigree who is still young enough that he could not easily be called "washed up". Sure, Henry was marginalized at Barcelona, but the greatness of that team and the quality of players they possess mitigate the effects of his leaving because he couldn't get a game. Henry is just thirty-two, and though there's no way to paint him as in his "prime", he's by no means ancient. He did make France's World Cup squad, after all, and will arrive in the U.S. following the tournament.


Unlike with Beckham, there shouldn't be the stigma that Henry is headed to America to build his brand, take up acting, or enjoy a semi-retirement. Some of that is thanks to the slowly growing reputation of MLS, and some of it is due to Beckham's own experience here. Even if the nicest thing the European football community says about MLS is that it didn't "ruin" Beckham, since he likely would have made the England World Cup team if he hadn't been injured, that's something. Henry will join a significantly different MLS than Beckham did back in '07, with expansion ramping up attention, new stadiums in New York and Philadelphia, and a muted "boom" environment that he will only help spur on.


Henry isn't a sideshow. He's fan of New York (the city) with solid ties to the States in the sporting world and a genuine passion for growing soccer in America. Where Beckham comes off as manufactured and plastic, Henry projects a likable, genuine quality that will endear him to American soccer fans. Without the overkill hype of Beckham's arrival, and keeping in mind that his profile outside of the sport in the U.S. is much lower, Henry might actually be able to do more long term good for the sport and the league than his English contemporary.

When David Beckham went down with his unfortunate achilles tendon injury a few weeks back, I wrote that the loss of their English superstar increased the league's imperative to sign a new star. That logic was based solely on the prospect of a Beckham-less MLS, one that would want for mainstream attention in the US and a higher level of interest from abroad.


Some of the loss of Beckham will be mitigated by a new found fan respect for Landon Donovan, however, because the American star finally proved himself in Europe. But no matter how much Donovan has raised his stock, he can never be the star Beckham, Henry, Raul, or Shevchenko are, or bring the soccer credibility to the league that they would.


So the imperative remains. And if Don Garber's recent statements are any indicator, the league appears ready to make a push to bring in more top-level talent this season. Garber intimated that the Designated Player rule is up for review, and changes could be in the offing that would increase the DP slots for each team. Though only a handful utilize theirs now, an extra superstar would certainly be handy for teams like LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, Toronto, and Seattle. New York's link to Thierry Henry was renewed again today courtesy of The Telegraph, and if the Red Bulls are intent on making a large splash in their market with their new arena as the linchpin, a second (and possibly third) big name would go a long way.


There's also belief that a new DP slot will be added that is roster and salary cap-exempt; this would free up clubs who are currently hesitant to bring in a big name player to do so without hamstringing themselves elsewhere.


If MLS clubs are going to dip their toes into the high-priced waters this summer, it will be due in part to leveraging the World Cup; post-tournament signings can either be name players American fans will have seen play in South Africa, or big names who missed out but are still bright stars in the football world. American soccer fans coming out of the World Cup will be more likely give MLS a chance if they might see a Henry, Trezequet, or Shevchenko on the field at their local park.


Perhaps the imperative, then, isn't just to sign Thierry Henry or a player of his ilk to replace Beckham, but to to bring in a larger wave of players in the mold of Freddie Ljungberg to do the job. Spreading money around to several stars should create a larger marketing impact on the established soccer community in the United States, even as it fails to have the pop culture impact that Beckham did. If the league is serious about going after soccer fans in this country who don't currently follow MLS, then it's a strategy that makes sense.


It's going to be an interesting summer, both because the American performance at the World Cup could raise soccer's profile dramatically at a time when MLS is better prepared take advantage once the tournament is over, and because MLS appears ready to spend money (even if it's not in the way some people would like) to raise its profile and become more attractive.

David Beckham won't be playing soccer for the foreseeable future. It's very possible he won't be playing soccer, at least professionally, ever again. At the very least, Beckham is faced with a long recovery, a slim chance of appearing late in the MLS season, or a 2011 return.


As Jamie Trecker and others have pointed out, this leaves Major League Soccer in a difficult position from a marketing standpoint; even if Beckham, or the architects of the Beckham plan, failed in the goal of pushing the sport into the American mainstream, he did have some effect on both attendance and merchandise sales.


The question now becomes, is it necessary to replace Beckham as MLS' marquee recognizable player?


Whether you choose to term Beckham's influence on MLS and its fortunes a "success" or a "failure", it's impossible to deny that there was some positive benefit. Beckham was the nitrous oxide to an engine that has slowly been building speed over time; his appearance on the scene bolstered attendances (though this has since dropped off dramatically), sold jerseys, and put the league in the public eye both here and abroad on a much larger scale.


A ready-made replacement for Beckham's role in the MLS business model has already been linked to the league: Thierry Henry. Though Henry is well down the celebrity food chain, at least in the United States, he would bring a footballing cache that Beckham struggled to due to injury and a single-minded focus on making the England World Cup team. The drop off from the Englishman to the Frenchman would be significant, but replacing even 50% of Beckham's influence is better than replacing none.


Henry may have been on his way to MLS eventually regardless of Beckham's presence. The rumors of his signing with New York surfaced because Henry has an affinity for the country and that city, and because the Red Bulls need to make a splash in their market. But the imperative to sign Henry, if MLS feels it necessary to fill the gap left by Beckham's injury, has multiplied dramatically in the last twenty-four hours.


We can debate the merits of the DP rule, and we can argue about the wisdom of signing ultra-expensive talent when much of the league makes less than the average accountant; but MLS made their superstar bed three years ago when the Beckham experiment began, and may be loathe to go back to their former condition, where a truly marketable name was wanting.


Henry will sell jerseys, put a few more butts in the seats on the road, and do the flashy work of scoring goals when Beckham could not. From a strictly business perspective, he might even be an upgrade (depending on the salary, of course).

Major League Soccer, barring a collapse at the labor agreement negotiating table in the next few weeks, will play it's fifteenth season in 2010.


Though that history, eight different clubs have taken home the MLS Cup trophy (in its various forms). An MLS team has captured the US Open Cup in every year but one. In total, eleven different organizations have trophies to their names. Of the clubs that haven't won anything at all, only two are league originals with a history of failure going all the way back to 1996.


Of those two clubs, one needed thirteen years and a miracle playoff run to get to their first final, which they then naturally lost. No trophies, no success, and the butt of so many jokes that even the club's own fans can't help but poke fun on occasion.


It couldn't have been easy to be a MetroStars-Red Bulls die hard. Good thing, then, that New York fans are now the luckiest in the league.

By virtue of their market, New York will always be one of the most prominent American soccer clubs. It doesn't matter that the club has never won anything; in a league as young as MLS, it's more the international reputation of the city rather than actual play on the field or trophies in the display case. And well, New York is a draw for the likes of Thierry Henry, Raul, Ze Roberto, and Maldini the way Kansas City, Columbus, Dallas, and even Washington simply are not.


So it shouldn't surprise us that New York has been linked to all of those names in recent weeks. Add to the New York aura the brand new, and by all accounts world class, facility the Red Bulls are set to christen this season, and Red Bull fans should be riding a wave of euphoria unlike anything they've experienced before. Only the glory of a title could push the wave higher, and as with any MLS season, New York has as good a chance as anyone to bring the Cup home in 2010.


For now, at least until results on the field come in an potentially ruin the high, Red Bull fans are the luckiest in the league. No one else can boast a facility like Red Bull Arena. No one else can boast being connected to names like Henry, Raul, and Ze Roberto. While their history is terrible, their branding distasteful (to some) and their match-attending fan base lacking over recent seasons, the future is honestly and truly bright for New York Red Bull fans.


Not that any of their rivals will care. Adding the Union to the mix of New York-directed hatred that emanates from United and Revolution fans should make 2010 a notable one for New York.


Don't worry though, Red Bull fans. Not only do we already know that you thrive on the abuse, but you've got a sparkling new stadium to go to and world renowned footballers linked to your club every day. There's much to be happy about.


Fourteen years and no trophies, and you're still the luckiest fans in the league.