I’ve some very, very sad news to report: Thierry Henry has retired from football and will spend the remaining days of his career getting paid to advertise Red Bull. Yes, yes, I know, officially he will be playing in front of people and there will be a football involved, but he is no longer a footballer and is now a “soccer” player so I think it’s fair to say he’s retired from football.
The good news is, as far as I can tell, New York doesn’t play Seattle again this year so I won’t be forced to go see Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg trundle around on a plastic pitch looking lost while waiting to be clattered by some talentless hack. I’ve already seen that back in 2006 when Arsenal played Charlton!
I do wonder what kind of reception he’s going to get over here. Everyone knows he’s past his prime since he was eschewed from Barcelona and left off the France team for their disappointing World Cup. I mean, he couldn’t even get a game over the dreadfully useless Sidney Gouvou — ugh.
More importantly, American football fans are fanatical, nay evangelical, about cheating and diving and 107% of Americans (109% of New Yorkers and a shocking 110% of Bostonians — all of them) claim to be Irish so I have to wonder how Henry’s handball will play out over here. I suspect that the television commentators will talk about it non-stop.
Meanwhile, a lot is being made of the fact that his first game could be against Tottenham but I hardly think it will be the same for Henry as his halcyon days with Arsenal. It’ll be his first game in months, there’s no rivalry between Tottenham and New York so the New York players aren’t going to be geed up for the game, it’s a friendly, and there will probably be more Tottenham supporters than, uhhh, “Red Bullians? Red Bullers? Redian Bullians?” at the game. Oh yes, folks, this has all the makings of an epic match. Look for Henry to be introduced late in the second half and look for some Spud to try to make a name for himself with a harsh tackle on Henry as well — if Henry even plays.
What’s not being reported is that New York will play Manciti that Sunday and that game holds a curiosity for me: what type of reception Thierry will give Adebayor?
Maybe he’ll give him an Arsenal shirt as a present?
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That’s an early blog for you today Tim – even by your high standards! I am glad Henry came to the Red Bull although I am not sure if it will help make the Red Bulls more popular as he does not carry the same poster-face effect as Beckham. I do hope he teaches some of the younger yanks a thing or two about being a good striker. We can definitely use some of that. Hey, maybe I can even get myself to give a damn and actually go to one of the games. The possibilities are endless.
Yes!!Finally get to see Henry play in my backyard.Hope Redbulls give tots a spanking like they did to juve. a month ago.
i kinda wish thierry finishes his career at home in france. even though i live and work in the metro dc area now, i am from the bronx, so the red bulls are my hometown team. i remember when they were the metro stars, and how their splashy signings of matthaus (2000) and djorkaeff (2006) did not work out – these moves bookending the 2004 howard/mathis/valencia team that came so close to the mls finals.
i understand it is also about money and the game’s visibility here in the u.s., plus not too many world class players in their prime are going to come play in mls, so this move makes sense for the league/team/player. i know i am in the minority here, but it just feels wrong to me. like mls is a golden parachute for world stars at the end of their careers.
July 14th, 2010 at 7:23 am
@oliver, You mean just like the NPSL? Nah… surely they won’t make that mistake again, right?
July 14th, 2010 at 7:27 am
i sure hope not! i get all the points about the money and lifestyle; i just do not think it will help u.s. football/mls image if we keep snapping up these stars on final paydays. that is what i meant by the golden parachute comment. i know it is a tough balancing act: league needs to have players to market, the likes of thierry can help league visibility. i just think these things also come at a cost of league credibility.
I really can’t blame the players from going to the States. Loads of cash and a fantastic lifestyle in a fantastic country. Who really is going to say no to that?
I remember when Beckham went to LA, I said to my mates who were laughing at him, who here would turn down £125m for 5 years and being able to live in the sunshine of LA?
i am happy. red bull come to toronto august 21st. i’ll be there in my arsenal shirt to see our record goalscorer. and i’m irish and i’m over his handball. in the end i was more angry at the french football federation and fifas reactions to the incident
Let’s face it, international football is lame anyway — who even cares about Thierry’s handball (and I’m of Irish decent). All i know is, despite the fact that I travel all the way to London at least once a year to catch a game for my beloved Arsenal… next week will be the first time I take the 20 minute drive to Harrison to see a Red Bulls game. I’ve literally never watched an MLS game before. Say what you will, but I’m excited to have Thierry here in my backyard! And there is a large and thriving group of Arsenal supporters in the NY/NJ area, so I suspect the game against the Spuds will have plenty of Arsenal supporters there. Really looking forward to it.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2985849/Oz-boss-blasts-Cahill-and-Grella.html
Does anyone remember Tim Cahill crying that the referee who red carded him had ruined his World Cup? Crocodile tears moron.
Cesc poo-pooing the shirt incident. He was surprised by the episode and that was obvious. So be it.
Juan Pablo Angel has been the NY Red Bull stud since coming from Aston Villa. I hope Henry will come in with right attitude and do just as well. The problem for the Red Bulls, has been their defense lapses over the past few years which has cost them.
A more interesting move for me is Ronaldinho possibly going back to Flamengo which could open up a move for Robinho.
I like that the Dutch can rip Webb without fear of fines from some spineless bureaucrats at an FA.
Today The Sun is reporting my conjecture from yesterday that Fulham want 4mil for Schwarzer. I would have a problem with Arsenal bringing in a 38yo goalkeeper on a multi-year deal. On the other hand Almunia best season was 2 years ago. He was clearly being ‘benched’ with his wrist injury last year. So we are in a bit of a pickle goalkeeper wise.
If people in Barcelona shirts are standing at intersections, in your neighborhoods, wanting to clean your wind shields, please be generous so they can raise enough money to buy Cesc
Sebastien Frey is now popping up on the radar. Probably far fetched but he’s more interesting at 30yo than Schwarzer at 38.
Tim, I have to say I’m disappointed. I really don’t see the value in perpetuating these Euro-centric critiques of MLS. Should every league but the PL, La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga just shut down? Henry is only 32 and scored 19 goals in La Liga the year before last-while being played out of position, no less. That hardly suggests a player ready for retirement. Should Henry, who has won every trophy there is to win, have stayed to sit on the bench at Barca when is clearly out of favor with Guardiola or signed with West Ham for 100k/wk to fight for a top 10 finish just so he would still be considered a “real footballer?” Perhaps, Henry wants a chance for a new challenge while enjoying living in one of his favorite cities in the world. Yes, we all love the Arsenal, but we should also support football in our own country and support our local teams rather than putting them down, which will do nothing to help the game here at home.
July 14th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
@Arsenal Station, funny, I get called “euro-centric” if I don’t love the MLS and called a “fat yank” by people in England for loving Arsenal. I’m used to it
I don’t like the MLS and no amount of beating me about the provincial brow is going to make me like it so telling me to “support local” is going to fall on deaf ears.
Why should I support local? So that I can line the pockets of Drew Carey? Because the Seahawks owners who are insanely rich can get richer off the rent my tickets help pay for? I should support the MLS and the Sounders, in order to make football bigger in the US, why exactly? “Support Local” is one of those off-handed cliches that people like to throw out as if it’s some kind of biting, intelligent, critique.
As for the notion of “local” I’m a kid who was born in Philly, lived all over the world, and I’ve chosen to live in Seattle. If I had my way I’d live in London but I can’t get a British passport because I’m not European. So, I’m supposed to support local? Which Local? Neu Ulm? Philly? England? Alaska? Hawaii? Kansas? Which place that I have lived or would like to live should I support?
What about Arseblog? He lives in Ireland, born and raised, why doesn’t he support his local Irish clubs? No one ever gets on him for supporting an ENGLISH club (for fucks sake, an Irishman supporting an English club) but because I’m an American I get a ration of shit from all sides of the Atlantic telling me to support the Sounders and the MLS.
Sorry, but it’s not going to happen. It’s not because they aren’t good enough or that they play on plastic with the insulting Jabulani ball because if Arsenal played here in those conditions I would support them. It’s none of those things, it’s because I love Arsenal and I only have room in my heart for one team. Sorry if you’re not built that way but I am.
As for Henry, as much as I love the man for his time at Arsenal, he scored 4 goals in 31 games last year playing on a team that scored 98 goals in their league, he’s retiring to the MLS and no I don’t begrudge him that but he’s hardly going to come over here and light the place up. There are 15 games left, if he scores 5 goals it will be a good haul because he’s lost a step and speed was his big weapon (how many headers did Henry score for Arsenal?), he’ll find that the hacks here are worse than the EPL and he just spent two years in Spain, the refs aren’t even good enough to get into the World Cup (there were 2 Mexican refs instead), and the fans don’t really care.
And finally, as for your disappointment in me… meh.
July 15th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
First, I didn’t call you “Euro-centric,” I called that anti-MLS rant “Euro-centric.” Also, dropping the “American football fan on a crucifix” routine is hardly useful among other American fans. Whether you want to support the Sounders or not is not the point. MLS plays a big role in creating talent for the national team as well as creating fans for the game here in the US. If you don’t want to support a team or the league, that’s fine, but I just don’t see the sense in bashing it in such snobbish terms.
Also, considering that you can’t stand MLS so much, I don’t see how you possibly then predict how Henry will get along. At least not without using those “Euro-centric” complaints of bad refs and rough defenders. While I admit that the officiating is horrible (though that is certainly not an American-only problem), MLS is no rougher than most other leagues in the world and hasn’t been for many years. When I see Americans bashing MLS in the terms you used, it looks much more like credibility-seeking with Europeans than a reasoned critique.
I love Arsenal at least as much the next guy, but, for me, it is also nice to watch live football. It is also nice to have football over the summer when Arsenal are on break (though even I will admit that it takes a few weeks to adjust to the level of play). Perhaps, I am just so sick of cynicism when it comes to football, as I see it far too often in fatalist Arsenal supporters. But that’s a whole other story…
Cheers to you and keep up the good work!
Arsenal Station
July 16th, 2010 at 7:35 am
@Arsenal Station,
I’ve watched a bunch of MLS games. If it’s on and I’m bored, I will watch it. What can I say, I like football. So, I feel like i have a pretty good sense of what the American game is like. I also read a lot of articles on a wide variety of topics some of which include the MLS so I feel like I’m pretty informed when it comes to the league and the players. In fact, I would say that the MLS is far rougher than even the EPL, which is one of the roughest leagues in the world.
As for my “credibility-seeking” you can go get fucked. I’ve been doing this blog daily for 2 and a half years and I have built a loyal following by speaking my mind. I don’t need you or anyone else to lend credibility to my opinion. If you read the blog you’d know that I have written several well-reasoned pieces that contain the kernel of truth for the jokes I made above.
As for the national team and me “supporting local in order to build the national team” two fucks… I couldn’t give two fucks about any nationalism team, much less the US team.
I kind of figured that this was really about you questioning my patriotism by telling me to support local since you didn’t answer any of my points.
Thanks for the condescension and for questioning my patriotism but in the future, save your sanctimony for someone else.
I HOPE HE CAN TEACH UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A THING OR TWO,THOSE GUYS ARE REALY NOT POPULAR IN FOOTBALL,SO I THINK THAT WAS A GOOD MOVE….
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