The road to superstardom is all relative and genius certainly loves company, especially on the soccer field.
For now, at least, the Red Bulls and Coach Mike Petke believe they have a soccer-playing professor in their midst. One with tenure.
“To have a conversation with Thierry about soccer is like talking to Albert Einstein about physics,” Petke said during his weekly conference call. “It’s truly amazing.”
This season, Thierry Henry has taken a modified role as the team’s No. 10, or attacking midfielder. From a withdrawn position, he has scored 10 goals and added 14 assists (tied for second in M.L.S.). His close control and wondrous passing have helped striker Bradley Wright-Phillips score 25 goals this season — two short of the league’s single-season record. Henry is the intellectual and emotional heart of the team and veritable coach on the field.
Petke, M.L.S. and the club’s fans are all waiting for a resolution to the Henry queries: Will he stay with the Red Bulls? Will he take his talent back to Europe for a cameo? Will he retire? Henry, 37, has been at his enigmatic best off the field as he deflects these questions and gives only the most obtuse answers.
Last month, Red Bull’s global soccer head, Gérard Houllier, said he did not expect Henry to return to M.L.S.
Houllier, a fellow Frenchman, then backed off. There have been reports of Henry’s returning to Arsenal in England or perhaps following in David Beckham’s footsteps and signing with Paris St.-Germain for a midseason cameo.
No one knows for sure.
“Thierry is arguably one of the top players in the history of this game,” Petke said. “The prestige that he’s brought over here, the recognition back in Europe just from him being here and coming here in his prime. Just to be able to witness him on a daily basis over his entire stay here in M.L.S. is something I’ll never forget. He is one of the greatest soccer minds, to be honest with you. We can talk all we want about what he does on the field and what he can do, which is amazing.”
There is little doubt that Henry could make an excellent coach, should he choose that route. During the World Cup he provided candid and cogent analysis for the BBC. You will rarely come across a player, especially one in M.L.S., who is so well versed on the opposition and players around the league. (I’ve only encountered one over the years who is like Henry: Giorgio Chinaglia.)
While the Red Bulls have again qualified for the playoffs in M.L.S. after last week’s victory and Houston’s loss Sunday, it is sobering to realize that Sunday afternoon’s game against visiting Columbus at Red Bull Arena could be Henry’s final home game. That, of course, depends on where the Red Bulls finish in the Eastern Conference (they close with a match at Sporting Kansas City). The Red Bulls could finish as high as second place, or in fifth place, which would mean a one-game playoff away against the fourth-place club.
“Listen, there’s a lot of technicallys,” Petke said. “This could technically be my last game at Red Bull Arena, this could technically be any of a number of players’ last game at Red Bulls Arena. As far as Thierry, it’s been beat to death. He only knows what he’s going to do.”
Petke said it would be close to impossible to replace Henry “unless we get a Messi or a Ronaldo or someone over here.” He added, "You don’t replace — you remember, you take whatever you can from his time here, and you cherish the memories.”
In other words, it’s all relative.
Cold Ones
Budweiser is out and Heineken is in.
Early this week, Major League Soccer announced that Budweiser, a league sponsor since its inception in 1996, would be replaced next season by Heineken as the league’s official beer.
The five-year deal is worth $50 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Heineken, the Dutch beer that has its United States headquarters in White Plains, has long had an association with soccer (apart from being a favorite of many players over the years). It also sponsors the UEFA Champions League and the United States Open tennis tournament.
“We’ve been looking for a national engagement platform for the U.S. consumer linked to our heritage,” Nuno Teles, Heineken USA’s chief marketing officer, told The Journal. M.L.S. is “the perfect match of what the brand stands for as a European import.”
The New Crew
The Columbus Crew, following the example of M.L.S. teams like Sporting Kansas City, have unveiled a rebranding.
Beginning next season the club will be known as Columbus Crew S.C. Note that the S.C. stands for Soccer Club and not the affectation F.C., as in New York City Football Club, et al. Another team, Orlando City, which enters the league next season, also went with S.C. over F.C.
The Crew also updated their logo, dropping the three guys in hard hats motif (some people thought it was more Village People than industrial sweathogs) for a black-and-yellow checkerboard that evokes Borussia Dortmund of Germany’s Bundesliga.
Behind the Wheel
Six M.L.S. players will be put behind the wheel of a 2014 Lamborghini in a seven-part series that will debut Sunday, Oct. 19, on ESPN FC and across the ESPN group of networks.
Of course, it is in conjunction with one of the league’s sponsors, Continental Tire, but the players will be taking the car through a course in the parking lot of an M.L.S. stadium under the watchful eye of the professional driver Townsend Bell.
The players are: Giles Barnes (Houston), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), Sean Johnson (Chicago), Chandler Hoffman (Los Angeles), Stephen Keel (Dallas) and Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA).
The series will run through Dec. 7.