MLS is a tightly managed league with particular attention to holding teams accountable to a realistic salary cap.  They have learned from all of the  failures of the NASL and their spree of signing major players before they had a viable income stream (Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Chinaglia).  Major League Soccer has now been around for 15 years and have a stable base of fans.  To help grow the game and bring in star talent, the league introduced a salary cap exception known as the Designated Player, where only a portion of their salary counts towards the team’s salary cap.

And that is how we got Thierry Henry in New York.

Designated Players

Most teams have tried to take advantage of this rule since its inception in 2007 by looking for higher priced talent.  Some of the other players snatched up from Europe using the DP are Freddie Ljunberg (earning his bones at Arsenal with 216 caps, 46 goals), Juan Pablo Angel (Aston Villa with 175 caps, 44 goals), and most infamously David Beckham (ManU with 265 caps, 62 goals and Real Madrid 116 caps, 13 goals).  My thoughts on Becks are clear.

Of the three, Angel has certainly performed at the highest level with his NY Red Bulls side, 87 caps and 54 goals.  He was also the youngest of the three when he came to US soccer (31) and he played striker, though Ljunberg has been exceptional with Seattle.  Against MLS defenses, Angel had the best chance for a measurable impact.

While the designated player rule is a step in the right direction, so long as teams watch their bottom line, it just expedited the influx of retiring Euro’s into our sport.  Before, the big names in soccer would come over in the mid-thirties.  Now?  They’re arriving in their early thirties.

Here’s Henry

Thierry Henry could not crack the starting lineup of an abysmal, neurotic French team in the 2010 World Cup.  When he came on as a substitute, he was largely invisible.  He was hardly used last year in club football with Barcelona.  Is he washed-up?

For his pedigree of football – yes.  Henry doesn’t have much left in the tank.  But …

The difference between Henry and ALL of the other designated players is that his pedigree was substantially higher than the others.  He logged 123 caps and a record 51 goals for Les Bleu.  He is the third all-time goal scorer in the EPL, having notched 254 caps with 174 goals (or for his entire career 457 caps and 232 goals).  Since the collapse of the NASL, Henry will be the best player to ply his trade in the USA.

Is he better than Landon Donovan?  No, not any more.  But at his peak, Henry was one of the world’s best players.  American players struggle to break into top-level clubs where Henry was dominating them.  He earned the EPL Golden Boot four times.  He won a World Cup in 1998 and a Euro in 2000.

I think that Henry possesses the specific blend of skills that will attract Americans, i.e. produce ESPN highlights.  He’s still got speed, deft footwork, and a cracking shot.  And he’s moving to the USA to live, full commitment.  I like the signing.  I like it a lot.

Watch this video and I think you’ll agree.

And this one …

And this one …

And finally this one.

Bienvenue, Thierry!