Thierry Henry has been among the most potent and prolific goalscorers in world soccer for the past generations, but he tallied just twice in last year’s Red Bull debut, assorted injuries kept him from ever being at his best.
But now _ with the 33-year-old French forward nearly 100 percent fit and enjoying his first full training camp with his new team _ Henry says he’s graduated from merely hunting for goals to creating them, grown from being a player that just looked to score to one that looks to lift his team.
“About scoring goals and being the go-to-player I _ not on a bad way, don’t get me wrong _ I’m past that. I’m more now of the mind making the team play better, if you know what I mean; that’s very important for me,’’ said Henry, who frequently dropped into the midfield during last week’s 3-2 loss to Chivas de Guadalajara in Mexico _ a game in which they led 2-0 at halftime before subbing liberally.
“The game against Chivas, I played in the middle. It was important for me to make this team click, give a pace to the game. After that, Juan (Agudelo) can score four goals every game, Dane Richards or even Bouna (Coundoul) comes up on a corner and scores. Seriously, it’s not my main concern anymore to be the go-to guy.’’
In that game last week, the Red Bulls not only held possession in Mexico against a Mexican team _ something Henry acknowledged was even difficult for his powerful Barcelona teams to do _ but even had the home crowd chanting Ole! Ole! as they played keep-away, string consecutive passes together.
“(We) played well for 70 minutes,’’ said Henry. “The way we were passing the ball around, it is the kind of thing that can help you win a title.’’
Despite being the third-leading scorer in the history of the Premier League, Henry has always been an excellent passer. He amassed 47 assists in three seasons from 2002–03 through 2004–05 for Arsenal, including a mind-bending 23 in that first campaign.
But considering the stage of the preseason and the venue, last week’s display may have been the Red Bulls’ best since Henry’s arrival, and it was done with him as a facilitator, playing the role of Magic Johnson, not Michael Jordan.
“You go through that at one point in your career where you want everything on you: It’s me. Corner kick, free kick, it’s me. Leave me everything, give me everything. Then you realize one of the most important things in the game is to be able to make the guys around you play better,’’ said Henry. “That’s way harder.
“The other day I actually enjoyed the game, I really did, being able to put people through open the space for someone else. It’s going to be about that this year. I hope everybody else is going to be on the same page, making everyone better.’’