From the moment the New York Red Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship against the New England Revolution, one of the biggest questions surrounding the series would be the fate of Thierry Henry and artificial turf.
Not even 24 hours removed from the club's historic series win over D.C. United and a week before the first leg of the next series, Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke had to steer aside questions about the second leg and what role - if any - Henry would play at Gillette Stadium.
How was it even a question? How could the biggest star in MLS miss arguably the biggest game of his four years in the league?
The easy answer: History.
Henry has appeared in 134 MLS games (regular season and playoffs) since joining the Red Bulls in 2010, and has never played at Gillette. It remains one of three MLS stadiums the French legend – and his balky Achilles tendons – has steered clear of due to their artificial-turf playing surfaces, along with Seattle's CenturyLink Field and Vancouver's BC Place.
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Henry has never been shy about his feelings about turf, and made himself clear not long after he joined the league four years ago.
“Maybe I need to remind you,” Henry told the media after a training session in 2011. “Turf is one of the most severe things I’ve seen for us to play on."
Some view Henry's stance as reasoned management of a 37-year-old body.
“It’s not that [Henry] just doesn’t like turf,” Petke said last year. “He has a chronic issue with his Achilles. And if I’m being told by the doctors that it could be damaged, then it’s a situation that, are you going to sacrifice or take that risk for one game?"
Others, meanwhile, see it as the petulance of a pampered superstar.
“It's been ridiculous over the past five years that he hasn't played on turf,” ESPN analyst Alexi Lalas said last weekend. “This is a guy that's making millions and millions of dollars. This is a guy that knew when he signed the contract, that this was the situation in MLS.”
But there has been one exception to the so-called "Henry rule": Portland, where the Timbers' status as primary tenants at Providence Park has allowed them to install and maintain a particularly soccer-friendly pitch. Manufactured by FieldTurf, it is backed by a shock-absorbing “e-layer” subsurface designed to improve its playability and reduce wear and tear on players' bodies.
“Their turf is good!” Henry said of the Timbers' home, where he's scored a goal and an assist in two regular-season visits, plus an appearance in this year's AT&T MLS All-Star Game. “It’s different from any other turf you play in the league. That’s an amazing one.”
But it's not different anymore. Gillette Stadium's surface was
replaced and upgraded in May
with the same type of FieldTurf surface used in Portland. It carries a 2-star rating, the highest awarded by FIFA for artificial fields.
The Red Bulls have not employed a cautious approach to artificial surfaces with only Henry. His veteran teammate Jamison Olave has shared the outlook that, while it can't be proven conclusively, avoiding turf has kept them healthy in the twilight of their impressive careers.
Henry has averaged nearly 28 appearances per year over his four full regular seasons, topping 2,100 regular-season minutes (the equivalent of more than 23 full 90-minute outings) in all four. And 2014 saw him set MLS career bests in appearances (30 of 34 games, all starts) and minutes played.
Olave, 33, has made more regular-season appearances each of the two years he's been with the Red Bulls -- 29 in 2013, 28 in 2014 -- than he did in any of the five seasons he was with Real Salt Lake.
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But the regular season is different from the playoffs.
“If I had to guess," Petke said, "if it was the MLS Cup on turf or a key playoff game on turf, I think the likelihood would be a bit more in their minds to say: ‘You know what? The hell with it. I’m going to risk it because it’s significant.’"
That moment has arrived. Barring last-minute complications, Henry's avoidance of the field at Gillette Stadium will come to an end on Saturday (3 pm ET; NBCSN), as the Red Bulls try to overcome a 2-1 aggregate deficit against the Revs.
“I’m playing. You happy?” Henry
told reporters
at Red Bull Arena last weekend after the loss in leg 1. “The only thing is if … my Achilles don’t last, then I will be on holiday -- if we don’t go through. I’m sure guys wouldn’t care if I can walk or not after that. That’s just the way it is.”
