CHESTER, Pa. – Like his temporary teammates, Thierry Henry (above left) seemed content following the MLS All-Stars’ victory over Chelsea, but he was even more impressed by the way the team played.
The MLS All-Stars won for the first time since 2008 by defeating the UEFA Champions League winners 3-2 on Wednesday night at PPL Park, with Eddie Johnson providing the game-winner a minute into stoppage time. And while the All-Stars needed to come back from 2-1 to grab the win, it was their ability to hold onto the ball for stretches and knock it around that impressed the likes of Henry.
“With this team, you could see the players wanted to play on the ground with lots of passes and quality,” the New York Red Bulls forward told reporters after the match. “Besides the victory, what I told you before is that we could have won or lost. This was a preseason game for them, but we’ll go home knowing that we could play with them.”
Henry was involved in helping the MLS All-Stars jump out in front. LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan played a ball to Henry on the left, and the Frenchman controlled it cleanly before picking out Chris Wondolowski who finished with ease to give the home team the lead in the 21st minute.
“It was a great ball by Thierry,” said Wondolowski. “He saw me coming near post and luckily the ball fell to me and I was able to bury it.”
The result will be the topic of discussion for most soccer pundits and fans alike, and perhaps rightfully so. But for Henry, the MLS All-Stars’ ability to go blow for blow by playing open and attractive soccer is what really stands out after playing one of the top European clubs.
“We played very well,” said Henry. “That’s the most important thing for me.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at Franco8813@gmail.com.
