It was hard to ask for much more from Major League Soccer.
The two marquee franchises, New York and Los Angeles, and their go-for-broke budgets; star players firing balls and then barbs at each other; and then everybody gets to do it all over again four days later.
It was great theater...until the curtain went up.
Thierry Henry checks to see whether David Beckham is OK. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Then everybody minded their manners – though it may have helped that raffish Rafael Marquez was suspended – and the Galaxy defeated the Red Bulls, rallying for a 2-1 win Thursday night and a 3-1 aggregate victory to advance to the Western Conference final on Sunday against Real Salt Lake.
There were no studs-up tackles, no angry words and no need for a steel cage – just handshakes and hugs at the end of the night.
The 'dirty' Thierry Henry who Landon Donovan had called out? Why, he politely handed the ball to Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant after knocking him over.
All the teams did was play soccer.
And that was the problem. For all that MLS' flagship franchises have spent on star power - David Beckham ($6.5 million), Henry ($5.6 million), Marquez ($4.6 million), Robbie Keane ($3.4 million) and Donovan ($2.3 million) - this was just another playoff game.
As much as soccer fans in the United States turn out in droves each summer to watch Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and other European powers go through glorified scrimmages, there’s a reason there were empty seats at midfield in each leg of this series.
David Beckham earns a penalty after being fouled by Red Bulls defender Roy Miller. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
It was apparent in what the Galaxy’s stars contributed – hustle and savvy. Donovan's biggest play was sprinting 75 yards to track down Luke Rodgers at the back post, and clearing a cross that was there to be tapped in. The box score will note that Beckham's corner kick was headed in by Mike Magee, who was left unmarked, and Beckham drew a penalty kick that Donovan converted when Roy Miller mauled him in the box.
“I was surprised when I found his boot near my ear,” Beckham quipped. That had to match the surprise of how Keane, the former Tottenham striker, couldn’t put away any of his four shots, including two point-blank, or the errant passing of Beckham who had more passes go to New York (30) than he did to his own teammates (28).
For more than $12 million from those three players, shouldn’t the Galaxy get a little more than workmanlike effort, like perhaps a little skill or creativity?
Mike Magee and Chris Birchall congratulate Landon Donovan for scoring a penalty which put the game beyond NY Red Bulls. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
To see that, you had to see Henry, the former Arsenal and Barcelona star who has clearly lost a step or three, but not his touch or his vision and patience.
Without the rapidly declining Marquez, who was suspended after throwing the ball at Donovan after Sunday’s game, Henry dropped deeper into the midfield and took only three minutes to place a sublimely weighted pass through a gap in the Galaxy defense. It was right onto the path of Rodgers and the pugnacious forward beat Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders to draw New York even on aggregate.
Henry seemed to just float around the field, finding gaps in the defense, particularly going against the flow in transition. His economical movements aside, Henry also showed his old burst and athletic ability on occasion, one of which was tackling the ball away from Beckham.
“He’s tricky,” Galaxy right back Sean Franklin said. “He’s a very smart player. Not to say he’s old, but he’s older now so when you’re a little older, you use your brains more than you use your legs.”
New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry looked the best player on the pitch. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
As his impact on the game waned, it looked at times as if Henry was playing a different game than most everyone else on the field, moving into spaces that his teammates could not see or places they could not deliver him the ball. If others were frenetic, he was calm.
When Henry was asked about this, he smiled. ”I just try to do what the boss asks me to do," he said. "It's something I would rather not talk about now. Maybe on another day it would be better because you have to give them credit. At the end of the day, I'm on the losing side. It doesn't matter how you play."
Ah, but in some ways it does.
What's good for the Galaxy may not be good for MLS. Los Angeles did what it needed to do to win, scoring all three goals in the series on set pieces, and getting a terrific night from young center back Omar Gonzalez. It played with pragmatism, effort and togetherness, hallmarks that belie its star-driven team.
"If you were here everyday, you'd have no idea who's making a million and who's making $50,000," Magee said.
In the locker room, that helps win games. On the field, that won't win many admirers.
