Live The Pitch

Thierry Henry took the pitch for the first time tonight in a New York Red Bulls Uniform playing spectacularly in his debut against Tottenham of the English Premier League. Tottenham defeated the Red Bulls 2-1 in front of a packed Red Bull Arena.

Henry scored his first goal for the Red Bulls in the 26th minute to put the Red Bulls on top at the half. New York squandered great chances in front of goal throughout the opening half and should have held a larger lead at the break.

Tottenham came out in the second half and took control early with New York making eight changes at the break. Robbie Keane would even the match in the 62nd minute for Tottenham after Red Bulls backup goalkeeper Greg Sutton severely misplayed a corner allowing Keane to pounce on the loose ball.

The Red Bulls halftime substitutions would falter again in the 72nd minute when left back Jeremy Hall tried to head the ball back to Sutton. The back pass was intercepted by a streaking Gareth Bale who touched it into the net for the match winner. Red Bulls had a golden opportunity to tie the match in the 80th minute, but Connor Chinn’s header rang the crossbar

Henry couldn’t ask for a better start to his MLS career. Henry will look to get more playing time as they get back into league play. Henry was awarded man of the match and was arguably the best player on the pitch throughout the opening half. The Red Bulls should be proud of their effort in the match especially in the first half when their better players were on the pitch.

The MLS took another huge step today announcing that French striker Thierry Henry has signed with the New York Red Bulls. The former Barcelona and Arsenal striker will take his game to the United States to prove he still has the ability to score goals.

Henry has won a FIFA World Cup, European Championship, and UEFA Champions League trophy.

“Some people might think I am going to go there for vacation — I do actually go there for vacation — but it won’t be for vacation this time,” Henry said in a video interview on the club website. “I’m a competitor and I don’t like to lose.”

Henry has agreed to a multi-year deal with New York and will be considered a designated player. Henry will be compared to the David Beckham signing to bring attention over to the MLS. The MLS has come a long way and the league has improved each year with stadium attendance growing astronomically.

Yes, Henry is far past his prime, but he still has the ability to score goals and lead his teammates on and off the pitch. Henry will make his Red Bulls debut in an exhibition match against English Premier League power Tottenham on July 22.

Italy has been officially knocked out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup after falling 3-2 to Slovakia.  The defending champions finished in 4th place for the first time in their great history.

In the other match Paraguay and New Zealand drew 0-0.  Paraguay finished on top of the group with 5 points and Slovakia finishes second with 4 points.

After drawing its first two matches Italy knew that a win could get them into the knockout round.  This is by far the biggest upset of the tournament.  Slovakia is a solid team but Italy choked in my opinion.  Typically Italy is very strong defensively and rarely gives up goals but today they were awful.

Slovakia took the early lead in the 25th minute when Robert Vittek’s shot from 18 yards out found the back post side net.  Vitteck would then make it 2-0 in the 73rd minute beating his defender to the near post to find the net.

Italy showed a lot of heart in the second half and had a few chances to actually tie the match.  Antonio Di Natale got the Italians on the board in the 81st minute but Kamil Kopunek answered just 7 minutes later for Slovakia.  Italy would not go down without a fight though as they made it 3-2 when Fabio Quagliarella scored in the 90th minute.  Italy had a great chance to earn the draw in the last seconds but could not break through.