‘But although people keep on talking about Thierry Henry, it won’t be Thierry Henry against Bayern Munich, it will be Arsenal against Bayern Munich.
“It’s a team game, not a one-man show.” [said Henry] “If Lauren had not given me that amazing cross against Portsmouth last Saturday, I would not have scored our first goal. I always say that without my team, I am nothing. The only player I have seen winning games on his own was Diego Maradona, even scoring with his hands! I do not remember anyone else taking a team from the beginning to the end and making them win, like at the 1986 World Cup, where he played on his own.”
While Dennis Bergkamp has always been my favorite Gunner, it’s hard not to like the attitude of Arsenal’s biggest star. Unlike the thugs of Manchester United – fans, players and manager alike – Arsenal plays like a team, with beautiful, selfless passing that is effective as it is attractive to watch. While the European soccer leagues have a tremendous amount to learn from the NFL in terms of how to run a league profitably with maximum competitiveness, there’s a lot of US athletes who would do well to learn from Henry’s example that in a team sport, you cannot have true success without putting the team first.
With regards to tonight, two goals at Highbury against Bryan Munich is tough, but by no means impossible. Not with Henry, Bergkamp and Pires all getting back into action.
Note – Any socialists seeking to make a larger point of this might do well to note that a national economy is not a sports team, and life is not a game.