Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
Thierry Henry is set to make his debut for the New York Red Bulls tonight when the Red Bulls take on English club Tottenham in tonight's kickoff of the New York Challenge (8pm, Fox Soccer Channel).
Henry is scheduled to play the first half tonight at Red Bull Arena against a familiar foe in Tottenham, the London arch-rival of Henry's former club, Arsenal.
The Red Bulls will look to rest some starters for tonight's match, especially with a second New York Football Challenge match awaiting on Sunday against big-spending Manchester City.
Tonight's match should offer a glimpse of just what sort of impact Henry can have in the New York market because tonight's Red Bulls-Tottenham match wasn't exactly selling a ton of tickets before Henry was unveiled last week. Now, with Rafael Marquez looking more and more like the team's third Designated Player, tonight could be the best measure of what Henry's individual impact can be at the turnstiles.
Just how fit Henry is remains to be seen. He hasn't even had a full week of training with the club since joining a week ago, but the upcoming matches against Tottenham and Manchester City should help with his fitness.
If you can't get to a television to watch tonight's match on Fox Soccer Channel, you can watch the live stream on SBI tonight along with our live commentary so stay tuned.
Will you be attending Henry's debut tonight? Think Red Bull Arena will sell out? Looking forward to the New York Football Challenge?
Share your thoughts below.
was interested in going to the tottenham game but as soon as Henry to Ny was official I bought 3 tickets…i’m even leaning towards buying season tickets now…great facility…great players right in my backyard?? why not!
The rest of soccer loving USA will be very dissapointed with NYC if they can’t manage to recognize how lucky they are to have been blessed and spoiled with an amazing stadium and world class players to support. Especially classy ones like Thierry Henry. Being from Atlanta we already have a built in hatred to most things New York due to the Braves / Mets rivarly and culture clashes but this would absolutely seal it if that stadium isn’t starting to hit full capacity most games.
where the hell were you before henry came?
i will hurt the first person who jinxes it by saying injury
oh crap
If RBNY continue to pay top tier players like the current 3 DPs then attendance wont be an issue. Getting tickets will be the problem.
I’ll be there with 7 of my boys in 101 making noise!
anyone ever drive to Red Bull Arena from the Philly area? we’re going tonight (my brother is a massive Spurs fan) and I was just curious how awful traffic is getting in there.
Have a solid group of 14 peeps going tonight. Even with starters resting and so forth, this should be a good display. Hoping Irving Garcia gets to make an impact and link up with Henry.
You’re going to have a video feed here???
Traffic is tough around Arena. you need to start entering parking lot 45 minutes before match time in order to get to your seats in time. btw, kick off at 8:30, not 8:00.
Depends on how early you arrive and where you decide to park. With tonight probably being close to a full house, the earlier the better if you’re parking at the designated stadium lots. I’d give away my trade secrets, but then they wouldn’t be so secretive.
SBI is streaming video now?
Yea, what’s up with this 8:30 business? Everything I’ve seen says 8pm. I feel as though someone is lying here.
Ives, I know this is just a quickie blog post, but you used the word “tonight” 10 times in this piece, including twice in the first sentence, and 3 times in the first 2 sentences. You might want to clean it up a bit.
Too bad I can’t go tonight but will try to watch the game. I too hope that the stadium can rock tonight. Great facility for soccer.
Wait… someone from Atlanta calling out New Yorkers for how they support their sport franchises? Is that a joke?
Maybe he was listening to Genesis’ song “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” when he wrote this…
haha fair enough…never been down there so I am guessing i’ll park as close to the stadium as i can find.
Rumor has it that there is a “mystery Brazilian” who will suit up with the team tonight. I wonder who it is…
Any chance that the signing of Rafa Marquez is announced tonight?
you coudl always take the train
cheap and no traffic.
drive to trenton, park your car and hop on the nj transit to newark penn. then take the path train to the stadium.
should be a little over an hour if you get on an express train.
What a great evening of TV ahead! Henry making his debut on FSC, followed immediately by Galaxy-Quakes on ESPN2. Whoohoo!
The stadium is very nice and these games are all interesting matchups. I hope we continue to see more of these set up. I would think they should sell out given the # of soccer fans in the area, but Red Bulls are NOT in NYC. That is an issue for attendance and will always be. Also, these games A) don’t count for anything despite the marketing gimmick name and B) Most of the key players for any of the teams either are not playing or will only play half a game. So that will impact ticket sales. You’re really paying top $$ to see a scrimmage.
You should park somewhere in the Ironbound and walk in over the Jackson St. Bridge. The further you park from the stadium, the better chance you’ll have of getting home before the sun comes up.
There’s also a free shuttle bus that’s supposed to run tonight.
link to newarktrolley.com
Give him a break, he was too busy polishing his “Eurosnob of the Year” award.
To Alexx’s point – if you have the time to hop on the train it may be easier. It requires a little bit of a walk (about .9 miles). My suggestion if you drive is to find street parking in either Newark or Harrison and then walk. There isn’t a ton of parking really close to the stadium (like the Linc or the Meadowlands). But if you’re there early enough you should be OK to get in a lot.
fat ronaldo to play GK instead of bouna
thanks for the tip…super helpful. are there lots in the ironbound, or is it basically get in where you fit in?
When I saw that the game is on FSC, I was bitterly disappointed. FSC can’t get their act together and the channel is still not available in HD on Direct TV. This is a disgrace!
I will wait until the Premier League season starts, but if no FSC on HD, I am dropping the channel.
Something’s gotta give. This is the XXI century and after the World Cup ESPN HD extravaganza, I refuse to watch football on a blurry screen.
Ives, please relate to your bosses. This is inexcusable!
Why are you getting all over Fox’s case? Blame your provider. In fact, go send them a note right now. They need to know you’re out here.
(And let DirecTV know you’re threatening to drop THEM, not FSC.)
You can always park the car at a train station and take the train to Newark.
I’m going tonight. Should be fun. I don’t understand why Tchani is not getting more playing time ahead of Stammler.
Precisely. Has nothing to do with FSC. All they have done is provided copious amounts of footy coverage to aide my chronic footy illness. It’s been awesome. My provider doesn’t supply HD yet either. But then again, watching a game on a fairly small TV in a Shebeen in Soweto, Jo’burg can put things into perspective. I think I can manage with what I have.
.9 miles a “little bit of a walk”??? Are you kidding? Anybody else wonder why we are a fat nation? You probably want to stop at Mickey D’s for a Big Mac along the way?
I’m kidding King… Calm down. I’m down from 310 lbs to 268 and everyday in the gym so I’m feeling good about things right now!
Plus, at Home Depot Center I park (for free) on the street whenever I can for that mile walk… Invigorates me after I pound those two 40′s in the car after I park!
Go Galaxy tonight and SMOKE those Faker QUAKERS! See ya there!
It just dawned on me, rereading Ivan’s post, that maybe he doesn’t realize FSC now has an HD channel — it’s just that DirecTV hasn’t yet picked it up.
Eff LA!
I think Veetle is a partner for the event so they are having legal streams of all the games. Im guessing thats what they are going to use on this site
That’s right, ridicule a casual fan because someone who sparks interest and is easy to follow for casual fans has joined the team. That will show him who the real man is.
The team brought Henry in for his skill AND his marketing appeal to current and prospective fans. If anyone is a snob in this scenario it is you for looking down on this new fan for no reason. He is a fan willing to give the Red Bulls a chance. Give him one.
I won’t be attending, but I will be watching. Good luck NY and Henry.
+1
Oh the irony of this post.
Chris, at least say where you are from if you are going to step up to attack Atlanta
Is there any links on streams of the game because i dont have fsc
The constant use of the term “Eurosnob” on this site has gotten FAR more snobbish than the few people who are unreasonable in their love of European soccer.
Hup Galaxy Hup! Who cares about this stupid friendly? Apparently not even people from NY
Best of luck for Henry hope he does good.
I will be there with my lovely wife!
you’re a dork. let people be happy.
NYRB lose championship match on a Hand Ball Goal.
Has anybody heard who this trialist Hans Backe said would play today or Sunday? Some 20-year-old Brazilian midfielder, apparently he will play 20 minutes or so. This is coming direct from the RBNY website.
We WANT new fans. Welcome to anyone coming to RBA for the first time.
LOL…i would have sworn that was Phil Collins solo!
or Verizon… or anyone else it seems. I think there is one guy next door to the FSC broadcast center getting it in HD.
This game is streaming legally tonight:
link to veetle.com
In a few weeks when we all realize that Henry is not even MLS quality, can’t handle the heat or physical play then what?
the RB thing is still serious to a lot of people. Sorry to bring it up, but it really is justified.
+1 on Garcia
then you can feel great about yourself
Yo, really?!
-1
It’s much easier to get to than the NY Jets or NY Giants games.
Seriously taking the path is no different than taking the subway into queens or brooklyn. I would love for there to be a soccer stadium with the boroughs and not on Randals Island. But they won’t really be that much easier to get to than RBA.
Marquez is Mexican
You’re insane. Do you think JPA is in better shape? He started for Barca up until last season. He’s one of the greatest goal scorers of all time. You think a little bit of heat and the MLS players are going to slow him down? Can’t wait for you to eat those words.
Does anyone recall what Ives has for the over under for Henry 12? If he passes that I will gladly eat crow. and yes I am insane so don’t feed me
I know that. I was talking about 2 different things. A Brazilian in addition to the Marquez announcement.
link to bigapplesoccer.com
I think irony is when something happens that you didn’t expect to happen.
How do you know he is a casual fan?
And yes, I am a snob when it comes to America.
+1
agreed
You just made me sad by calling me a name.
Red- not sure what you mean by “serious” but NY is 6 out of 16 teams in attendance and averaging 40+% over last years numbers. I just think it’s a little silly to think that signing one or two players is going to completely erase their first 15 years of being an awful franchise. The NY area also has 9 professional teams in the 4 major sports, and a lot of other things competing for peoples attention. In NY to simply be known is a accomplishment. As for the new stadium, while it is easier to get to it is not a place people in NY travel to often, and many probably don’t realize just how easy to get to it is yet. Finally, I don’t think you can completely ignore the fact that their name is the New York Red Bulls, for some it is kind of difficult to identify with a team that’s named after an energy drink. I think people are moving past this but it did leave a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths. It’s easy to say NY has all these people so we should be doing better with attendance, and that’s prob true to an extent, but you also have to realize the differences between NY and other cities as well as the checkered history of the team.
SoccerAtl- obv I’m a New Yorker and a Mets fan
How about old fans who have been jilted?
MCCHICKEN 4 LIFE!
link to veetle.com
Veetle will be the exclusive world-wide Internet broadcaster of the New York Football Challenge live from the Red Bull Arena. The live stream will be provided free, and in HD quality.
Visit link to veetle.com on the game day. The games will be streamed live worldwide except the UK. Past tournament games will be playing the week prior to the Challenge.
iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch user can watch using Safari
Just visit Veetle.com in Safari on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and you’ll be able to watch the games live for free.
Going to to be in the front row — bought the tickets before Henry was announced — with a friend who is a lifelong Spurs fan and never thought he’d see them here in the US.
I’m pretty sure, for people who actually like soccer, this ^^ is exactly the reaction we are all trying for.
Have fun, Gus, and welcome to MLS-fanhood.
See? That wasn’t hard.
then you can protest via self-immolation
I’m afraid of fire. I prefer to be publicly humiliated on this site
Another thing I think people outside of NYC don’t really understand are the number of events occurring every evening in NYC. I was offered free tickets to last night’s game, but I had an event that I couldn’t back out of (and wouldn’t have wanted to back out of for most anything). In this situation, the best of both worlds would be to record the game and watch it at home later.