Thierry Henry scores in US debut as Red Bulls fall to Tottenham.

Thierry Henry scored a goal in his American football debut but it wasn't enough to get his New York Red Bulls past Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.

Robbie Keane and Gareth Bale scored as Hotspur rallied with two second-half goals to beat the Red Bulls 2-1 in an international friendly between Henry's Major League Soccer side and the English Premier League club at the Red Bull Arena.

"I would say that the reception was tremendous every time I touched the ball," Henry said.

Henry scored in the 24th minute of the first half. He made a near-post run past Verdan Corluka and then dove feet first in the box to deflect a cross from Estonian national team player Joel Lindpere past goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

Keane equalled in the 62nd minute, tapping the ball into an open net after Andros Townsend's corner kick was misjudged by 'keeper Greg Sutton. Bale scored 10 minutes later.

"He was a tough player over there," Keane said of Henry.

"I'm sure he'll be a tough player over here, as well."

Henry's arrival in the US follows his release from Barcelona and coincided with the striker's confirmation that he has retired from international football after making 123 appearances and scoring a record 51 goals for France.

Henry, who turns 33 next month, signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the Red Bulls.

Henry, a former World Cup and European champion with France, is the highest-profile player to join MLS since David Beckham signed with Los Angeles three years ago.

"He'll be a massive hit here in New York I'm sure," Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said.

"He's a world-class player still. He could play on any team in the Premier League in England. He's still good enough."

Playing his first match since France was eliminated from the World Cup with a loss to South Africa on June 22, Henry received a loud ovation when introduced in front of the crowd of 20,312.

The newest Red Bull member clapped his hands above his head to salute the crowd.

It didn't take long for Henry to impress. He had some deft exchanges with Lindpere and executed a freeing backheel pass and a bicycle kick that went wide.

Some fans also like the fact Henry took public transportation to the game.

"I was on the train with my friends and with all the fans," Henry said.

"For me, it was the quickest way to come to the game, and that's how I came. It was cool."

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Thierry Henry
• New York Red Bulls
• Tottenham Hotspur
• Robbie Keane
• US debut
• Major League Soccer

[AlexanderHvass]

American commercialism, a team actually named Red Bulls. I wanna vomit.

[AlexanderHvass]

@hohomahoro There's a bit of a difference there I'd say. Salzburg FC has a history of making money from changing name and colors much to the fans dismay. Not only this but the company Red Bull actually comes from Austria and has it's headquarters in Salzburg so there's still a sense of "city-pride" in the name. I don't understand why people wanna argue the fact that the US is a dirty commercialised country, it's just a plain and simple fact...

[mdhattem]

Me and my twin brother at 0:13

[ryan868]

@AlexanderHvass

So have you sent your angry letter of protest to Bayer Leverkusen too? I'd also like to point out, Red Bull has teams in multiple countries, including Austria, Germany, and Brasil, with their name on it..

[DaMattStar23]

There was a man u fan in the crowd lol

[wade2bosh]

@JohnnyMaverik pele played in nasl not mls

[JohnnyMaverik]

"he highest-profile player to join MLS since David Beckham signed with Los Angeles three years ago."

Pele?

[hohomahoro]

@AlexanderHvass in fact, there's a team also called Red Bull Salzburg. Not really American, yeah?

[AlexanderHvass]

@arvydas0069 I'd say it's worse with a whole team named after a company but yeah I guess I'm the one who is stupid. Also since I actually live in the states I challenge you to name 1 fucking european city that can compete with any semi-large city in the US when it comes to advertising and commerce. Name 1 please. Silly fucking bitch.