MetroFanatic Hero of the Decade
December 17, 2019
If someone told us 10 years ago that:
Metro will make the playoffs every year for the next decade
Metro will win three major trophies
Metro will feature one of the greatest players in the history of soccer
Metro will feature a record-breaking goalscorer
We would have taken it, right? Sure, those three trophies did not include MLS Cup, but the Supporters Shield is nothing to frown at... especially for a team whose cupboard was bare up to that point. No, the 2010s were a fine decade for Metro, playoff failure be damned. So let's get to it: who is our Hero of the Decade?
With all apologies to Luis Robles, it can only be one of two: the aforementioned "greatest player" and "record goalscorer": Thierry Henry and Bradley Wright-Phillips. Two players who changed the path of this club.
Henry came on board when Red Bull was still in buying mode, and, after some early struggles, completely transformed the team. It wasn't just the goals and the assists, it was the brilliant dominance, the acute vision, the ability to take the team on its back and will it to its first Shield. It was Henry, more than anyone, who changed the club from and also-run to an MLS power. And we will never forget the red and black armband that finally linked the current incarnation of the team to its origins.
And then there is Wright-Phillips, who came without much fanfare, and somehow became the most lethal scorer in team's history. Two MLS Golden Boots, 126 goals, three Shields, and countless game-winners. With BWP on the field, you knew that as long as he had half a chance, Metro could score. If Henry ushered in the revolution, BWP kept the flame alive.
So, two worthy candidates, but only one Hero of the Decade. So, as worthy as the runner-up was, your Hero of the 2010s, the spark that changed Metro's fate:
Thierry Henry.
(Our Bum of the Decade? Three-time Bum of the Year: Red Bull.)
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