MLS Playoffs give Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry a final hurrah

We live in special times. Well, special times by Major League Soccer standards, at least. Not only are two of the best teams in the league’s relatively short history seemingly on a collision course for the Western Conference finals, but we’re also getting treated to what is likely to be the last hurrah for two of the most talented players to ever play in the United States and Canada.

Donovan and Henry have gotten here via very different paths, of course. Henry primarily made his name in Europe. The 37-year-old first took a starring role at Arsenal in 1999 before taking his game to Barcelona. Over 11 seasons at those two mega-clubs, Henry scored more than 200 goals. Although he has a World Cup medal to his name, he never quite achieved the same sustained level of superstardom on the international stage, yet his greatness has never really been in doubt.

Still, his move to MLS was seen mostly as an attention grab. He had retired from the France national team and it was unclear how much he really had left in the tank, coming over shortly after the infamous hand-ball incident that knocked Ireland out of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Whether or not MLS got the very best of Henry -- and it clearly didn’t -- we have been treated to some amazing highlights. Even a somewhat diminished Henry has been capable of absolutely dominating games on his day. The amazing vision is still there. The ability to make an impossible goal look routine remains a tool in his bag. That competitive spirit that drives him to push his team to victory when it has no business doing so still flickers.

Watching Henry over the past four years has been a treat. Yes, he’s often begged out of matches on artificial turf. He’s shown a petulant side at times, committing silly fouls and drawing thoughtless red cards. But more often than not, he’s shone us sustained glimpses of what once made him one of the world’s truly great players.

Henry has not officially announced that this is his final year, but it would be beyond shocking if he chooses to come back. He might not leave with an MLS Cup trophy to add to his list of achievements, but he is going out on top in another way: Despite joining the league at a relatively advanced age, he never suffered through anything approaching a down year. He’ll leave MLS having scored more than 50 goals and accumulating more than 40 assists over parts of five seasons. If this is his final year, he’ll close it out with a double-double matched by only a handful of players.

Henry is playing well enough that if he doesn’t retire, it’s because Arsenal remains interested in bringing him back. No, he won’t be a starter, but like his six-match cameo a couple years ago, he can be useful.

Donovan’s star never shown quite so bright outside of MLS, but don’t let that diminish how good he’s been. His club stints in Europe may have left a bit to be desired, but Donovan still showed his class at the international level and he’ll go down in history as the most accomplished player the United States national team has ever had. His impact on MLS was even greater, even if individual moments of brilliance were not so much his thing. Rather, what he did was just pile up numbers, accolades and achievements like no one before him and likely no one will anytime in the near future.

Heading into his final season, Donovan has helped lead his teams to five MLS Cups (a record), three Supporters’ Shields and even a U.S. Open Cup. Individually, he’s the league’s all time leading scorer (144 goals) and top assist man (136). He’s managed to do all this despite missing many games for injury and international duty, although it should be said that he still ranks sixth all-time in MLS minutes played.

Donovan’s on-the-field accomplishments are what enabled him to have such a large effect off it, but that can’t be understated, either. Donovan has been the living embodiment of both U.S. Soccer and MLS for the better part of 15 years, having had that mantle thrust upon him while he was still a teenager and even before the accomplishments entirely warranted it. While the weight of expectations clearly affected his moods and may have even driven him to an early retirement, it has never seemed to hinder his ability to play.

Donovan has never experienced a genuinely bad year from a production standpoint, either, scoring no fewer than six times in a season and only once registering fewer than 16 combined goals and assists. An average season for Donovan saw him score about 10 goals and dish out about 10 assists. His peaks were also mighty impressive. His best goal-scoring season was back in 2008, when he found the back of the net 20 times. His highest assist total is this year’s 19.

But when he left, there was not much question as to how much he’d be missed. Sure, MLS might not find itself in the tabloid headlines over in Europe quite as often, but the league as a whole was so much better that its fans barely even noticed his absence.

There’s a similar level of expectation for when Henry and Donovan finally play their final matches, whether that’s in October or December. The league will go on and most likely continue its rise.

But unlike Beckham, whose MLS career was never quite as good as his stardom had suggested, Henry and Donovan have often been their teams’ best players, regularly contending for MVP honors. They are still stars, still among the league’s best players. In another year without so many other worthy candidates, they might even be fighting it out for MVP honors -- and they’ll surely get some sentimental votes as it is.

There are other players with comparable levels of skill. There are other players currently competing at a higher level. But Henry and Donovan were that two-fer special, great in the public and even better on the field. They will not be easily replaced. Even if these aren’t the guys you’re rooting for, they are worth taking a second to appreciate.