With the addition of star Amandine Henry, the NWSL is growing into the world's best
PORTLAND, Ore. -- When the National Women's Soccer League started four years ago, no one quite knew what to expect.
The U.S. Soccer Federation only committed to running the league for three years, per financial filings, and the previous two attempts at a women's league in the U.S. could never make it past that three-year mark.
Now, the four-year-old NWSL is looking like a league that will stick as it establishes itself as the premiere women's soccer league in the world -- and the surest sign comes from the recent addition of one player: Amandine Henry.
If you don't know who Henry is, you probably should. A box-to-box midfielder on the French national team, she is widely considered one of the best players on the world.
She won the silver ball at the Women's World Cup last summer as the second-best player of the tournament behind Carli Lloyd. She was named Europe's second-best player last year and was a runner-up in the BBC's Women's Footballer of the Year award announced in May. With Olympique Lyonnais in France, she has won eight league titles and three Champions League trophies, including one last month.
In other words: Henry, 26, is a star and she could've played anywhere in the world, but she chose to come to the Portland Thorns to join the NWSL. That would be like if Italy's Andrea Pirlo or England's Steven Gerrard came to Major League Soccer 10 years ago when they were still in their primes, rather than last year in their mid-30s.
"You add one of the best players in the world to your team and it's going to make a difference," said teammate Christine Sinclair, a Canadian soccer legend in her own right. "You give Amandine the ball and you know she's going to create something. She does the simple things so well, she always finds an easy pass and moves the ball quickly. Her soccer IQ is off the charts."
The 16,931 fans at Providence Park seemed to understand what they were getting Wednesday night in Henry's first start for Portland. Henry earned a booming applause that rivaled those for the introductions of U.S. national team star Tobin Heath and Sinclair.
The Lille, France native quickly proved just what she brings to the league. Her physical challenges to win ball after ball and the goal she created will be the biggest talking points, but her ball movement and the way she connected the lines up the field with quick threaded passes is where she raised the level on the pitch most.
She was cruelly denied her first goal for the Thorns in the 25th minute. She smashed a powerful header off a set piece that was going into the net, but it skidded off the head of teammate Nadia Nadim, who was put down for the goal. Henry officially earned the assist.
It's notable that the NWSL has found a way to attract a player of Henry's caliber. Just like MLS, the NWSL has a salary cap that makes it difficult to compete with the huge salaries offered overseas. In 2013, American national team star Megan Rapinoe also played on Lyon with Henry in France, where she was paid $14,000 per month. In the NWSL, the maximum a player can earn this year is $39,700 for the entire season, far less than what's available overseas.
The NWSL, like MLS did when it started 20 years ago, must grow slowly to prevent the overspending that doomed previous leagues, and that means offering modest salaries. But the NWSL is managing to attract talent for a better reason: The quality of play is high and a player like Henry can get even better by playing stateside.
"She's at the top of her game; she's in her peak. She's only 26 and she's got so much more to come," said Thorns coach Mark Parsons. "And when you listen to her talk, she's got a fantastic growth mindset. She's wants to be here because she thinks it's going to challenge her in a way she hasn't been challenged before."
Amandine Henry dribbles up the field during a friendly match between France and the United States.
That's due in no small part to the U.S. women's national team. The entire national team roster plays in the NWSL, a result of U.S. Soccer's backing of the league and a clause in the national team's collective bargaining agreement requiring it. The Americans, including players like Alex Morgan and Hope Solo, are the reigning world champions, known around the world for their tough physical style and unrelenting mentality -- qualities Henry wants to acquire.
"In France, the style of the game, it's more technical, more tactical," said Henry, who is still learning English. "In the U.S., it's more athletic and I want to progress more in physical [style of play]."
The NWSL does face something of a crossroads after this season. Per their existing collective bargaining agreement, many U.S. national team players will be eligible to play overseas next year if they want and there won't be a World Cup or Olympics keeping players close to training camps. But their collective bargaining agreement also expires at the end of this year and that clause could change.
For the players who want competitive games, a high level of play and large crowds, it's doubtful they will find a better environment in the world than the NWSL. In Europe, where some women's teams have been able to thrive with the deep pockets of affiliated men's clubs, it's often a case of the haves and have-nots. Henry's former club Lyon is one of a couple powerhouses and beating teams by hugely lopsided score lines is the norm.
"The NWSL, we're in our fourth season and the quality is just getting stronger and stronger. From top to bottom, every team is great and has quality players -- it's never an easy game, which is different than other leagues," said Heath, who played for Paris Saint-Germain previously. "I think [Henry] will be surprised at the quality of the players that are non-national team players because we play such a high-speed, physical game here."
The atmosphere at some of the NWSL venues certainly helps, too. In Portland, Henry's new home, the Thorns' average attendance is 16,735 so far this season, which exceeds some MLS teams and makes them the most well-attended women's club in the world. Lyon's average attendance is nowhere near that as they play most their games at a venue with less than 3,000 seats.
For the NWSL, big paychecks may come later as the league's fan base grows and other markets draw larger crowds -- but the league has the quality right now to attract the world's best. With the addition of Henry, it seems that it is enough.
The NWSL started with no guarantees beyond three years, but now it has a thriving fourth season with attendance going up and players like Henry joining the ranks. The history of women's club soccer may be spotty in the U.S., but the NWSL is looking pretty good right now. If Henry can succeed here, it may bode even better for the future.
