NYC charity game draws big crowd

NEW YORK CITY -- When Claudio Reyna and Steve Nash were putting the finishing touches on plans to host a charity soccer game in a public park in downtown Manhattan, they met with the New York Police Department and set in motion a crowd control plan.

But when the players arrived at the tiny turf field at Sara D. Roosevelt Park, Reyna rolled down the window of the black Cadillac Escalade that chauffeured him there Wednesday and realized he had terribly underestimated the size of the crowd.

"We got there and we had it completely wrong in terms of the excitement," the Red Bulls midfielder said. "We just couldn't believe it when we got there. It was 10 people deep and people were hanging off poles just to watch us play for free."

Just how crowded was it? Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati were sitting on the turf to watch the game because every other inch of space inside the park was occupied. Outside of the park, fans climbed trees and fences, others stood on cars and vans and even on the roof of an adjacent apartment building to catch a glimpse.

And who could blame them? On the field was a remarkable collection of soccer and basketball stars all playing the world's most popular sport. Alongside Nash, the two-time NBA MVP, and Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, were former Liverpool greats Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Rob Jones.

Playing with Reyna, Jozy Altidore and Gregg Berhalter were Jason Kidd and Baron Davis and Chelsea's Salomon Kalou, who played for Ivory Coast in a World Cup qualifier Sunday and was a late addition.

But the real star of the day was Barcelona's Thierry Henry, fresh off playing for France in Euro 2008. Before the match even started, Henry was mobbed by autograph seekers and media members alike.

"I think it was great," Henry said. "I didn't know it was going to be like a lot of people around the Astroturf. But I guess they wanted to see Steve, Baron and the other guys there. I don't know, I think it was a great environment. It was pretty special to come here and play with the guys that I see on TV usually because I'm a great basketball fan. It was pretty nice."

The match was billed as the "Showdown in Chinatown," and it benefited the Steve Nash Foundation and the Claudio Reyna Foundation. Following the match, there was a silent auction at the after-party at Replay, a clothing store in SoHo.

Reyna and Nash, who lives in New York during the summer, discussed the idea over dinner and it built up momentum over the last couple of months.

"It changed a few times -- basketball vs. soccer," Reyna said was one of the ideas. "We came up with teams and it evolved to today. Until two or three months ago we didn't really get the idea going."

Red Bulls fans were able to catch one final glimpse of Jozy Altidore before he heads to play for Villarreal in La Liga. And Reyna, who has been sidelined with a herniated disc, played the entire 60-minute match. Juan Pablo Angel, who was introduced to the crowd before the match, didn't play, still hampered by a hamstring strain.

"I knew I could get through that today," Reyna said. "I wasn't going to extend myself. I'm having back issues where I had injections. I've been training this week, so this turned into a training session for me. I had to take it easy."

As for the match, it was entertaining as it was surreal. Jason Kidd set up Kalou for the game's first goal. Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis crashed the net to make it 2-0 in favor of Team Reyna. Davis likely got his sports mixed up with a pair of hand balls in the box, resulting in penalty kick goals by Henry.

While Nash is an accomplished soccer player, the other NBA players didn't disappoint. Kidd certainly looked like he played before and Raja Bell and Barbosa both were better than anticipated.

Davis? Well, he provided the comic relief.

"I knew Steve could play," Henry said. "Baron was himself, pretty funny, as usual. I knew Leandro coming from Brazil had to have some skills. It was pretty nice. It was just about having fun."

The match ended appropriately enough -- with Nash taking a ball off his chest and scoring on a beautiful full volley. Team Nash came away with a 9-4 victory, but no one was really keeping score.

"I couldn't have scripted it any better," Nash said of the ending. "I guess that was the treat for all the hard work we put in it."

With this first game a clear success, are there plans in the works for Showdown in Chinatown, Part II?

"Next year hopefully we can get five or six more guys. I'm going to hit up my South American crew and hopefully (Javier) Zanetti and (Lionel) Messi will be around next year," Reyna said. "Messi will be on my team."

Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.