Don’t call it a rivalry.
That’s what Thierry Henry said of the Red Bulls clash against the Galaxy Saturday night at the Home Depot Center. And while you’re at it, it’s more than just the first time in MLS that both he and David Beckham, the league’s biggest stars, will likely be on the same pitch together.
“Obviously it’s going to be LA and New York and people are going to talk about it, but that’s it,” Henry said. “You only get three points… It’s important to play well in this game like it’s important to play well against Chivas the week after and the other games we have after that.”
Henry bristled at the Becks talk Thursday following a rare training session at Red Bull Arena. “You guys love to focus on him,” he told the media.
He said he’s not sure the last time he faced Beckham. It might have been Arsenal-Real Madrid or France-England, but “that’s irrelevant,” the Red Bulls captain said.
“As I said, it’s not Beckham vs. Henry, its LA Galaxy against the Red Bulls,” Henry said.
That’s true, but as for it being “just another game,” as Henry put it, that’s simply not the case.
“There is a feeling this year that there is more of a special game because of the DP players, the high-profile players,” Red Bulls coach Hans Backe said. “This will be a football game. This could be a cracker.”
Indeed, it’s hard to ignore the main actors in this drama. There’s Henry, the French World Cup winner on one side along with former Barcelona teammate and Mexican captain Rafa Marquez, Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario and budding American star Juan Agudelo taking on megastar Beckham, former Red Bulls captain Juan Pablo Angel and America’s reigning star in Landon Donovan.
“It’s going to be pretty cool. It’s almost like an all-star game,” Agudelo said. “We definitely have to make a big statement. It’s the LA Galaxy, East Coast vs. West Coast kind of thing. It’s going to be a big game for us.”
The Red Bulls might be without linchpin Teemo Tainio, who came off at halftime of Saturday’s 1-0 win against Sporting KC with a groin injury. The Finnish holding midfielder was limited to participating in warm-ups at training Thursday.
“I still have tomorrow to see how it goes,” Tainio said. “But if I don’t train normally tomorrow then it means probably I’m not going to play. I’m still hopeful that it keeps improving and I’ll be able to train tomorrow and go for the game.”
If Tainio cannot go, Medhi Ballouchy should slot into his position with Carl Robinson coming off the bench.
“I think he can do it, absolutely,” Backe said of Ballouchy. “He is an option, definitely even if [Robinson] is more used to playing in a holding position. Medhi absolutely [can play there] with his passing game and technical skills. He’s an option, too.”
Backe is also altering the Red Bulls travel plans for this trip. Usually the team travels two days before a game on the West Coast, but this time they’ll travel on Friday following training at Montclair State University.
“I think we’re doing very well,” Backe said. “When I look at the training session today, it’s probably the sharpest I’ve seen here, the understanding between the players, the understanding of the game, the shape we want in attacking and defending.”
