Despite all the focus on the arrival of Thierry Henry and talk of the potential addition of his former Barcelona teammate Rafa Marquez, the Red Bulls actually return to MLS action tomorrow in Houston (8:30 p.m., MSG). Will they play as well as they did Sunday in beating EPL side Manchester City, or as look as lousy as they did in their last league tilt, getting drilled in Columbus?
“I’m sure we’ll do a better performance; I’m absolutely sure,” said coach Hans Backe. “But saying that, I don’t think Henry will make a different (tonight) because of all the extra work he’s done, with the heavy legs he has now, probably maximum playing 45 minutes with all the things around him _ commercials, looking for apartments. I know it takes time to settle.”
Henry is liable to make his first MLS start _ presumably alongside captain Juan Pablo Angel, who played in Wednesday’s all-star game and just stayed in Houston _ but is unlikely to go more than a half. He hasn’t played an MLS game yet, but he’s fully aware of his team’s long-standing struggles on the road.
“I’m nowhere near fit yet. It is weird coming into the season in the middle of the season. I don’t know when the form is going to come. Normally in preseason it takes a month; hopefully it comes quicker than that,” said Henry, whose team hasn’t had a road victory in over a month, winless in their last five away games.
“We played two great games against Tottenham and Man City. Hopefully we can get something out of the game in Houston…Unfortunately for us we lost in Columbus, but we (have to) go out there re and try to win the game. It’s not easy to win on the road in this league. We know in this league the important thing is to win away from home; hopefully we can do this.”
The Red Bulls had gone to Columbus just two points behind the Crew with a chance to overtake them atop the Eastern Conference. But a loss there _ coupled with the Columbus’ win and the Red Bulls spending last weekend hosting the Barclays New York Challenge _ dropped them eight points off the pace.
“We’ve been getting ready for this game for two weeks. All the guys are ready,” said striker Mac Kandji, who could relieve Henry whenever the 32-year-old tires in the Texas heat. “We’re just going to go out there and try to get a win because a win would definitely really help coming from the loss we had in Columbus.”
Kandji _ who has been approved for a green card _ has drawn interest from a handful of European teams after solid performances in the Barclays New York Challenge, with a goal and assist in the win over City. But GM Erik Soler claims he has no intention of selling the 24-year-old striker, who is just now emerging.
“We wouldn’t do anything anyway. We haven’t gotten anything, wouldn’t do anything. We believe he’s a good kid, believe in the player, we think he will develop in this team and so he’s not going anywhere. Simple as that,” said Soler, who confirmed the club will announce a third Designated Player next week (Rafa Marquez?) and may add another creative midfielder.
*** The Red Bulls waived veteran forward John Wolyniec as expected…The club will speak to the agent for trialist Marcos Paullo and see what the young Brazilian would cost….CB Kevin Goldthwaite may not play again this year…Juan Agudelo scored a goal and led the U.S. U20 team to a 3-0 rout of Northern Ireland in the Milk Cup final.
