THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Thierry Henry’s boots have graced the grass of some of the world’s most storied soccer pitches.
The French star striker — and recent acquisition of the New York Red Bulls — admits he was warned when he joined Major League Soccer not to expect very much.
"People were telling me: be careful, don’t expect this, don’t expect that (from MLS)," Henry said in a conference call Thursday, ahead of the Red Bulls’ game Saturday in Toronto.
"And you know what, I’m more than happy to see what I’ve seen. I said early on, the fans away from home are amazing, our stadium is amazing, our fans are amazing. . . they’re nice, nice stadiums, nice fields. I’m more than happy with that."
Still, there are some obvious differences from playing in Europe for the 33-year-old, who spent time with Juventus and Barcelona, and played the majority of his career with English Premier League powerhouse Arsenal.
There’s his notoriety, for one. A morning show host in New York recently butchered Henry’s name when he was a guest on the show. Then, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, asked: "So you’ve just joined the New York Red Bulls, correct? That’s our soccer team here?"
Despite the fact he’s second only to David Beckham in star power and salary in the MLS –and his presence alongside Tiger Woods and Roger Federer in Gillette’s popular razor campaign — he clearly hasn’t attained household-name status everywhere. He doesn’t mind, saying he enjoys the fact he can roam freely in New York without being hounded by hoards of camera-wielding soccer fans. He even took the subway to his Red Bulls debut.
One New Yorker posted online: "We couldn’t identify him even if we fell over him."
On Thursday’s conference call, reporters pronounced his name three different ways when addressing the Frenchman. It’s TEE-uh-ree ahn-REE.
Still, Henry, who will earn US$5.6 million in guaranteed compensation this year, said on the field at least, the level of competition in the MLS is first-rate.
"People have been trying to ask me all the time to compare leagues, the competition here is tough, the league is good, you guys in Toronto have some good players — (Dwayne) De Rosario, (Julian) De Guzman, Mista (Miguel Angel Ferrer Martinez) . . . The Galaxy has got a very good team, Houston too has some good players, Chicago the same. The level is very good, very tough."
Henry leads a Red Bulls team into BMO Field on Saturday that sits second in the Eastern Conference standings at 9-7-4, one spot ahead of Toronto FC (7-7-5), which is trying to hold onto its first MLS playoff spot.
BMO Field, with its loud-lunged fans, has been a fortress for Toronto FC this season as the team has yet to lose a league game there. And Toronto fans certainly won’t be raising any banners — not friendly, at least — to welcome Henry, a World Cup and European champion with France and Champions League winner with Barcelona.
"Greg (Sutton, former Toronto ‘keeper) told me for sure that the atmosphere on Saturday is going to be amazing and to expect a tough game too," Henry said. "They had a good one at our place, but it’s 11 players against 11, we’ll see what’s going to happen there. But we know it’s very difficult to win there."
Henry played just the first 45 minutes in the Red Bulls’ 1-0 win over Toronto last week in New York, but created the only goal. The crafty striker held the ball and drew in three Toronto defenders, sending a pass back to Seth Stammler, who fed a streaking Joel Lindpere, who knocked it past Toronto ‘keeper Stefan Frei.
There was concern Henry wouldn’t play Saturday after his calves cramped up during New York’s 1-0 loss to Los Angeles last weekend. But he was back on the practice field Thursday and said his nagging calf injury won’t rule him out of the important Eastern Conference matchup.
Henry said the niggling injuries are the result of joining the MLS mid-season.
"For me it’s pre-season, playing games without training hard, without having a proper pre-season like you have normally," he said. "I have to manage games and training, but I can’t train too hard because we have games so that’s not the ideal preparation to play."
Henry was part of France’s disastrous World Cup squad in South Africa where teammate Nicolas Anelka’s profane tirade against then-coach Raymond Domenech led to the Chelsea striker being sent home and prompting a player strike.
All 23 players on France’s squad, including Henry, boycotted a training session in South Africa to protest Anelka’s expulsion. As a result, Anelka was handed an 18-game suspension on Tuesday from the national team. Before Thursday’s conference call, reporters were asked to avoid questioning Henry about the matter.
Henry was, however, asked whether he would consider his time in the MLS a failure if he eventually leaves the league without adding another title to his illustrious collection.
"Since I was seven, I always wanted to win, so whether it’s MLS or in my neighbourhood, it’s all the same for me, MLS, Liga, Premiership, that’s the mentality I’ve had," he said. "So the only thing that matters for me is to finish first, second doesn’t exist, third doesn’t exist. There’s no such thing. But that was since I was seven years old, not because I had a great career."
Toronto is coming off a 2-1 win over Cruz Azul on Tuesday in the opening group stage game of the CONCACAF Champions League. Toronto played that game without a pair of regulars, with Chad Barrett nursing a sore hamstring and Maicon Santos out with a knee injury. The team also opted to rest Frei, who should be back in action Saturday.