The press conferences and talk show appearances are behind him. The media circus, at least for today, is over. Thierry Henry turned his focus to training with the Red Bulls on Friday and what a relief that was for Major League Soccer’s newly minted Designated Player.
“It was the first one, but you don’t even know how happy I am,” he said. “I was so happy to come here and finally get to see my teammates. Obviously I had to in the past two days a lot of stuff, a presentation and some shows, but I come here to play so I was so in a rush to meet the guys. Tomorrow I’m going see the game in Columbus to try to cheer them up and be part of the team. That’s why I came.”
Red Bulls coach Hans Backe’s focus was on preparing his starting XI, going over set plays ahead of tomorrow’s first place clash against Columbus at Crew Stadium. But he didn’t need to watch Henry in a small-sided game to know that the former French international will have a great impact on his team.
“Those type of players, just their touch on the ball is a different class,” he said. “The pace, how they can take players on 1v1, it’s a different class.”
Mac Kandji said he could tell Henry still has a lot to offer after just one short training session.
“You see him face-to-face, just playing with him, you could tell this guy is top class,” he said. “Now having Juan [Pablo Angel] and him on the same team, it’s just going to be a dream team.”
Henry met the players, speaking with several before and after training. He’ll have a week to get acclimated before his first appearance in a friendly against Tottenham Thursday at Red Bull Arena as part of the Barclays New York Football Challenge.
“What a script right? First game against Tottenham,” Henry said. “I didn’t even know because I think it was planned not that long ago.”
Henry said he hasn’t trained in about three weeks, so he’ll need some time to get the rust out. He’s unsure how long he’ll play against his old rivals, but the plan is for him to be fully fit to take on Houston July 31 at Robertson Stadium.
After checking out his new digs at a press conference at Red Bull Arena Wednesday, Henry had his first opportunity to see the squad’s training facility at Montclair State University Thursday and said he was quite pleased. Backe prepared Henry for the worst, even telling the media a few months ago that it’s not up to a player like Henry’s standard.
“What I was really happy about was the facilities, they’re great,” he said. “The pitch is great, the arena is amazing, dressing room. I’m already talking to the teammates. It’s really important to get to know them.”
While Henry will undoubtedly be asked to be an ambassador for the league and more media appearances will surely come, his focus is squarely on the field. In many ways he’s the anti-Beckham.
“I came here for one thing, try to help this team winning games,” Henry said. “Hopefully we’ll have a great togetherness, that’s the most important thing. Obviously the focus will be on me, but I don’t really like this type of thing. If we play well as a team and we perform, then the focus will be on the team.”
Even though Henry will turn 33 next month, Angel said there is no doubting what he will mean to the team.
“I played against him for a number of years and he’s one of the best strikers I’ve seen,” Angel said. “He’s still fit, he’s still strong, he’s eager to play, has ability to play behind the strikers, the ability to play forward, he scores goals, he creates goals, he’s intelligent. He has all the tools you require for a top-class player.”
Noticeably absent from Friday’s training session was veteran forward John Wolyniec, who appears to be the odd man out. It’s likely the Staten Island native will be cut to make room for Henry on the roster, although Backe declined to comment about Wolyniec’s status.