Is Thierry Henry really that impressed with Sporting Kansas City? Or is he just softening up the prey for an easier kill?
Here’s what Henry, the Red Bulls striker who might be the second choice league MVP this year, says about SKC coach Peter Vermes and his side:
They go forward together, they defend together. They put their body on the line or they’re blocking shots. They’re very aggressive in a good way and have a good attitude. You have to give a lot of credit to their boss; he’s been doing a tremendous job for more than one-and-a-half years.”
The background here is that Henry and the Red Bulls face Vermes’ squad. This has the feel of another recent, big Eastern Conference match, that one between Chicago and New York inside the very same building.
That one didn’t work out so well for New York, as Chicago got things just right tactically.
In fact, that was the last time on the field for the Red Bulls. Since then, they are dealing with an unstable managerial situation, where Hans Backe may or may not believe he’s on the way out.
Either way, Henry and the rest of the Red Bulls need to play better Saturday than they did Oct. 6 against SKC. We told you why here.
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- dreadpirate82 - Oct 19, 2012 at 3:31 PM
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Says the guy who was red carded last year for blatantly kneeing Roger Espinoza in the back of the head and then fined and suspended for “violent conduct” after head-butting Kei Kamara in September. Those are the last two times he faced SKC, as he missed the first matchup for the birth of his son. I love watching the man play, but he’s losing respect with some of his behavior. Not sure what to make of his comments here. I actually feel like he’s being about 80% sincere. Maybe 81%…
His buddy Tim Cahill sure changed his tune from a month ago. As you reported on 9/20, he was not exactly complimentary. Looking back at his comments, though, they look more like the words of a guy pissed off that his team lost than someone lashing out against his opponent. Can’t say I blame him. Looking forward to this and all the other matches, MLS and otherwise, tomorrow. The international breaks simply don’t give me enough soccer.
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- Steve Davis - Oct 19, 2012 at 3:40 PM
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Yeah, I thought about Henry’s poor behavior, too. But then I thought, it kind of fits … because Henry was clearly frustrated on those days. And Henry is certainly a competitive persons. So, I couldn’t see any harm / hypocrisy in Henry being a jerk in those matches, and then later complimenting the team that brought it out of him.
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- kgg6 - Oct 19, 2012 at 4:29 PM
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I don’t know why but to me Henry hates the club he plays for. he never seems to have anything good to say about his club and you can’t blame for that.
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- dreadpirate82 - Oct 19, 2012 at 5:36 PM
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Interesting thought. He never looks all that happy these days, does he?
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to dislike the guy. He’s made me smile too many times.
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- iamgomez - Oct 19, 2012 at 9:04 PM
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NY top-three salaries: $13 Million
SKC top-three salaries: $700 grand.
Was wondering how SKC would do this year w/o a DP but their strategy of utilizing their young core of talent obviously worked well for them (and their owners pocketbooks).
