Red Bull star Thierry Henry has done a lot of winning in his career, from the Premier League to the Champions League to the World Cup. But the French striker openly admitted he never has won a league quite like MLS, with the uniquely American all-or-nothing playoffs.
With his Red Bulls going into Saturday night’s game versus New England in the driver’s seat in the Eastern Conference, and with the chance to clinch a postseason berth, this is his best shot since arriving in 2010. And that is largely because their bench has exceeded expectations and rookie coach Mike Petke has defied his critics.
“People like to talk, for no reason. I think we’ve shown whoever is playing or not playing we’ve grabbed some results during the season,’’ Henry said of the doubters. “That’s what I’ve said since I’ve been here. You need to have a good squad, and we do have a good squad.
“What I like is the togetherness we have, and the way we fight on the field. At times the games are not too pretty, but getting a result against Seattle away, at Houston away and getting a result at Kansas City, it’s great. At least we know now we can perform away from home. … Our form is way better than what we were doing in beginning of the season or the middle. Now we have to carry on.’’
With three games left and 52 points already earned, they can clinch the playoffs with a win or tie over the Revolution, a Chicago Fire loss or tie and a Philadelphia Union loss. They can clinch a bye with a win and a Houston loss or tie. The Red Bulls have never won the MLS Cup.
“I’ve never been in a championship side that had to win through the playoffs,’’ Henry said. “It’s totally different for me. I’ve never been in a squad where you have to win the title through playoffs. … What we need to do is carry on what we’re doing.’’
And they have a better chance of doing it, thanks to the fight Petke has instilled in the team.
They got rid of last year’s leading scorer Kenny Cooper to much wailing and lamentation from many of their supporters, but they used that money to build a deeper, more balanced team. And Petke used that depth to create a competitive unit where everybody fights for minutes — and shows fight on the field.
“Every day you get judged by your results, and [Petke] has done that,” said Henry, whose relationship with Petke has been highly scrutinized. “It’s never easy to learn the process while it’s your first year, but like I said, you’ve got to start one day.’’
The Red Bulls are undefeated since Petke and Henry got into an altercation at practice on Aug. 30, and though they had to be separated from each other, the team as a whole has become closer since.
“He’s starting where people love him, where he is a club legend, so I would like to think that helps him in a way,” Henry said. “But great reaction, great attitude. You know how he is. He’s a fighter.
“He’s trying to put that into the team, and at the moment, it is working, definitely. So like I said, we’ve got to keep that mentality up.’’