Rafa Marquez said whatever success the Red Bulls have this year will be more about team than the dynamic duo that features himself, the international star midfielder, and his luminous teammate up front, Thierry Henry.
A slew of MLS observers would beg to differ, though.
When two players, who made more than $11 million combined for partial seasons in 2010, make similar salaries for full-time participation this year, expectations tend to be sky high.
Add that the Red Bulls advanced to the MLS semifinals last year, and it’s no wonder outsiders might consider this a second lost season if the title doesn’t land in Red Bulls Stadium.
“We have a great responsibility as a team to achieve something this year,” said Marquez, who came from FC Barcelona in time to play 10 games at midfield for the Red Bulls, and will now play next to the team’s Defender of the Year, Tim Ream, on the back line. “But it’s less about Thierry and me, and more about the team.”
After losing out on an Eastern Conference final berth by a one-goal aggregate score to San Jose with Henry injured most of the last game, the heat will be on the Red Bulls to go further. Henry went through the whole preseason healthy in his new role at center forward, and appears to have created a chemistry with 18-year-old U.S. National team member Juan Agudelo, who played sparingly last season.
Henry recorded just two goals and three assists in 11 games, but he’ll be expected to pump up his scoring as he works a full season. Since last year’s leading scorer, Juan Pablo Angel, has departed, Henry will be relied upon to replace his 13 goals with help from Agudelo.
Do that, and the Red Bulls have a shot at unseating Colorado, the MLS champions.
“I was born with pressure,” Henry said. “But if you look at the league champions, they weren’t always the teams with the star players. That’s why you don’t see teams winning back-to-back. But the pressure to win is the same. It’s always around.”
As the Red Bulls head into their regular-season opener Saturday against the Seattle Sounders, they find themselves in a distinctly different situation than last year. In 2010, they came off one of the worst seasons ever by an MLS club. But last year’s rise to the top of the East was the league’s greatest one-year turnaround, and has given rise to great expectations.
“You always feel you’re not a success when you don’t win,” Henry said. “There’s no such things as, oh, we made the final. We lost. There’s only one winner. The thing that makes having success so hard is that it’s a playoff-type thing. You have a bad game and you’re out. Like last year, I thought Dallas was the best team, but they didn’t win.”
Still, outside expectations indicate anything short of an MLS Cup this year will equal failure. Pre-sale attendance for Saturday’s opener is approaching 20,000, according to managing director Erik Stover. Season-ticket sales have passed the 8,200 mark of 2010 and could hit 10,000. Individual sales of club seats are up, as well.
Most of them, of course, will come to see Henry score goals.
“We’re good enough,” coach Hans Backe said. “Henry will score this year. He’ll score enough for us to win.”
The interest is there. Now, all the Red Bulls need are the results. And Ream doesn’t really care how they are achieved.
“In the media, it’s about (Henry and Marquez),” Ream said. “But on the field and in the locker room, it’s about the team. They’re all about team.
“We just want to win. It doesn’t matter how we do it.”