HARRISON, N.J. – Mike Petke was already visibly agitated after seeing his team drop an important Eastern Conference affair at home on Sunday. Then came yet another question about Thierry Henry’s uncertain future.
The New York Red Bulls have been inundated with questions in recent weeks about Henry’s status for next season, with the fire fueled by Red Bull head of global soccer Gerard Houllier saying first that Henry's future would not be with the Red Bulls, then reversing course and saying no decision had yet been made. Throughout, the veteran has insisted he will not make a decision until the offseason.
It has all proven an annoyance, if not a distraction, for a Red Bulls team trying to concentrate on advancing in the playoffs. That annoyance was evident in Petke’s response to the latest Henry question, following his side’s 3-1 loss to the Columbus Crew on Sunday.
“No. No, no, no,” said Petke when asked what he said to Henry during a post-game stroll. “Listen, too many times this year questions have been asked about individual players because of who they are. He’s my captain. I went and had a talk with him. You want to know exactly what we said? No. I was talking with [Ambroise] Oyongo. I was talking with [Eric] Alexander. You’re not asking about Oyongo or Alexander. You’re not asking about [Luis] Robles. You’re asking about Thierry. Come on, we lost a game tonight.”
Asked about the possibility that the loss had been the 37-year-old Henry’s final regular-season match at Red Bull Arena, Petke had no answer.
“Go ask Thierry if it’s his last game," Petke said. "I hope to God it’s not. I hope I have him back, or we, this organization, have him back for five more years, because he can still do it. But I’m not talking about it. He’ll decide at the end of the season.”
Even with the playoffs coming into focus, talk of Henry’s next career move is still likely to be part of the conversation. The Frenchman’s stardom – and his future – draws interest that spans the globe. However irritating the questions might be to a club trying to concentrate on the task at hand, Red Bulls players insisted Sunday that the topic does not serve as a distraction.
“That’s his own business,” Robles said. “Whatever he decides to do is up to him. It’s not like I sit at home at night thinking, ‘What’s Thierry going to do next year?’ He has every right to decide either way. That’s not my business.”
If the Red Bulls fail to win their season finale at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday (8:30 pm ET, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, TSN2 in Canada), they will finish in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and face a road game in the Knockout Round of the AT&T MLS Cup Playoffs. In that scenario, assuming Henry does not play in Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions League game against Montreal Impact (8 pm ET, FOX Sports 2, UDN), Sunday’s defeat against the Crew could have been Henry's final game at Red Bull Arena, should he decide to retire or leave the club in the winter.
Until that's resolved, Henry’s uncertain future in New York will remain a topic of conversation, even if Henry himself refrains from discussing it.
“No,” said Henry when asked if he gave any thought to Sunday possibly being his last game at Red Bull Arena. “Not at all.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
