July 29, 2010 NOT SATISFIED Henry: 'I don't know when the form is going to come'
Thierry Henry says he is "nowhere near fit yet and doing my thing."
Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images
Now that the formalities and the excitement of putting on a Red Bulls uniform is out of the way, Thierry Henry is poised to make his real debut for the MLS club this weekend.
Henry admits he doesn't know what sort of match fitness he is in or how long he will last against the Houston Dynamo Saturday (MSG, 8:30 p.m.). He certainly isn't satisfied with his fitness at the moment.
In a Wednesday interview after practice at Montclair State University, Henry said that he was "trying to get fit. Nowhere near fit yet and doing my thing."
Henry's thing, of course, is terrorizes opposing defenses and scoring goals.
"I don't know when the form is going to come," he told reporters. "Normally, it takes a month to get back in form. Hopefully, quicker than that."
Henry scored 25 minutes into his Red Bulls debut in the 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at the Barclays New York Challenge last Thursday. He played 45 minutes in that game, as he did in the 2-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday.
"We had two great games against Tottenham and Man City," he said. "Hopefully, we can get something out of the game . . . in Houston.
"So far, so good."
The Red Bulls are 3-4-1 on the road this season, which puts the Eastern Conference second place team (8-6-2) in the middle of the pack playing away from home.
"We know its not an easy one on the road to win," he said.
"We now in this league it is so important to win away from home. The important thing is to get into the playoffs. Once you get there, anything can happen."
While teams usually get booed on the road, Henry realizes he could get cheered at Robertson Stadium Saturday night because of his celebrity and because there are Arsenal and Barcelona fans all over the world. Henry played for both clubs, most recently for the Spanish side before he joined the Red Bulls.
"It did happen to me in England, getting cheered away," he said. "When you play with Arsenal and Barcelona, you have fans who are in other towns."
