The New York Red Bulls took to the pitch on Thursday to prepare for the club’s upcoming regular-season match against the Montreal Impact at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
Following Saturday’s visit from Montreal, the Red Bulls have a quick turnaround as they host C.D. FAS in their first game of CONCACAF Champions League group play on Tuesday, August 26.
With two games in four days, players returning to the fold, international call ups and plenty of chances to pick up points at home, hear what Mike Petke, Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill had to say following Thursday’s training session in Hanover, NJ.
asked head coach Mike Petke about the advantages of having seven of the 11 remaining regular-season games at home:
“It depends on how we approach each game. It depends on if guys are ready to play,” said Petke. “Guys turning in performances that we know they’re obviously capable of, that they’ve done many times this year, or guys, for whatever reason, it doesn’t work out and they’re not ready to play. It depends, you know. We should look at these home games as three points every game.”
“I’m confident that if they show up to play that we’re going to get three points every game.”
asked Thierry Henry about the importance of having Jamison Olave back after serving a two-game suspension:
“It’s good, I mean his presence obviously and the way the guys in this league, the guys know about him. They know how strong he is and having saying that, people were talking about the way he got that red card after obviously he got the two, whatever, after that game against Salt Lake but I thought against Salt Lake, he was outstanding,” said Henry.
“We came back into the game somehow. We scored a goal, I don’t think we touched the ball a lot, it’s always difficult to go and play there and basically I thought that game he kept us in the game because he was just brilliant, you know what ever happened, happened at the end but he had an amazing game so it’s always a good thing to have him back.”
And in light of recent international call ups,
spoke to Tim Cahill about whether or not Australia is ready to take the next step on the international stage:
“We have to. I feel that what we did at the World Cup was really good but, overall, it’s now the momentum of lifting a piece of silverware in your own country in a major competition,” said Cahill.
“The steps start now and if you pick and choose, as an athlete, that you don’t want to play against Beligum or Saudi Arabia, or whoever it may be, it’s detrimental to what the country’s trying to do and it’s the same for any American international player. You have to play for your country, you’re representing your club, and it’s a massive honor at the same time.
Look what three games at the World Cup did for [DeAndre] Yedlin. It speaks volumes. I encourage international football because it makes your league better and it makes the standard better.”
