Red Bulls midfielder Tainio "a question mark" for LA trip
HARRISON, N.J. – Three weeks ago, Red Bulls defender Rafa Márquez
described Finnish international teammate Teemu Tainio as the “glue of
the team” – a player who holds everything together for New York.
On Saturday night against the LA Galaxy, the Red Bulls might become unglued (11 pm ET; ESPN2/ESPN Deportes).
Tainio, who has started all seven matches for New York this year in the
holding midfielder role, was subbed out of last Saturday’s 1-0 win over
Sporting Kansas City with what head coach Hans Backe described as a
“tight groin.”
“Teemu is still a question mark [for Saturday],” Backe said. “He’s still a little bit sore. We have to check him [on Friday].”
After missing training on Monday and Tuesday because of the injury,
Tainio did some work by himself on the team’s day off on Wednesday. He
returned to practice Thursday but participated in agility and strength
drills only, away from the starting XI.
The groin injury wasn’t a result of a pre-existing injury, and this
week Tainio has spent much of the week receiving massages and taking ice
baths. The midfielder said he felt better on Thursday than on Wednesday
but that he was unsure if he'd be ready to face the Galaxy this
weekend.
“It is hard to say,” Tainio said. “I’m hopeful.”
Mehdi the answer?
If Tainio is unable to be a part of the starting XI, Mehdi Ballouchy
could be an option. But for a player who wears the No. 10 jersey, the
move to a more defensive position could prove challenging.
“I think he can do it,” Backe said. “It is an option. Mehdi, absolutely with his passing game, technically, he can do it.”
There is logic behind slotting Ballouchy into the holding midfield
role, despite the fact that the player isn’t a true ball-winner. Backe
noted that all four of the Galaxy's midfielders are attacking players,
so by playing Ballouchy, Backe might be trying to match fire for fire in
the midfield.
Henry: Not just about Becks
Saturday's match pits the league’s two biggest stars in Thierry Henry
and David Beckham. Henry, however, dismissed the idea that he was drawn
to MLS because of Beckham’s big move to the Galaxy in 2007.
The former French international said he was aware of MLS long before
Beckham who played in the league, citing former teammate Youri Djorkaeff
— who played for the Red Bulls from 2005-06 — as someone to whom he
reached out to get the scoop on the league.
“I spoke to Youri, Becks, Claudio Reyna – the people who played here,” Henry said. “You guys just focused on [Beckham].”
Rodgers, Márquez good to go
Along with Tainio, forward Luke Rodgers was also subbed out at halftime
on Saturday after feeling pain behind his knee. Backe held Rodgers out
of training earlier this week as a precaution and did the same for
Márquez, who Backe said had felt some knee pain earlier this week.
However, both players participated fully in training on Thursday
morning, and Backe reported there were no problems with either.
Kristian R. Dyer can be followed at twitter.com/KristianRDyer