TONY JOUAUX DISCUSSES HIS THOUGHTS ON HENRY MOVING TO THE US AND PLAYING FOR THE MLS
Louisville Lightning standout, Tony Jouaux, knows what it's like to migrate to the U.S. He grew up in France and honed his soccer skills at the A.J. Auxerre Youth Academy before moving to Kentuckiana to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Louisville. Yes, Tony was a little upset with France's performance in the World Cup, but his spirits were recently lifted by the news that his fellow countryman, all-star Thierry Henry, would soon be playing in Major League Soccer!
Henry is known across the world after playing for Monaco (1992-1999), Juventus (1999), Arsenal, (1999-2007), Barcelona (2007-2010), and being a regular with the French National team (over 100 international appearances). He is arguably one of the best forwards in the world and certainly one of the most popular among fans. For those of you who do not yet know, Henry also signed a contract with the New York Red Bulls of the MLS on Tuesday and will begin playing for them later this month.
We sat down with Tony Jouaux to get a little insight on Henry's historic move.
Louisville Lightning: Why do you think Henry decided to come play in the MLS?
Jouaux: Henry is looking for new experiences. We can see that in two different ways. He may be very interested in participating in the U.S. Soccer development. Or he may want to go away from the pressure in Europe to play in the US thinking that it is going to be easy.
Louisville Lightning: Easy? I dont know think easy going fans and New York typically go together in the same sentence. Do you think Henry is prepared to face the challenges of playing in the Big Apple and helping to build the sport of soccer in the U.S.?
Jouaux: MLS and New York fans let me tell you something; with what I have been reading and seen on TV in France about Thierry Henry, he is someone looking for challenges and he does his best in everything he does. His knowledge of international soccer is really good and I’m sure he knows a lot about the MLS. He knows more about it than we can think. Another player from France winning the World Cup 1998 and the Euro 2000 played in New York some years ago to finish his career. His name is Youri Djorkaeff and I heard that he did well. I’m sure Henry talked a lot to Youri to get his advice on moving to New York.
Louisville Lightning: Henry is now 33 years old. What do you expect to see from him on the field?
Jouaux: Henry is at the end of his career. I don’t think that we should expect great performances from him but I can tell you that he is going to take this new challenge seriously and will bring a lot of experience to the players around him.
Louisville Lightning: Henry has had a stellar performance for his clubs in recent years but is coming off a lackluster performance by France in the World Cup. This was mostly due to some of the administrative issues in the news, but what do you think about him playing for the bleu, blanc, et rouge again?
Jouaux: For Henry’s international career, going to New York does probably mean that he is not going to play for France again. I do not say that to devalue the MLS. A MLS season is too short to be considered for a national team in Europe. Beckham had the same issue and that is the reason why he went to play in AC Milan. It was to get a chance of playing the world cup 2010.
Louisville Lightning: So you think Henry's climb to the top of International soccer is over?
Jouaux: Well, no. Henry may [follow Beckhams example] and possibly come back to play in Europe when the MLS season is over.
Louisville Lightning:What does this new team represent for Thierry Henry's future?
Jouaux: It’s probably Henry’s last big soccer challenge and that’s a great opportunity for him. The MLS is a league that is a lot better than the rest of the world may think!
