Thierry Henry has spoken highly of the influence that Rafael Marquez provides for New York Red Bull.
The Mexican international is much-maligned in North America following a series of on-field misdemeanours but his impact cannot be overlooked according to teammate Henry.
"Things happen on the field sometime, to me, a lot of players. But I invite people to watch the game that he played on Sunday. People didn't talk a lot about it.
"He calms everyone down at the back. Always when there is chaos, he puts the ball down, passes it around on the ground instead of kicking it in the stands and give it back to DC. In basketball, they call that a rebound. You have the ball again, and 10 times per half it's another story than kicking it in the stands and losing it. For me, that's a big deal.
"We know he played there because some people were missing but I think people misunderstand Rafa sometimes. He's a great person, he's a competitor like I can be sometimes you can go over the edge but he's a great guy. I hope people understand how valuable he is for us.""Rafa is the boss, for me. He just showed it. You've got to respect that," said Henry in the wake of the weekend's 3-2 win over DC United.
