[nas] Remaking the Red Bulls

Remaking the Red Bulls

via The Netminder by Beau Dure on 9/4/08

Put a pair of Vulcan ears on New York sporting director Jeff Agoos. He uses relentless Spock-like logic to describe the Red Bulls' approach toward shaping up the roster this season.

When Jozy (Altidore) left, we knew we had a big hole up front, but we knew we needed to get someone to get Juan (Pablo Angel) the ball. We think Jorge Rojas can do that. We knew we needed to strengthen that middle when Jorge would go and roam and find Juan, and Juan Pietravallo was that player.

We can hear the shouts from fans of other MLS clubs wondering why their teams didn't have such a plan in place when assembling their rosters. Even the vaunted Steve Nicol-Paul Mariner machine in New England took a hit this week with the legitimate question: "Shouldn't you have enough defensive depth to avoid giving up four goals at home to Joe Public?"

The Red Bulls may not be done. Though the incoming transfer window has closed, Agoos says the team has a few guys in on trial and will go up to the Sept. 15 roster freeze to pursue trades and discoveries, particularly looking for a forward.

But don't call Agoos trying to trade a forward for the playmaking Rojas. He laughed at that idea: "We won't give up Jorge for a forward. That's putting the cart before the horse."

Venezuela might not be the first place many people would look for soccer talent, though Giovanni Savarese was a favorite at Giants Stadium for a while. But Agoos says that's the market MLS teams can afford. Besides, having a few hotshots on the roster isn't always the way to go. Agoos again:

What's really important in this league is the camaraderie and the chemistry. You can't be like Barcelona or Real Madrid, where you just have 25 superstars and they all go their own way. This league demands that the team is always put first, and this is one of Juan Carlos (Osorio)'s strong points.

From Osorio's perspective, patience was the key. He didn't sweep into New York with the intent of doing a hasty makeover.

We have resisted the temptation from January to July and played 15 games with the same squad that we had from last season -- A, to give players a chance to play in their best position in different systems and show us what they're capable of, and B, to identify what was our main priority, where were our main weaknesses.

The Red Bulls didn't really push anyone aside to make room. Altidore left for Europe, which was bound to happen sooner or later. Claudio Reyna bowed to the years of battering his body has taken and retired. The Red Bulls also traded backup goalkeeper Zach Thornton to Chivas USA.

The departure of Reyna, a designated player, gave the Red Bulls plenty of room under the salary cap to accommodate Rojas ($94,000 guaranteed compensation, according to MLS Players Union figures), Pietravallo ($192,000), defender Gabriel Cichero ($157,500) and defender Andrew Boyens ($43,750). Defender Diego Jimenez ($12,900) is a developmental player.

Agoos and Osorio aren't going overboard with their praise, but with three convincing home wins and a strong road draw in August, the Red Bulls have opened up a six-point lead on Toronto, Kansas City and Dallas in the race for the league's eighth playoff spot. A win over Osorio's former team Saturday in Chicago would move them into a tie for third in the East.

And would you want to play these guys in the postseason?

Sent to you by pakurilecz via Google Reader:

Remaking the Red Bulls

Things you can do from here: