It was another cold, windy day in the northeast, but the team will soon retreat to the warmth and sunshine of Orlando, Florida for their final preparations ahead of the 2016 season.
- TICKETS: Red Bulls Home Opener vs. Toronto FC, Sunday March 6
Following Wednesday night’s town hall meeting, the team got right back to work on Thursday morning with their eyes set on first kick. As always, New York head coach Jesse Marsch addressed the media in Hanover to discuss the latest from Red Bulls camp.
Arsenal Coming to America
The league recently announced some big news surrounding the 2016 MLS All-Star Game, as English giants Arsenal F.C. have been revealed to be this year’s opponent. Arsene Wenger will lead his team stateside for the second time in three years, with their last trip taking them to Red Bull Arena in July of 2014. The Red Bulls came out the victors on the day, earning a 1-0 result thanks to a Bradley Wright-Phillips game-winning strike. The match served as a testimonial for New York and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who suited up against his former club one last time.
As for this year’s match—set to take place in San Jose’s Avaya Stadium on July 28—Marsch expressed his approval with this year’s opponent.
“I like the format for the All Star game as long as it’s a marquee opponent, and I think Arsenal is definitely a marquee opponent. It should set up for a really good match.
“If it’s not a marquee opponent, then I don’t have a problem with it being East vs. West. If you can get one of the top ten clubs in the league—I’d put Arsenal in that category—then it’s a really good thing. It brings excitement to the players and the team and the brand of Arsenal coming here draws a lot of attention to our All Star game. For me, this is a good one. Sometimes we’ve had some other ones that aren’t necessarily marquee, then I sometimes wonder the value of it.”
Figuring Out Formations
One of the biggest talking points out of Red Bulls camp has revolved around a new formation that Marsch and his staff have been tinkering with this preseason. The 4-2-2-2 was showcased in each of New York’s four friendly matches to date, adding a new wrinkle to his game plan. However, Marsch explained that while this new formation is a deviation from the norm, it is not his first attempt at changing things up.
“We played with five in the back when we had leads,” he said. “We played some 4-1-4-1 when we were trying to get back into the game. [Playing with] two strikers was always something that I had on my radar, it’s just that we were having so much success with the 4-2-3-1 that there wasn’t a need to necessarily start to add an integrate something new that would disturb the rhythm.
“I said that about what our choice lineup was and what our choice formation was. We want to create more flexibility and more sophistication so that we can keep our opponents guessing. Then if we feel like making a tactical shift within a game will help us, we’ll have the intelligence and sophistication to do so.”
Veron Primed for Breakout Year
For a team without a “true star,” Gonzalo Veron is perhaps one of the most intriguing players within the Red Bulls squad. A Designated Player signing brought over from Argentina’s San Lorenzo in the summer of 2015, Veron didn’t have much of a chance to showcase his talents in his first, abbreviated season in MLS. But if the preseason has been any indication, all of that seems set to change for the upcoming campaign.
Typically deployed on the wing throughout last season, Veron has featured up top alongside Wright-Phillips to form a dangerous one-two punch throughout the preseason friendlies to date. Marsch explained just what makes the 26-year-old so dangerous, no matter where he plays.
“It’s mostly his movement and his speed and timing of plays. Even when he plays up high, he finds himself in wide spots. It’s a natural thing for him to drift into wide spots, so we’re trying to mix that up where he is making the kinds of runs that put him in not just positions to set up a goal, but to score a goal. It’s just about ironing out the details of what the relationships are like when playing with two strikers, but that comes natural for him. His ability and timing and speed mean that he’ll find advantages. And in every preseason game he’s been very dangerous, very dangerous.”
Bulls on the Mend
The quartet of Ronald Zubar, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Anatole Abang, and Alex Muyl continue to work their way to full fitness ahead of first kick on March 6. After training on Thursday, Marsch shed some light on the trajectory of their respective recoveries.
“Ronald and Abang are participating in the fitness element. Alex Muyl was in training today. Shaun is a little bit behind him, but not far off. We expect Abang and Ronald to be training once we get down [to Orlando]. Alex will be training and with Shaun we’re hopeful that, if he’s not training, he’ll be day-to-day.”
