On Friday, the New York Red Bulls announced Chris Armas would become the 16th Head Coach in club history, after the departure of Jesse Marsch.
In his first official press conference, Armas sounded comfortable, confident and excited about the opportunity to lead the New York Red Bulls as its Head Coach.
While addressing the media, Armas spoke about how this is a moment he's been preparing for since his playing days were over.
“I’ve been preparing, it sounds cliché, my whole life for this moment," Armas said. "I put myself in spots for that to happen. It’s always been through hard work and relentless to the goal and the next step was then of course, you realize you can’t play anymore. You can’t play forever. I’m a teacher, I’m a coach, and I was doing a lot of that as a player. I took the job four years ago not to be an assistant coach forever. It was coming. And now it’s just a dream come true to be right here."
Armas also credited many individuals for helping him grow into the leader he is today.
"I’ve been around some really good leaders," Armas said. "Denis Hamlett is one of them. Dave Sarachan, Bruce Arena, the National Team level, Bob Bradley, Juan Carlos Osorio, Alfonso Mondelo, Bob Montgomery, Manny Schellscheidt. I’ve just been so fortunate to be around these gentlemen and I’m always watching and learning and listening and picking up as much as I can."
Sporting Director Denis Hamlett also believes Armas, without question, was the right man for the job.
"I had the pleasure to coach him in Chicago, be on my staff, one of my assistant coaches, got to work with him here as an assistant coach in New York, and now it is truly an honor to appoint him as the new head coach," Hamlett said. "When you think about Chris Armas, there’s a couple things that come to mind. Flat out he’s a winner. More importantly I think when you look at the body of work that he has, I think it makes perfect sense for me, that he is going to be our leader moving forward."
Armas also has the respect of the players in the locker room, especially from the likes of Captain Luis Robles and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
"Even before any of all this happened, everyone saw the potential Chris has to be an incredible head coach," Robles said.
"Chris [Armas] knows how everything is done," Wright-Phillips said. "He has an input on how we play now. We have got a great head coach, he knows what is happening here, he knows how things work."
Now with Armas at the helm, the focus shifts back to continuing to prepare for the New York Derby against New York City FC, in Yankee Stadium. The Red Bulls are one point ahead in the standings, and will look to expand that lead come Sunday.
For Armas, being the Head Coach doesn't change how he's always prepared for games.
"I’m a worker, the core of me, that’s how my family was, my dad always had a saying that you have to earn it," Armas said. "I’ve been doing this stuff in my mind for a few years as I’ve watched closely and paid attention. It feels comfortable because I feel like I’ve been doing this all along.”
