On Thursday, November 10, Felipe addressed the media for the final time of the year following the completion of the Red Bulls’ 2016 season.
Here’s what the field player with the most starts this season had to say:
- As the only player who was with Coach Jesse Marsch in Montreal, Felipe “understands what it takes to play with Jesse, the position and the formation he likes to play.” Says he continually tries to get better and do what it takes to improve the team.
- Felipe thought back to a game against Columbus earlier this year when comparing the playoff series, saying, “We almost did the same mistakes.” He felt they could have scored more goals and defended better. Said the team was missing something, whether it was a lack of concentration or killer instinct to continue the regular season’s success.
- When asked about the system, Felipe refuted the reasoning that the system didn’t work in the playoffs. “We weren’t sharp enough around the goal” despite multiple opportunities in the series, he said.
- On taking free kicks, Felipe said that he and Sacha Kljestan don’t plan ahead. Whoever is feeling it in the moment takes the kick, except when it comes to penalty kicks. Regarding PKs, he said Sacha is pretty good at them and this time was just unfortunate.
- On the season’s successes, Felipe stated, “We accomplished some goals.” He mentioned making the playoffs and finishing first in the East. Still, MLS Cup was the ultimate goal and unfortunately they didn’t pull it off.
