RED BULLS CONTINUE PRESEASON IN FLORIDA: The New York Red Bulls have arrived in Florida this week after returning from a 12-day stint in Mexico. While training in Fort Lauderdale, the club will meet up with the Chicago Fire and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (previously known as Miami FC) of the North American Soccer League to play friendlies on Feb. 23 and Feb. 26, respectively. The Red Bulls reserves will also take on the Fire’s reserves on Feb. 23. All matches are not open to the public.
New York faced Chicago twice in 2010. In the season opener and first MLS match at Red Bull Arena in front of a crowd of 24,572 on March 27, 2010, the Red Bulls won on Joel Lindpere’s 11th minute goal. On August 8, in the return fixture at Chicago, the teams played to a 0-0 draw. Former Red Bull Jon Conway plays goalkeeper for the Fire.
The Strikers, who just changed their name prior to the 2011 season, play in the NASL, as did their namesakes from 1977-83. Fort Lauderdale boasts Argentine midfielder Christian Gomez, who spent five years in MLS playing for D.C. United from 2004-07 and 2009 and the Colorado Rapids in 2008.
NEW YORK TO TAKE ON MONTREAL IMPACT AT SAPUTO STADIUM MAY 11: Red Bull New York announced that it will face the Montreal Impact in a friendly on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30 PM at Saputo Stadium in Montreal.
With Montreal set to join Major League Soccer in 2012, this will provide soccer fans around the province with a great opportunity to get an early taste of MLS action.
Some well-known faces will take part in this match, including a couple of former FC Barcelona members, French forward Thierry Henry and Mexican defender Rafa Marquez, as well as Canadian goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who played for the Impact from 2001 to 2006.
”I am looking forward to come to Montreal later this year with my teammates to play against the Impact,” said Henry. “I know that the fans in Montreal are devoted to their team and are excited to join MLS in 2012. It should be a great atmosphere at Saputo Stadium.”
"We are excited to play Montreal as they build momentum for joining Major League Soccer next year," said Red Bull New York General Manager and Sporting Director Erik Soler. "Montreal is truly a cosmopolitan city with a great soccer fan base and we are thrilled to help promote the Impact with this match in May."
“We are very excited to welcome the New York Red Bulls and bring an MLS team to Montreal,” declared Impact president Joey Saputo. “We will have the chance to face one of the original members of MLS, a club that has proved over the years to be a top class organization. This match promises to be a great experience for our fans. As we prepare our club for MLS in 2012, we would like to thank the Red Bulls organization for this opportunity.”
RED BULLS WRAP UP MEXICO TRIP WITH 3-2 LOSS TO CHIVAS DE GUDALAJARA: Despite goals from midfielder Dane Richards and forward Juan Agudelo, the New York Red Bulls ended their first preseason trip of the season in Mexico with a 3-2 loss over Chivas de Guadalajara at Omnilife Stadiumon Feb. 15. With the defeat, the Red Bulls dropped to 2-1-0 in preseason play.
After a stalemate for more than half of the first interval, the Red Bulls broke through from an excellent individual effort by Richards in the 29th minute. Rafa Marquez had possession in New York’s defensive half and swung a long ball to Richards. Richards slipped the ball through the legs of a Chivas defender and raced past a pair of markers before ripping a shot past goalkeeper Hugo Hernandez from the right side of the penalty box.
Richards played the provider of New York second goal 10 minutes later. The Jamaican intercepted a Chivas pass along their backline and took the ball to the right wing. Richards lofted a cross to an open Agudelo, who made no mistake with his header, nodding it into the back of the net.
Trailing by two going into halftime, Chivas had a goal disallowed in 52nd minute when a free kick from the hosts was headed in by Michel Vasquez but the forward was ruled offsides.
However, Chivas closed the gap to one with less than 20 minutes to play. Alberto Medina raced down the left wing and swung a ball to the back post that Jesus Sanchez headed past goalkeeper Greg Sutton. With momentum on their side, Chivas then tied the game in the 80th minute. A cross for substitute Antonio Gallardo was played into the box that the forward slid into the back of New York’s net.
New York was reduced to 10 men with five minutes to go, as Richards earned his second yellow card for a late challenge. Chivas was able to earn a last gasp victory with the last play of the match, when Jorge Mora headed home a cross from the penalty spot to give the hosts the win.
FULL RED BULLS 2011 MLS SCHEDULE RELEASED: The Red Bulls released their full 34-match 2011 MLS Regular Season Schedule. Full Season, 10-Game, and 5-Game Plans are all on sale now. Fans who purchase one of these plans will receive pre-sale access to purchase tickets for the 2011 AT&T MLS All-Star Game, which will be played on July 27 at Red Bull Arena. Individual tickets for the first half of the season and a discounted combo pack that includes the Los Angeles Galaxy match on Aug. 28 go on sale on Feb. 24 at 11:00 AM. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 1.877.RBSOCCER (1.877.727.6223) or TTY/Hearing Impaired line: 973.482.9060 or log onto www.newyorkredbulls.com . For a full schedule, log onto www.newyorkredbulls.com.
After kicking off the season against Seattle Sounders FC at Red Bull Arena at March 19 at 7:30 PM, the Red Bulls will head to Ohio to face the Columbus Crew on March 26 at 4:00 PM in New York’s first road match. On April 9, the Red Bulls will continue their Northeast rivalry against the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park in a contest that will be televised live by ESPN2 at 7:00 PM. A week later, the Red Bulls host the San Jose Earthquakes in a rematch of the teams’ 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.
New York will travel to Los Angeles to take on former Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel and fellow Designated Players David Beckham and Landon Donovan on May 7 in another match that will be televised by ESPN2. Later that month on May 25, the Red Bulls play host to MLS Cup winner, the Colorado Rapids, at Red Bull Arena. In June, the Red Bulls will embark on a four-game road trip, facing expansion side the Portland Timbers (June 19), Seattle (June 23), Chicago Fire (June 26) and San Jose (July 2).
On Aug. 28, the Red Bulls will welcome the Galaxy to Harrison in the second match between the two teams with the match kicking off at 7:00 PM. New MLS club, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and fellow expansion side Portland take their first trips to Red Bull Arena on Sept. 10 and 24, respectively. New York wraps up its schedule with a return tilt against Philadelphia at Red Bull Arena on Oct. 20 in a match televised by ESPN2.
A full broadcast schedule, as well as finalized kickoff times, will be released at a later date.
RED BULLS TO PLAY ATLAS DE GUADALAJARA IN PHOENIX: Red Bull New York announced that the Red Bulls will face Mexico's Club Atlas de Guadalajara in a friendly on Tuesday, March 8 in a game called Red Bull Reto del Sol, or “Challenge of the Sun.” The game will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, located in Glendale, AZ. Doors open 6:30 p.m. local time and game time is slated for 8:00 p.m. More information is available at www.redbullusa.com/retodelsol .
The Red Bull Reto del Sol match is especially notable as it will bring Designated Player and Mexican National Team standout Rafa Márquez up against the club where he first got his professional start. He made his debut with Atlas in 1996, appearing in 77 matches over three years for the club before leaving in 1999. Márquez spent the last seven seasons with storied Catalan side, FC Barcelona, and was part of the 2008-09 squad that won an unprecedented six championships. He has appeared in 10 regular-season games and both postseason matches for the Red Bulls, and this year will mark his first full season with the club.
Tickets for the Red Bulls Reto del Sol match are on sale now and begin as low $15 dollars. Ticket can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 and online at ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available at usual tienda locations in the Phoenix area and at the University of Phoenix Stadium box office in person or via phone at (602) 379-0102. For additional information please log on to www.universityofphoenixstadium.com .
Atlas is one of the three top-flight Mexican clubs that play in the city of Guadalajara. The club was founded in 1916 and plays its home matches at Estadio Jalisco. They have won one top-flight league title in their history, which was back in 1950-51, but have won several other domestic crowns, including three second division titles, the most recent in 1978-79. Additionally, the club has been crowned Copa México champions four times, and took home Mexico's Campeón de Campeones competition four times. The squad is currently managed by former Mexican International Benjamin Galindo.
RED BULLS 2011 PRESEASON TRAVEL SCHEDULE:
(Times/Dates Subject to Change)
Feb. 21: Travel to Fort Lauderdale, FL
Feb. 23: Red Bulls First Team/Reserves vs. Chicago Fire First Team/Reserves
Feb. 26: Red Bulls vs. Miami FC
Feb. 27: Return to NY/NJ area
March 3: Travel to Phoenix, AZ
March 4: Red Bulls vs. FC Tucson
March 5: Red Bulls vs. Sporting Kansas City
March 7: Red Bulls vs. FC Dallas
March 8: Red Bulls vs. Atlas de Guadalajara
March 11: Team Returns to NY/NJ area.
March 19: Red Bulls vs. Seattle Sounders FC at Red Bull Arena at 7:30 PM (MLS Season Kickoff)
RED BULLS ACADEMY UPDATE: The Red Bulls Academy picked up three victories against the IMG Soccer Academy in scrimmages over the weekend in Florida. The Red Bulls Under-18 Academy Team picked up a 4-3 victory, while the Under-16 Academy side won 2-1 and the Under-15 Academy team was victorious by a 3-0 scoreline. The Red Bulls Under-16 Academy team has a great challenge ahead of them, as they will take on the United States Under-17 National Team in a scrimmage on Wednesday, Feb. 23. All three Academy sides will return to the New York/New Jersey area on Thursday, Feb. 24.
