This would have been a week that would have caused some issues with the Red Bulls in past years. Fighting for first place in the Eastern Conference, with a strong chance for the Supportersā Shield, they are about to play two road games in five days, both on artificial turf.
That meant Thierry Henry, their best offensive player, and Jamison Olave, their best defensive player, would sit out to protect their bodies from the unforgiving surface.
Thatās not the case this year.
āI donāt understand the concept of not playing on turf,ā coach Jesse Marsch said. āI know that there are certain players over time that have said that. Of course itās not as easy on your body to play on turf as it is on grass, but thereās certain grass fields in this league that can be really hard at times and theyāre just as difficult for players to adjust to.
āI donāt want to have a team that has certain guys that donāt want play on certain days, and thatās not a slight to anyone in the past, but weāre going to have a team that every day we step on the field and every guyās committed to that. That partās been good. There hasnāt been one discussion in the team about whoās going to play in the heat, whoās going to play in the elevation, whoās going to play on travel days, whoās going to play on turf. Everybodyās ready to go.ā
So the Red Bulls, tied for first place with D.C. United with three games in hand, move confidently into a week that will see them take on the New England Revolution Wednesday night in Foxborough, Mass., and the Timbers Sunday night in Portland, Ore. Though Providence Park in Portland is considered to have one of the better artificial surfaces in Major League Soccer, the Revolutionās Gillette Stadium does not.
āI donāt mind the turf that much, to be honest,ā midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. āI guess Iām fortunate to not have to train on it every day. I donāt mind playing on turf, I never really minded it. Some guys complain about it being hard, but Iām okay. Iāve never had a problem with turf.ā
Neither does Bradley Wright-Phillips, which is a bit surprising considering the England native grew up in a nation that frowns on anything other than a natural grass pitch.
āItās alright,ā the striker said. āObviously itās going to be a bit taxing for some players but, personally, Iāve been in the league now two years and it is what it is. It wonāt do anything to our results or the game plan we have. Weāll go out there and play like itās any other game. Itās two good teams. Itās going to be tough to get some points from these teams, but weāre very confident.ā
Marsch says that although the Red Bulls have quality depth, heās not expecting to make major lineup changes to accommodate the field surface.
āRight now I think we have enough time to recover coming out of the Chicago game,ā he said. āIn terms of this game, weāll be able to look a lot from our first options, and then, with travel and the quick turnaround to go to Portland, weāll have to figure out where weāre at.
āIām certainly not looking to rotate, but if it makes sense to put a certain guy on the field, we do believe in every guy on this roster for sure and we certainly have a lot of depth. If guys get called on I know theyāll be ready to go. Itās more case by case then it is necessarily looking at a rotation.ā
Kljestan agrees, although he is ready to play both games without a problem.
āThat will be up to Jesse. Weāll see how weāre feeling after the first game,ā he said āI donāt think we should be thinking about any changes before we play on Wednesday. Weāve got to go in on Wednesday and do a job. Maybe the result will determine whether he makes some changes. That will be up to Jesse, but Iām sure everybody is excited to play a big game on Wednesday and a big game in Portland, where you have a good atmosphere and a cool stadium. Itās a challenging week ahead.ā
Though just 28 years old, midfielder Dax McCarty is in his 10th year in MLS. Heās played his share of games on artificial turf and, for better or worse, has gotten used to it.
āItās a little different. It takes a little longer to recover,ā he said. āObviously thereās just a different feel to it. The ball bounces differently. Muscles feel differently on it. You have aches and pains everywhere. Iām used to it by now at this point. Itās not an excuse. Both teams have to play on it.
āWhat I would say is (New Englandās) comfortable on it. Theyāve been playing on it for their entire existence. They know exactly how to play well on it. They know what they want to do on it. Itās a tough game for us. Weāre going to be ready for it. We know we can go in there with confidence and get a result. (The fieldās) gotten better. I think they replaced it. Itās not as bad as it used to be. Itās not as soft as Portland but itās still got a little bit of a bounce to it. You just have to be ready for anything.ā
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