From Eddie Firmani to Bora Milutinovic, from Carlos Queiroz to Carlos Alberto Parreira and Juan Carlos Osorio, the Red Bulls and MetroStars before them favored splashy foreign-born coaches. Even the two Americans they hired already had a combined half-dozen Major League Soccer and U.S. Open Cups on their resumes.
Even after parting ways with Swede Hans Backe following a disappointing 2012, the Red Bulls tried to hire Portuguese Paulo Sousa right up until his work permit got rejected in the midst of training camp. So when general manager Andy Roxburgh wanted to give the job to untested assistant Mike Petke, it was out of character for the club.
It turns out the club needed its character changed more than it knew. Petke steered the Red Bulls to the first meaningful trophy in their history, though they came up one goal short of clinching their Eastern Conference semifinal series at home Wednesday night against Houston, falling 2-1 in extra time to the Dynamo, and getting outscored 4-3 in the two-game series.
Petke reportedly has gotten a new contract in the process.
It took some doing on Roxburgh’s part in January to sell Red Bull’s billionaire owner, Dietrich Mateshitz, and head of global soccer Gerard Houllier on Petke, a then-36-year-old assistant who never had run a single training session before being forced to do so for a rudderless team in training camp.
“What happened was the team had been knocked out of the playoffs. We had the bulk of the players on the pitch for two weeks, and Mike and I were on the pitch together. That’s what started it,’’ Roxburgh told The Post. “We had to make a decision, because we were already going into preseason training, so I took it to them in Austria that this is the way we should go.
“Both Gerard and the owners supported the decision. … I was convinced that Mike’s heart was with this club. He’s very passionate, and what I discovered working on the pitch was he’s very well-organized, and he’s a people person. I was convinced he had the potential, and he’s been gaining experience week by week. Don’t call him a rookie anymore, because he’s a winner.’’
Sure, Petke has gone from rookie to winner, but the Red Bulls have had winning coaches before. They’ve been to the playoffs 10 of the past 11 seasons. What sets him apart is earning the league’s best record and the Supporters’ Shield, the first meaningful silverware in the Red Bulls’ previously threadbare trophy case — and it took some convincing by Roxburgh to get Petke the job.
“Clearly I had to [state my case],’’ Roxburgh told The Post. “Clearly I had to give them sound reason behind that and I had to give them my reasons. When it comes to a head coach, the owner clearly has to be involved. But that was it. I gave them the reasons why we should do it, and they agreed.’’
ESPN had reported Petke had just a one-year, make-good contract, but Houllier said on Kicktv live just hours before Wednesday night’s game the Long Island native is on three-year deal. Whatever the case, Petke has the backing of stars such as Tim Cahill and — despite their practice field dustup earlier this season — Thierry Henry, and he clearly has had Roxburgh’s for a while now.
Whether it was a matter of Roxburgh’s personal philosophy or listening to advice and history — which has shown foreign coaches have struggled to adjust to the MLS’ restrictive salary cap and draconian rules — the end result is the Red Bulls appear to have gotten it right.
“There was a lot of advice floating around at the time,’’ Roxburgh chuckled. “It’s a mixture of things, a mixture of what your philosophy is, your experience is. It’s a matter of being pragmatic and recognizing what might work. I immediately thought [assistant coach] Robin [Fraser] was a class act. And I already knew Mike was that. It’s a whole combination.’’
And so far a winning one. No, make that a championship one.