The Red Bulls 2010 renaissance is off to a cracking start. Brand new stadium open? Check. Shutout in impressive opening day victory? Check.
Now the Red Bulls are in Seattle, trying to win away from home for the first time since May, 2008. And there are signs, from a new management team to an undefeated preseason to snapping a six-game winless streak against rival Chicago Saturday, that gives the Red Bulls reasons to be confident heading into tonight’s match at Qwest Field.
“The things that I’ve seen during preseason and the first game of the year, I think we are in better shape to give everybody in this league a hard time on the road,” Red Bulls captain Juan Pablo Angel said.
Last year, the Red Bulls rolled out the MLS welcoming mat to the expansion Sounders, who trounced the Red Bulls, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd and a national television audience, a result that resonated throughout the season for both clubs.
Seattle finished third in the Western Conference, becoming the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs in a decade. The Red Bulls endured one of the worst seasons in MLS history, going 5-19-6, including 0-13-2 on the road.
“They started off against us last year with a great and phenomenal atmosphere and they took it from there and never stopped,” Angel said. “I think it’s getting even better this year. For them obviously it’s always a big boost to play against any team in this league on their own ground.”
Although the Red Bulls hold an MLS record for road futility – 29 consecutive games without a win – their difficulties away from home aren’t unique. Take defending MLS Cup champions Real Salt Lake as an example, which was 2-11-2 on the road last year.
“How many road games did Salt Lake win last year? One maybe, if that? And they were the MLS Cup champions,” Petke said. “If we really want to change this thing around, like we have so far, one of the aspects is to get some sort of result on the road and we need to start this Saturday.”
New Red Bulls boss Hans Backe said he was unaware of the team’s road woes and that’s probably a good thing. He’s encouraged heading to Seattle, which defeated the expansion Philadelphia Union, 2-0, last week.
He said he watched the Sounders match against the Union and was surprised that a home team with attacking players like Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg would sit back against Philadelphia.
“Perhaps a little bit surprised that they at home dropped back so much just defending in a way because the first 10 minutes Philadelphia were in control of the game,” Backe said. “They played more like a counterattack team I would say.”
One reason Backe was optimistic was because he believed he would “have all 23 outfield players fit for the first time in my career.”
That changed on Thursday when midfielder Carl Robinson experienced swelling in his right knee after he trained fully the day before. The Welsh international didn’t travel to the West Coast and will miss a second consecutive regular season game.
But even without Robinson, the Red Bulls still grinded out a win against the Fire, a result that breeds confidence.
“It’s big, huge,” Mac Kandji said of that win. “The team right now, I think we are feeding off [last week] because we have a lot of confidence now, but at the same time we’re not going to let it go to our heads.”