After beating international powers Santos and Juventus earlier this year, the Red Bulls finally dropped one of these high-profile friendlies, drilled 4-2 by Cruzeiro. And they did it in front of a mostly pro-Brazilian crowd that made their way from the Ironbound to see a team from their homeland dissect their hometown team.
There was little of the drama of the World Cup and no noise-making vuvuzelas; just 7,680 mostly yellow-and-blue clad fans cheering for Cruzeiro tonight. Thiago Ribeiro scored a brace, while the Red Bulls got a valuable clinic in world-classic soccer and a useful run-out in the middle of their three-week World Cup break before returning to MLS play June 26 in Kansas City.
“It’s a good exercise for us after the break to get in the rhythm again,” said captain Juan Pablo Angel, who scored an equalizing goal in the 32nd minute. “It was a difficult game for us because right from the go they were the better side. When you play against teams like this they give you a reminder you have to be on your toes all the time, and don’t give time and space to good players.”
That’s exactly what happened. Coach Hans Backe experimented keeping a high line and pressuring Cruzeiro. The 2009 Copa Liberatdores finalists made them pay, with Wellington Paulista _ who had a hat-trick in Cruzeiro’s recent 3-0 rout of New England _ scoring the go-ahead goal just two minutes after Angel’s.
He cut back in the box to nearly send CB Mike Petke to the ground, and beat GK Bouna Condoul. Cacapa heading home a Ribeiro cross a minute into the second half, and Paulista played Ribeiro in alone on Sutton for a 4-1 lead in the 51st. Rookie Conor Chinn slid onto a John Wolyniec cross for the final margin.
“It could’ve been a lot more goals, so we should be happy with the 4-2,” Backe said. “It was a good game for us after the break against a very good team. We can learn a lot from this game when we see the pace, the technical level, the action on the ball. They were excellent on the breaks, and we couldn’t cope with that.”
Backe mischievously dropped a hint that he was eyeing a Brazilian player to add in the summer transfer window, never saying whether that player was defender Cleber, who’d been training with the club recently. One way or the other, he couldn’t have hurt yesterday, as their defense got shredded and their offside trap picked apart by perfectly-timed runs.
“We started the game seeing if we can cope with a high pressing game. Our original positions were 25 yards higher than normal, because we’ve been best when we dropped back and were solid and compact as a team,” said Backe. “We were punished for that, but it’s good to try things out in a friendly game.”