The old football axiom says if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any quarterbacks. But in the case of futbol, the Red Bulls are convinced they have two quality keepers in veteran Luis Robles and young Ryan Meara, with coach Mike Petke having “a great situation” to choose from for the March 3 season opener.
“It’s going to be a great situation and a tough situation,” Petke said of picking between Ryan Meara, who was an MLS Rookie of the Year frontrunner before suffering a season-ending injury, and the man who ably replaced him down trhe stretch in Bundesliga veteran Luis Robles.
Petke predictably wouldn’t say who had the upper-hand, but said both have shown last year that they can handle the job, and both have shown so far in camp that they can handle the other man getting the job.
“I know both their personalities are one that whoever is (starting) the game, the other one who’s not being involved, the other one is not going to be a cancer,’’ said Petke. “We have so many games this season between the league and U.S. Open Cup – which we plan to take seriously this year – and the friendlies we usually have…It’s going to be a tough competition.’’
Forgetting the fact that the rookie head coach subtly dropped in the comment about taking the U.S. Open Cup seriously, unlike last season – that’s a can of worms for another day – the fact Petke feels both are quality, and the numbers back him up.
The Red Bulls took Meara in the second-round of the draft out of Fordham, and the Yonkers product started every one of their first 18 games. He was 9-5-4 with three clean sheets and a 1.50 goals-against-average, a Rookie of the Year candidate before hurting his hip in July and undergoing season-ending surgery.
“Ryan started off last season, (and) until the injury was well ahead on what we’d expected. It was very pleasant for us to watch. He had a very unfortunate injury,’’ said Petke. “We were fortunate to be able to land some like Luis. He played very well down the stretch.’’
That would be an understatement, with Robles going 2-1-1 with a sterling 0.75 goals-against-average. They come into camp on equal footing, with Petke reiterating that Meara is actually ahead of schedule in his rehab. But the club is being cautious in not letting their prized young keeper rush himself.
“The thing with Ryan is that he is young, eager. We’re telling him “Listen, we haven’t forgotten about you. You’re a big part of the future of this club.’ The last thing we need is for him to rush him back and get hurt,’’ said Petke. “On the other hand, we’ve got a guy like Luis, who played phenomenally last year.’’