Despite the resignation of their general manager just five days before Saturday’s season-opener, the bar has been raised for the Red Bulls. With winning chemistry, rare roster continuity, and aging captain Thierry Henry entering perhaps his final season, the expectation is to close the deal and hoist an MLS Cup.
“The bar is always going to be raised higher. That’s New York: That’s the Red Bull organization,’’ coach Mike Petke said. “On one hand you can say we did something for the first time in our history last year. But the minute that happened, they want more now. And I like that. I do, the pressure that brings to us.
“The players aren’t satisfied. I haven’t heard one person mention the Double S word [the Supporters’ Shield] the entire preseason. It’s not on their mind. I know they’re proud of what they did last year, but it is what it is: Last year. Now it’s a new set of goals in mind, from way up in the organization in Austria to my boss Andy Roxburgh, to me to the players. We’re expected to perform a lot better than last year.’’
Last year brought a 17-9-8 record in Petke’s rookie coaching season, the Red Bulls’ 59 points enough to win their first meaningful silverware, the Supporters’ Shield for the league’s best record. But they got upset by battle-hardened Houston in the playoffs, falling short of the ultimate goal.
But rather than tear their roster apart with the kind of offseason overhaul this team always goes through, the Red Bulls opted for stability. After bringing in 16 new players last season, they swapped just three this year — Markus Holgersson the only full-time starter — acquiring Richard Eckersley, Bobby Convey, Armando.
“What we have over other years is we can turn on that we won, and say look at the end: We grew and we managed to go on a run and we managed to win the Supporters’ Shield,” Henry said. “Now we can build on this and try to carry on and win even more, because obviously it wasn’t enough to win the whole thing.
“It should help. I should know already how Tim [Cahill] plays. He should know how I play. You would like to think it should help. Hopefully we can start with something we know, instead of losing time finding something we know. We won’t have that excuse anymore.’’
Henry, who wouldn’t address the idea of retirement, is 36 and in the final year of his contract. Cahill and Peguy Luyindula, who is making a strong case to be the creative spark in central midfield opposite Dax McCarty, are both 34. That makes age an issue, and their window is perhaps narrowing.
“Last year we dived into putting things together day-to-day. Now we tried to keep stability around the squad,’’ said Roxburgh, the sporting director. “Our expectations are to continue to be as good as we can be every day and keep developing and improving. Other people will inevitably have higher expectations. That’s the nature of the game.’’
The Red Bulls are working toward a friendly with Arsenal, though no contracts have been signed yet. Scottish power Glasgow Rangers also has expressed interest in play for the Red Bulls, though no concrete talks have been held.
Henry’s ex-Barcelona teammate Carles Puyol said he will leave Barcelona at the end of this la Liga season, but he will not be coming to the Red Bulls.