OSORIO : WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SO FAR

By: Dave Martinez | February 19th, 2008

Juan Carlos Osorio has already made quite an impression and impact on the Red Bulls, from its soccer culture to its on the field product. Respected reporters from seemingly all media outlets are screaming the mans praises, and with good reason.

Lets delve into the new era of Red Bulls. Because these first few weeks of preseason soccer action is already speaking volumes for the future of this club.

3-4-1-2, 3-5-2

What was once an unspeakable thought to Red Bulls fans a mere 6 months ago has now become the game plan. 3 defenders in the back. Two strikers up top. And a mid field to mold within that frame. But from what we have seen thus far, Osorio has shown no fear in tinkering the line up to mold his ideas, instead of playing it the other way around.

THE D

Osorios three back option has drawn skepticism from many long time fans, but the thought of it all makes perfect sense.

————Stammler–Kovalenko—————

Palguta————-Parke—————Mendes

——————–Conway———————-

Here is the formation for the first preseason game played against Chivas USA. There, we wound up on the losing end after a goal in the 14th by Razov (typical ex Metro killing Metro again).

Using a bit of an imagination . . . .

————Stammler/Mendes——Kovalenko————-

Parke—————Brunner—————Mendes/Stammler

——————–Conway———————-

. . . You can begin to decifer what our backlines will be looking like this year. Barring any collapses by first time starter Jon Conway, the lineup looks rather solid. We have size throughout the back, and where we do not, we have defensive minded players like Kovalenko and Mendes to fill in the gaps.

Brunner (who is rated a 65 in the new FIFA 08 rankings) is a major piece to this defensive puzzle. Either he or Parke can man that pure CB position, so there is some leeway for Brunner to work with. Nevertheless, we can only imagine that Osorio is leaning heavily on the big guy being ready to take on the elevated competition come April.

And if you are wondering why I have Mendes potentially covering the D or mid? Though we have seen it on few occasions in the past, it is more of a gut feeling that Mendes could very well adjust to either position. Barring the backpass to Conway (which was more Conways fault than anyone elses in my humble opinion), Mendes has always shown a proficiency in his passing game, his “forechecking” if you will, and would be well suited in either position. Again, just my opinion.

CLAUDIO REYNA - CENTRAL ATTACKING MIDFIELDER?!?!?!

Another cute little wrinkle in the game plan has been the use of Captain America.

Last year around this time, Bulls fans were tossing around the dreaded three letter acronym which has always been the MATHIS/GUEVARA spot in our minds - CAM - to describe how they would like to see Reyna used.

This year, Osorio has put the idea into action. In a preseason scrimmage against Hammerby, where we left 3-1 victors, Reyna accomplished something which was not oft seen last season - he recorded an assist - on the first goal of the game. If that is any indication of whats to come, I am all for the idea.

A legitimate worry would be Reynas stamina and ability to follow through in an attacking mindset when his whole life and soccer style has been conditioned to the defensive. How many times have we seen the backpass? As a CAM, with your back towards nets, and yours eyes constantly seeking a move forward, one can only hope that Reyna can reverse years of conditioning for one last, grand hurrah.

A GAMBLER AND A RECRUITER

So, as we have seen, Osorio is a risk taker on the field. But what about off of it?

Well, considering Diego Serna is back in a “Metro” uniform and being given another shot, you can hedge your bets to the side of Osorio being a wild gambler.

Lets take an early look at the surprise faces we have seen so far:

Deigo Serna
Oscar Etchevarry (who has been turning heads in camp already, and is a young 30 to bring on board with plenty of competitive experience playing with Nacional)
Chris Leitch AND Kevin Goldthwaite (sorry, but after last season, wouldnt you call these guys surprise faces?!)

And players seem to love him! Wilman Conde of the Chicago Fire recently expressed his interest in jumping from Chicago to New York - mind you, he is under contract - reason being - he loves JCO!

He is a players coach, a developer, and a leader that players want to play for.

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IN SUMMATION

It is always good to have a well qualified person at the helm of a football club, especially one who has always dreamed of obtaining the position. Osorio is already putting his finger prints all over the new Red Bulls, giving us a new look, attitude, and mentality heading into the season.

Now, as Dema Kovalenko recently put it, the playoffs are an afterthought. 2008 will be about winning championships. And that attitude is what our organization has always been missing.