Former All Star, MLS Cup Winner, Boca Jrs. Legend and league MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto has just been asked to take a sizable pay cut by the Columbus Crew, to the tune of $400k. He is 36 years old, and will be 37 in May, so a pay cut is naturally the way a team would look at such a player at this time in his career. But $400k? After all he has done?

Let me rattle off some facts for you:

- He has accumulated 19 goals and 22 assists in 51 regular season games.
- He has 2 goals and 6 assists in 5 postseason games.
- He was benched by the Crew in preference to a defensive style on the road leg of their series with RSL, but upon his insertion, he found the net. Twice.
- He single handedly turned the Crew around from perennial wanna-be to constant contender.
- He has won a grand total of 21 trophies in various competitions internationally and here in the US.

The guy does two things very well; get a team scoring, and get a team winning trophies, both critical to the future of Red Bull.

So what would you do if given the opportunity to sign him? Would he be worth a trade? And what would you place as his price tag? Have your say in today’s poll and comment below:

Guillermo Barros Schelotto:(answers)

If you are keeping score at home, that is now 9 players that started 2009 with the Bulls, who now find themselves elsewhere. Here is a rundown of the entire 2009 Exodus – and boy, what a difference it is from the start of the year:

- Albert Celades (retirement)
- Jon Conway
- Alec Dufty
- Oscar Echeverry
* Walter Garcia (on trial at Leeds, future unknown)
* Juan Carlos Osorio (coach for Once Caldas)
- Leo Krupnik
- Dominic Oduro
- Alfredo Pacheco
- Juan Pietravallo
- Khano Smith

That is almost enough players to field a team. Not good.

“The offer is a very good offer,” he said. “The club is a very good club. I am considering the offer. However, I would like to stay in the United States. But I’m not sitting around. I want to work. I have to work.”

Interesting denial, especially considering that the Once Caldas front page has been promoting Osorio for the past two days (screenshots after the jump):

Once when he “officially” signed on . . . .

. . . . claiming he will commence work the second week of December. Or today’s feature . . .

. . . . with this front page splash, detailing Osorio’s initial “transfer wish list” for the club moving forward and highlighting the clubs directors mulling the fax. The bottom of the page actually has an inset featuring an interview with his new assistant coach, Pompilio Páez.

Who is to be believed, ladies and gentlemen?

My guess? Osorio signed on prematurely. With his apparent popularity in Colombia going through the roof, combined with a team that is struggling it’s way through the league table, it seems the directors may have jumped the gun on the announcement before Osorio’s contract expired in December to give the fans a little something to look forward to. This puts the former Bulls coach in the unenviable position of towing the line he has already crossed; signing with a team while still “signed” with another.

What do you think is going on here?!

Juan Carlos Osorio is a head coach once more. He takes on a squad that is currently 8th in their table, with 7 wins, 7 draws and 4 ties, accumulating 23 goals for and 14 against in that time frame. Osorio, infamous for his defensive positioning and tactics, inherits a squad which already boasts the lowest goals against in the league, and is in the top half of the scoring tables as well.

I am sure every Red Bull fan will be following this storyline during the offseason – just in case those numbers take a turn for the worse.

Their quest for this goal has lead them to Red Bull trainee and Jeff Agoos pet project, Walter Garcia. Garcia is currently trialing with Leeds in hopes of securing a contract with the club. He notched only one appearance as a Red Bull, and will most notably be remembered as the final lynch pin pulled on the grenade that was the Agoos/Osorio partnership. As a matter of fact, he played so little time with the Red Bulls, that it is a challenge to find a picture of him with the teams kit!

Osorio felt that the investment and training put into an out of shape, former Argentine prospect would be a waste for a club that was itself trying to reformulate. If Garcia is taken by the England side, it will be Osorio who will have the last laugh in that argument.

Besides, as an Argie, it would stink to lose yet another countryman. Boo lack of Argies!

The French legend has been planting seeds in France, playing Red Bull ambassador in the hopes of attracting his countrymen stateside through interviews like the one he had with football-ravageur, a French footy outlet.

He has some great insights on the successes and short comings of David Beckham, the measure of MLS against other leagues and the possibility of including more French players to the league structure.

Here are some of the highlights:

ON MLS:

What I appreciate in this moment in the United States is that the league is growing by one, even two teams a year . . . Seattle and Philadelphia add a little more quality to the American championship. There will be Vancouver the next year. Everyone hopes for Miami. It is only the beginning. The Americans want a true perenniality in their championship. I think that there will be even more great names. The history of (David) Beckham effected people, but that was also a beautiful story of marketing to promote (American) football. There will be others following his footsteps, I am sure.

WHERE DOES MLS RANK?

It is a good level. I would say between the top of the table in League 2 and the bottom of the Ligue 1 table. It is true that there is not much difference. The Americans are very competitive in everything they do.

HAS TRAINING IMPROVED IN MLS?

Yes, enormously. They rely increasingly on it. When you look in Europe, there are many U.S. investors in major clubs: in England but also in France, with PSG. All they have learned in Europe, they will transmit to the United States. This is where they will be more interesting.

THOUGHTS ON SEBASTIAN LETOUX, THE NEW FRENCH PLAYER IN MLS

He is good and in addition he plays. It’s pretty weird. I must receive a phone call a week from players motivated for the United States asking me for advice. It’s a bit complicated to go. That is why many French break the figure. They think that having played in France, even in England, opens doors. But Americans work differently. You see it in basketball. It must be a name. There circuit is a bit complicated, therefore there are not much French in the United States. I think there will be more next year.

THE FRENCH PLAYERS THAT YOU SPEAK OF ARE USUALLY AT THE END OF THEIR CAREERS?

Yes. The only problem is that Americans want to invest in the young. They will go against their current policy, because with Beckham it went well marketing side but not on the field. They would put the same amount but it goes well on the field.

Dieter, Dietmar . . . close enough.

Dietmar Beiersdorfer, the new sporting director for worldwide Red Bull soccer operations, has descended upon New York and has brought with him a cloud of speculation. Is he here to hire a new GM? Perhaps weigh in on the coaching situation? Or is this just a big excuse to go eat at Peter Lugers steakhouse?

Let’s find out! Here are a few quotes of interest from MLSnet:

On The Clubs Offseason Direction:

“We have to decide as soon as possible because we have to plan the new season,” he said. “We talked also about the roster, I talked with Jeff [Agoos] and Richie [Williams] because they are in charge at the moment and with Chris da Silva, the head of scouting, and we go on from there. If anybody, and I think that it will be soon, goes with us this path and this way we are glad and I think it will help.”

On European Coaching Options:

“This is the gap to close because if you hire one who has not at least the ability to get used to the system, at least the intelligence to accept what the rules are, that will cause problems,” he said. “Therefore we have to take decisions which will last at least for a good development of the structure of the club.”

On Richie Williams:

“He’s a guy who has so much passion for this club and he knows the MLS and yeah, I think he made a real good impression,” he said.

On DP’s and Future Signings:

“I think [it is] important for sure that we bring our quality up on the team, that we play a real good season in the MLS,” Beiersdorfer said. “If we have a chance to bring in a player who is well known and can give us a big impact on the player side, inside, to make the other players better, but also on the communications side, media side, we will try and get a player signed who … first of all be a very good football player and be for sure also a Red Bull testimonial.”

Three lessons I learned from this read?

1 – He values Richie Williams work, and recognizes what he has accomplished. He also realizes that other teams would snatch him up in a second.

2 – He recognizes that not anyone can come into MLS and be successful, especially when looking into the intricate nature of managing in a league chock full of . . . ahem . . . “unique” rules and regulations.

3 – He isn’t telling anyone whether or not he will hire a sporting director or a coach first, regardless of the dangerous predicament the club is in with Williams able to move as he pleases.

What do you think of Dietmar’s responses? Surprised? Disappointed? Is Sprockets your thing, or am I losing you with the age gap (I am the oldest 29 year old ever, ever.)? Let us know what you think!

Asked if Altidore had put the twit in Twitter, an unimpressed Brown replied: “I’d have put an ‘a’ in it.”

Now that is the kind of comment Maradona would be proud of!

But the Prem is a different beast all together, and when your squad is in desperate need for goals, even a prolonged punishment to your young star striker may be a lesson the team can not afford to dish out. Jozy found some pitch time in the 58th minute, subbing in for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in hopes of igniting some sort of spark to the attack. Burnley’s Graham Alexander had other plans, as he netted a brace that proved to be too much for the Tiger’s to handle.

This seems to conclude the first public issue of Jozy Altidores young Prem career. And from the looks of it, he won’t be relegated to the bosses dog house. Let’s just hope Hull City follows suit and stays away from relegation as well.

A lot of the hot button issues were discussed, and others simply insinuated. But here are a few small pieces of change I picked up from being there yesterday. Enjoy:

THIERRY HENRY

Everyone wants to be the first to break the Henry to RBNY headline, so you can only imagine that his name was ballied about like a French beach ball. Each question was met with possibly the most guilty expressions a person can make. Stover. Williams. You name it. So just out of basic reasoning here, yes, this rumor seems to hold water. There seems to be some sort of communication with Henry that they are simply not allowed to discuss.

Big Apple Soccer was able to delve into Henry a bit more, with team captain Juan Pablo Angel. Angel was surprisingly candid on the subject. Check it out – it’s a great read.

RICHIE WILLIAMS

Williams is definitely a front runner for the head coaching position. Look no further than this quote from Erik Stover: “I think he’s done an outstanding job. It’s a pretty tough position to take over. Obviously morale was very low, we had a lot of injuries and he showed his mettle. For my money he should be a finalist and we’re going to work through that.” Though a 3-3-2 record doesn’t seem like a big deal, it is when you take into consideration that he took on a 2-16-4 team that was completely and utterly demoralized. Williams was allowed to act as a key spokesperson yesterday, speaking to the media candidly, and being a face face for the RB organization – all of which are excellent indicators of his worth in the eyes of the team.

JEFF AGOOS

I can’t remember the last time in any sport that a current part of the teams management was spoken of as an afterthought. Stover and company continuously referred to a rigorous and delving search for their next General Manager at every turn. Maybe Agoos was already shown the door and I missed it, but rest assured; 2009 will be his last season in New York.

PRIORITY SIGNINGS

Besides the constant dodging, bobbing and weaving of Thierry Henry questions, Richie Williams did state that a top priority signing for the offseason is an effective central attacking midfielder. And that is music to the ears of the long suffering fans.

All in all, the team seems to be going through a retrospective of their four year reign as owners of the New York franchise, and, learning from their mistakes, have begun a complete restructuring of the current system. It is a great move for a franchise that just wants to forget 2009 and bask in the glory of a new home in 2010.

And it isn’t just the management that is changing; the mentality seems to be as well. Red Bull has mentioned the dreaded Metrostars monicker more in the past two weeks than in the past 4 years. Players of past glory like Youri Djorkaeff and Tab Ramos have been linked to possible positions in the Red Bulls franchise, and familiar faces like Tony Meola, Mark Lisi and Claudio Reyna keep popping up as well.

All of this is pretty amusing; the best thing that could have possibly happened for this team, this year, was for the campaign to finally be over. Now, in offseason mode, the Bulls have a head start on steering this ship in the right direction. Do you think they will get it right this time around? Share your thoughts.