90th minute, a 0-0 game, and your keeper loses his cool. With no substitutions remaining for your side, and no sign of Eddie Gaven anywhere, you are forced to pick a field player to sub in as goalie. Naturally, you go with the tallest, most athletic guy on the squad. In FAS of El Salvador, that can only mean one guy; their young legend, Alfredo Pacheco.

Check out Pacheco taking on one of the few field positions he never played under Osorio.

Special Thanks to Reader/Contributor Pepsinono

…

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You decide. Today’s poll asks: Did RBNY do the right thing releasing Pacheco?

Did the Red Bulls do the right thing in releasing Alfredo Pacheco from his loan?(poll)

RBR is reporting that Red Bull are terminating the loan deal for Alfredo Pacheco effective immediately. In a season full of unbelievable situations, this one proves to be just more frosting on the cake. Pacheco followed the route of other Osorio signings before him, showing displays of brilliance in the middle of mind boggling mistakes. Heralded as the best young player in El Salvador as recently as last season, Pacheco fell far short of expectations, and has received an unceremonious axing for his efforts.

My impressions of Pacheco can be summarized like this; he was a talented kid from a tiny village in El Salvador, entering the concrete jungle of New York City and the American lifestyle, and like many others that have found themselves in the same situation, he choked. I remember being in Times Square, and he was leaning up against the glass at the ESPNZone, just gazing at the outside. I asked him what he thought of the big city, and he simply looked outside, almost distracted, and said “It is amazing what man has created.” As I continued to ask him a few questions, he kept gazing outwards. Some people just can’t adapt to such a drastic change.

Compound that change in environment with Coach Osorio’s continuously changing playbook, and a youngster can get lost pretty quickly, regardless of the talent. Pacheco follows a long line of failed Osorio acquisitions, including Khano Smith, Juan Pietravallo, Gabriel Cichero, Oscar Echeverry and others.

What are your thoughts on this failed experiment? Did they pull the trigger too quickly on this move? Or was it only a matter of time? Share your thoughts!

- All credit to Pepsinono for the link. It is a short, but pretty funny clip from the Mexico / El Salvador showdown this past weekend. Enjoy!

Thank. Goodness.

The article sites that the ITC was received, and the Red Bulls immediately transferred the required 30k transfer fee to FAS (which should keep their directors happy . . . and quiet!).

So, come this Saturday at Real Salt Lake, Alfredo Pacheco will be manning our backlines, and if one thing is certain, its this; we will all be seeing a lot of El Salvador jerseys in Giants Stadium this weekend.

Carlos Johnson showed great skill in his debut, despite the red card.It will only be a matter of time for the Red Bulls to see what Pacheco can offer. Will he be able to wake up that left sided attack?

Theoretically.

You see, according to multiple South American news sources (like this one, and this one), Alfredo Pacheco picked up an injury during the 2-2 draw against the United States this past weekend. There is no indication of what type of injury it may be, nor does either article specify the severity, other than pointing out Pacheco is “probable” for todays qualifying clash (and he didn’t practice on Monday either).

Someone please get a job at the US Embassy and find a way to get these green cards passed a bit quicker, because this current route may result in more headache than results.

What makes this injury worse is that it may hinder Pacheco in what was expected to be his debut this weekend.

So, should this “tweek” be something to worry about? And is all of this taking a bit longer than anyone would like to admit? With only Celades in sight to take the pitch, will it be enough for the Red Bulls to achieve a decent result in Chicago this weekend? Share your thoughts.

Before we get into the status of Alfredo Pacheco and Albert Celades, I have to highlight this spectacular video. Pacheco has been an intergral part, not only in Salvadorean football, but for his club FAS in their domestic league; so much so that they gave him a going away party! Check out the video and watch Pacheco get showered in some love.

And speaking of Pacheco – did you guys catch him this past weekend? I hope you had DVR because the big guy will be a huge pick up for the Red Bulls.

He is a large defender who really shut down the left side of the field to the point where the United States really had no avenue to exploit. He played physical football the entire way through, surging with the ball when he could, and shutting down defenders more often than not. Dangerous on both ends, he will surely provide the cross this team has been missing on that left side since Dave Van Den Bergh.

I for one can’t wait for his arrival.

And what of Albert Celades? Well, Brian Lewis at the Post reports that Celades has indeed secured his P-1 Visa. After another trip to Spain, he should be ready to roll against the Chicago Fire this week.

Here are you RB International Call Ups.

Jorge Rojas – Venezuela – The Vinotinto play the Albiceleste of Argentina this weekend. I will definitely be taking this game in.

Andrew Boyens – New Zealand – Boyens takes off to Bangkok for a friendly game against Thailand.

Carlos Johnson – Costa Rica – The recently signed defender will be repping his country this weekend against Mexico.

That can mean as many as 5 starters will not be available for the home opener. And who will be made available that wasn’t for game 1? Khano Smith will have a score to settle, as he debuts against his former team. But that is about it.

Here is a potential line up for the season opener:

———–Angel———-
——-Oduro————–
Smith—Sinisa—–Richards
–Pietravallo-Stammler—–
—–Hall–Petke-Mendes—
———Cepero———–

or

———Angel———–
Smith—-Ubi——-Richards
—Pietravallo-Stammler—
Hall—Petke–Mendes—Goldie
——–Cepero————-

Share your thoughts below.

The El Salvadorean National Team, headed by Coach Carlos De Los Cobos, have an extremely important World Cup Qualifier this Saturday against the mighty USA. Of course, a match of this magnitude would require a ton of training, team unity and the best available pieces in order to be properly prepared and competitive. The problem is, the team hasn’t trained at all. They have used their “team unity” for other purposes.

The Salvadorean nationals went on strike last week. Why? Because they were promised bonuses, and they remained unpaid. With their most recent 2-2 draw against TnT, one would think this couldn’t have come at a worse time for their World Cup hopes. This week, though, it seems everyone is back on the same page. The strike is over, and they have a week to prepare for the regions best team.

With only a weeks training, and no VISA in sight, RBNY fans will be able to catch a glimpse of the Salvadorean Captain this week (just not against the Revolution). Alfredo Pacheco has been called in for the game and is expected to play some hefty minutes (Check out the game this Saturday on ESPN2 at 9pm eastern or DVR it since you will be watching the Red Bulls!).

This news comes only 24 hours after the Post reported Albert Celades was resolving VISA issues in Spain, and would be probable for this weekends New England clash.

Just based on this weekends poll, I know that this tandem couldn’t get here any sooner for you all. Share your thoughts on these developments.

It’s Business Time Folks (and this video is for you Andrew Boyens).

Tonight, the Red Bulls debut against Drew Carey’s Seattle Sounders. 20,000 emo kids will be screaming about the inequities of life in between Sounder chants, so expect an electric atmosphere.

I will be at Nevada Smith’s tonight in the city (74 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10003). Drop by, say hi to some of the ESC folks, and grab a beer with us.

If not, you do have other alternatives:

#1 – Watch the game on ESPN2 tonight at 9pm.

#2 – Escuchen el partido en espanol por radio WADO 1280. Tienen un stream por internet en esta direccion.

#3 – Follow along with our game tracker, as Travis will be liveblogging the game on the MLS Offside homepage.

And while your at it:

Metrofanatic has a fantastic look into the Red Bulls record all time against expansion teams.

I’d like to thank everyone for the SEATTLE v. RED BULLS BATTLE OF THE BLOGS entries. I’ve never seen Drew Carey more . . . ummm . . . compromised.

Now, let’s hope I can deface her blog with a win tonight!

Thanks again everyone! And come down to Nevadas . . . have a drink, sing some songs, and have a blast! IT’S ON (once again) LIKE DONKEY KONG!