In fact, the last time Andrew Boyens name was uttered with any relevance was after he was thoroughly schooled by Fernando Torres in a Confederations Cup trouncing. When he rejoined his mates, they were already on a season ending slide, and hope was no where to be found.

Exit Osorio. Enter Kiwi.

Now with the coaching change, Richie Williams has decided to turn to the tall as a eucalyptus tree New Zealander to help guide the teams back line. So far so good. Even playing in tandem with Mike Petke, which previously was as effective as mixing water and oil, Boyens has found a small niche for the first time all season.

Boyens New York story has been a strange one. He came into the team with little expectations and in the midst of alot of rancor amongst the fans. Eric Brunner was their big pick up in the draft last year, and the Bulls cut him from their roster. In came Boyens on trial, earning a contract, and being viewed in light of the situation as an expansion reject who would come to replace the highly touted pick. How about trying to climb out of that hole?

His play didn’t help much either. Early performances had fans scratching their heads and wondering why the Kiwi even had a job with the team in the first place (and how bad Brunner must have been!). But sure enough, Boyens changed things around. In this age of short term memories, many may forget that it was Andrew Boyens who was anchoring that back line last season along the way to the MLS Cup, including an excellent performance in one of the Metro Bulls biggest series – a 4-1 aggregate stomping of the Houston Dynamo.

Then came 2009 and the expansion Seattle Sounders. The previously mentioned pair of Petke/Boyens looked lethargic, discombobulated, and extremely slow for the season opener and it showed – in a 3-0 loss on the road. Needless to say, the hungry Sounders side took advantage and set the tone for the Bulls subsequent horrendous season, destroying the hapless side, resulting in Boyens shouldered much of the blame (justly or not). That one game paved the way to a season of bench riding. Until now.

Two games isn’t the greatest window to critique, but if one thing is known, Boyens has shown that when his back is to the wall, he somehow manages to work his way back up. Could this be the beginning of a turnaround not only for the Bulls, but for Kiwi himself? Share your thoughts.

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.

After the initial shock that came from being traded from Toronto, Andrew Boyens has lived through an up, down and up again rollercoaster of a season. Replacing a promising prospect in the Red Bulls top 2008 draft pick Eric Brunner, Boyens was behind the 8-ball from the start. No time for integration, no time to create chemistry – the expectations were set high from the get go as the Bulls traded one young prospect for another. Boyens weathered the storm, and did so in front of a live audience.

As the year progressed, the Kiwi defender has become a valuable commodity in the Red Bulls defensive configuration, playing a key starting role when given the opportunity, or a stabilizing one off the bench in times of danger. His play has earned him a call up to his native New Zealands national squad.

Andrew shares his insights with us:

HIS FIRST YEAR AS A RED BULL

“It’s always tough when you change teams. Leaving Toronto was hard. I didn’t want to have to leave because I had a good time up there. But, in hindsight, its been an absolute great move for me, and I have really enjoyed every moment of it. Its tough to come into a new environment, play with some new players, and a new coach and things like that. I think it takes little while to get settled and I think a couple of my performances weren’t up there. But I feel as the year has gone on, I’ve started playing better and better and hopefully I’ll get the chance in the next couple of games to prove it.”

ON HIS INTERNATIONAL PLAY

“Those two games that we played against Caladonia were kind of like must wins. If we won one of them, we would be at the top of our group, and we would move on to the next stage towards qualification for the World Cup. So it was pretty exciting stuff.”

“A couple of the guys that I hadn’t been involved with before such as Ryan Nelsen and Simon Elliott were there. Both have been playing in the Premiership, with Ryan playing a bit longer. It’s always awesome to train and play with those guys and take a little bit from them.”

CURRENT STATE OF THE RED BULLS

“We hit a little bit of a downward path, with a couple of losses. We rallied back to get a good result at Salt Lake, and the boys are confident coming off of that. Playing in a new stadium with a big crowd, to come through with a draw that could have been a win, it gave us alot of confidence. We played well over there, and now we want to carry that confidence into this weekend.”

ON COLUMBUS

“(Columbus) has been very consistent throughout the year. Even though they have won the Supporters Shield, we don’t think they will take this game lightly. Other teams see us as a threat, and they don’t want us to be in the playoffs. It’s one of those games thats going to be really tough, and we have to bring our A game and play how we used to play and get the job done.”

WILL YOU BE STARTING?

“I’de love to be out there. When you’re sitting on the bench, you get itchy feet and you want to get out there as soon as possible, but I also respect the decisions that are being made. Those guys are playing well, but when I get my chance, I’ll hopefully take it.”

FAVORITE CENTER BACK PARTNER?

“It’s kind of hard, you know? If you are looking at results, a couple of games I played with Diego (Jimenez), we did pretty well together. But I feel pretty comfortable with all my teammates and we all get along pretty well. We train together everyday and end up in combinations, so whenever you slip into that kind of game environment, you just got to get on with it, make things happen and make things work.”

COACH OSORIO’S MESSAGE TO THE TEAM?

“Destiny is in our hands. I mean, if we win out, we make the playoffs. I think that’s the biggest message – to know how important these games are, to know how well we have to come out, how well we have to play, and also that we are in control of things. If we win, then we’re through. That has been the message in training. Hopefully we take that message, get the performance on the field and get the win we need.”