Making Moves

By: Eric Giacometti | April 1st, 2011

dero1 Remember when I said that it was MLS Cup or bust for New York this year? Well folks, that sentiment should be felt now more than ever. Erik Soler made a huge splash this afternoon in anticipation to their clash with Houston by trading away Tony Tchani, Danleigh Borman, and a first round draft pick in 2012 for five-time MLS Best XI midfielder Dwayne De Rosario.

I gotta say, great comedic timing by both parties involved here. Dropping the trade news on April Fools Day sure had Twitter abuzz, not to mention that I was losing my mind trying to confirm or deny the rumors. Lo and behold, De Ro is indeed a Red Bull. Admittedly, I was a big fan of Tchani and it’ll be tough to lose such a talented, young player in our midfield. However, you can’t deny the quality that De Ro brings to the table. Soler stated that he wanted to pick up a #10 that would make New York a very difficult team to beat. The Canadian international certainly fits the bill, and has been one of the best players in the MLS in the past decade.

It has to be said however, that the Red Bulls seem to be in “win now” mode. At age 32, De Rosario isn’t exactly a spring chicken, but I have a feeling no one will be complaining much if he’s the final piece that can make New York’s offense the formidable bunch that many envisioned it would be. Sorry Coach Backe, but we all know that Mehdi Ballouchy just isn’t that CAM that you had hoped you were trading for last year. Admittedly, he’s shown flashes of brilliance, but nothing substantial enough to warrant a full-time role at the top of Backe’s diamond midfield.

On the other end, De Ro has pretty much made a living as the attacking option in a four-man midfield. He has the ability to take the scoring burden off of forwards Thierry Henry, Juan Agudelo, and/or Luke Rodgers. Perhaps best of all, De Ro will not take up an international slot thanks to his green card, and our gracious friends north of the border are supposedly picking up a big chunk of his salary, leaving our third DP slot unfilled.

With all the commotion of the trade, we can’t lose sight of the fact that the Red Bulls still have a tilt with the Dynamo on the slate tomorrow. De Rosario is due to land in New York some time tonight, and will be available for selection in the starting 11. Regardless of whether he makes an appearance or not, New York will be welcoming back much of their original starting 11, who were away for international duty. Houston have picked up just a point on the year after losing to Philly in their first game and drawing with Sounders at Qwest Field last Saturday. With the Red Bulls back to full strength and playing in front of the home crowd, expect an impressive performance and a win from New York.

It’s still uncertain who will be starting tomorrow with Agudelo and Dane Richards coming off of serving time with their national teams. In the future however, expect the Red Bulls to line up in a 4-1-2-1-2. Here’s how I see the best-case-scenario-Bulls lining up:

Coundoul

Solli, Marquez, Ream, Miller

Tainio

Richards, Lindpere,

De Rosario

Henry, Agudelo

Damn, looking at that team on paper, that is a very impressive starting lineup, one that will pose problems to every team in the MLS. I said before that this Red Bulls team might have the most talent of any Red Bulls/Metro team ever. Now, I feel that’s undeniable.

Notes:

- Manchester United have been announced as the opponent for the MLS All-Stars this year at Red Bull Arena. The All-Stars will be looking to exact revenge on the English giants after they were dismantled last year 5-2 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. This team, however, Sir Alex Ferguson will have his entire squad at his disposal without the World Cup keeping key players out of the fixture. Should be a great match at Red Bull Arena this summer.

- MSG and the New York Red Bulls have finally come to terms on a multi-year TV deal. Every game will be broadcast in HD, and announcers Steve Cangialosi and Shep Messing will be on-site at all but four away matches in 2011 (in contrast to staying in the studio in New York City, which they have previously done). There will also be a pre and post game produced by MSG for select Red Bulls matches. You can watch tomorrow’s match against Houston on MSG2.

P.S. I made a Facebook fan page for those of you who don’t use Twitter. I’ll post news updates and Offside post alerts here. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Red-Bulls-Offside/110570442358962)

What Will the Addition of Dwayne De Rosario do for New York?online survey

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Ctsquared

Hate to lose Tchani, but love the trade! I understand the comment about "win now" and DeRo notbeing a spring chicken, but he is young enough to be part of a core that will anchor the team while our promising youngsters develop. The diamond midfield or DeRo, Tainio, Lindpere and Miller is scary!