Red Bulls 2009: The Most Talented-Worst Team Ever

By: Dave Martinez | July 9th, 2009

So many comparisons have been made with the 2009 Red Bulls and the infamous 1999 MetoStars squad who achieved the height of league futility with a record of 7 wins and 25 losses. Four of those losses came in extra time, leaving only 3 legit outright wins for the team to hang its hat on. Ya, I know. That is bad.

But the comparisons between both are unfair in many respects because, frankly, the 2009 Bulls shouldn’t be in the position they are in. Comparing futility is one thing, but on the basis of talent, it isn’t even close. The 1999 squad flaunted “stars” like Eduardo Hurtado and Mark Chung while the modern day Bulls have a renowned striker as their captain, established European veterans and a nice stable of young talent to hang their hats on. ‘Nuff said!

The most frustrating fact coming out of this season is that the pieces, excluding left wing, seem to be the right ones individually, but the whole is just not responding. Four members of the team have captained an international side at one point or another. Angel was a standout in the worlds greatest league. Their core youth group includes some of the most promising prospects this league can attest to (Hall, Zimmerman, Kandji, etc.). Their coach has a pedigree that includes stints in the EPL and the Colombian league. The team advanced to the league finals just last season for crying out loud!

Take a minute to look over the Red Bulls roster, and you will find a talented and exceptional collection of individual players, under an umbrella of losses. Here is a sampling for you:

Juan Pablo Angel - His credentials speak for themselves
Macoumba Kandji – One of the hottest young prospects in the United States today.
Alfredo Pacheco – Voted the very best player in El Salvador today, by online polls and fans. Much like Angel, Pacheco has been a captain on his national squad.
Jorge Rojas – Another strong international, with a captains pedigree.
Albert Celades – Stints in Madrid and Barcelona say it all.
Carlos Johnson - A physical international presence on the teams right defensive side.
Danny Cepero – The youngster took the team to the MLS Cup Final with some huge wins when it counted.
Mike Petke - This man survived 1999, and is back in a veteran leadership role. Beloved by the base, and respected by his teammates, Petke has shown he can still hang with the big boys.
Seth Stammler - The type of versatile player most teams would die for.
Dane Richards – Jamaican international who has struggled, but has shown glimpses of greatness in the past, and was instrumental in getting the team into the Cup final last season.

Last season, the team was looking to build on its youth movement to reinforce the veteran presence. Players like Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Luke Sassano and Andrew Boyens came up huge down the stretch run, and gave fans a hope that Red Bull would have plenty of the “d” word for the 2009 season – depth. Instead, the only “d” word connected to the club this season has been defeat.

Sure, the list may be a selective grouping, leaving out disappointments like Khano Smith and Juan Pietravallo, but the point remains the same. This team is too good to have lost 69% of the games it has played this season. Period. End of discussion.

When excuses like the concrete grounds in Giant Stadium, the lack of a reserve division and the subsequent injuries are put aside, you have to dig a bit deeper for some reasoning. New England has faced similar difficulties this season, losing Taylor Twellman and a host of others, while playing in a stadium that is far from soccer friendly, yet, through 13 games, they have managed 6 more points than the Bulls have (and the Bulls have played 19 games this season!).

Red cards killed the team early. Mental lapses have been a constant all season, most recently illustrated by an extremely rusty Luke Sassano making a back pass to Jeff Cunningham that lead to a deflating goal against FC Dallas. They have lost more games in extra time than any other team, by far. And the snowball effect continues to steam roll this franchise into oblivion. Even team leaders like Mike Petke have been throwing their hands up in the air, with no answers to be found.

The fact is, most, if not all of this, hangs over the head of Coach Juan Carlos Osorio.. And Red Bull Nation anxiously awaits the results of Erik Stover and Jeff Agoo’s trip to Austria.

On paper, the 2009 Red Bulls should be competing near the top of their division. Instead, they wallow in the muck of last place. This is what makes the 2009 Red Bulls the most talented worst team in Major League Soccer history. And I invite you to try and find a better collection of talent that has wallowed in worse than this.

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img credit: Michael Stobe/Getty