New York Red Bulls taking a breather before returning to preseason action
Oct 5, 2013; Harrison, NJ, USA; New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke coaches against the New England Revolution during the second half of a game at Red Bull Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
In one of the more interesting moves of the preseason, New York Red Bulls manager Mike Petke is calling time on their preseason training. Prior experience as a player is the reason Petke cites, according to Big Apple Soccer.
“It’s little things in my experience, Robin’s [Fraser] experience, John Wolyniec and our coaching staff’s experience as a player,” said Petke. “It’s very tough to be away from home for long long periods of time, Two to three weeks, it’s almost counterproductive.
“It’s seething that we took into account this year. So its important to go nine, 10, 11 days away, come back, see the family, We’ll be away three days for next week then we’ll be back for the weekend and then we’re away again for two weeks for the remainder [of the pre-season].
“My first couple of pre-seasons in this league, in ’98 and ’99, I think I was away three 1/2-four weeks straight at one point. It becomes counterproductive. So we didn’t want that. It is very much designed. We’re hoping we see results because of it.”
New York will return to Florida for the second half of their preseason, which includes a friendly against the Philadelphia Union in Jacksonville, and then the Disney Pro Soccer Classic, which includes Sporting Kansas City on Feb. 19, Montreal Impact on Feb. 22, Fluminense Under-23 on Feb. 26 and an opponent to be determined on Mar. 1.
Defender Armando is one of the new players on the New York Red Bulls team, and he has impressed.
“He has not only adapted well, but you can tell all the reports about his character and leadership ability have been very true,” Petke told Empire of Soccer’s Dave Martinez. “He’s fit in very nicely, guys have accepted him, he has fit into our environment and he’s a hard player, and we’re very happy to have him right now.
“And if he does continue to show for the duration of his contract what he’s shown so far in this short time, it’ll be a good experience for him in MLS and for us as well.”