With Hurricane Irene hurtling towards New York later tonight and tomorrow, nobody knows exactly what kind of impact the weather will have on the area. But several Red Bulls have experienced their share of hurricanes, including Jamaican Dane Richards; but none moreso than newcomer Stephane Auvray.
The 28-year-old midfielder grew up in Guadeloupe, and vividly recalls the destruction Hurricane Hugo wrecked on the Caribbean back in Sept. 1989.
“You cannot laugh at (a hurricane),’’ said Auvray. “Compared to the Caribbean, from what I’ve heard, it cannot compare to what we’ve experienced in the Caribbean, which is the good news. But no, I’m not laughing at it, because I know that some people might still be in trouble.’’
Irene _ which has caused evacuations along the Jersey Shore and Long Island _ is presently a Category 1 storm, with winds that’ve fallen below 100 mph. By comparison, Hugo was a Category 5 winds of 160 mph. It killed 34 in the Caribbean, 27 more in South Carolina and caused $10 billion in damage _ $17.7 billion in today’s dollars _ to become the costliest hurricane in the Atlantic.
“I missed the worst one. At the time I was living in St. Martin and in ‘95 there was a really bad hurricane, I think it was Luis, and I missed it by a couple months, which was a good thing,’’ Auvray said of the Category 4 storm in 1995 that left 20,000 homeless and did $3.5 billion in damage. “I experienced Hugo in Guadeloupe in 89, and this one was really, really very destructive.
“My family lost the roof of the house, which was a bad one. Like in Japan you know there is going to be earthquakes, in Guadeloupe you know hurricane season could be an easy one or a very hard one. So we live with it, and we just get ready as good as you can. And we pray that it will change its way at the last minute, which already happened once.’’
The Red Bulls’ game against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy tomorrow was postponed because of Irene, rescheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 4.
“It will be pretty light compared to what we go through in the Caribbean,’’ Auvray said. “I think the infrastructures in New York should be able to resist what’s coming, from what I’ve heard.’’
*** The Red Bulls had a half-dozen players called up for national team duty next weekend. Defenders Rafa Marquez (Mexico), Roy Miller (Costa Rica) and Tim Ream (United States), midfielder Dane Richards (Jamaica), forward Juan Agudelo (United States), and goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul (Senegal) have been called up.
On Sept. 2, the U.S. hosts Costa Rica at The Home Depot Center (8:00 p.m., ESPN2, Galavision) and then plays at Belgium on Sept. 6 (ESPN). Mexico plays at Poland Sept. 2, faces Chile in Barcelona on Sept. 4 and Cameroon in Paris on Sept. 7. Miller’s Ticos play the U.S. and then at Ecuador on Sept. 6.
Jamaica plays at Ecuador on Sept. 2, and Sengal as an African Cup of Nations qualifier vs. the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sept. 3. All six are expected back for the Sept. 10 game vs. Vancouver.
*** Coach Hans Backe termed Jhonny Arteaga’s appearances with the Red Bull reserves more as a guest player than a formal trial, but did say he hoped to see the promising young striker in the rest of their reserve tilts.
“You can call it more of a guest player, because he hasn’t been involved in our training sessions, but (only in) two games. So we’ll just wait and see,’’ said Backe. “We have five more reserve games to go, and perhaps we will get him in when we do Wednesday’s individual training or something like that.’’
Arteaga is a 24-year-old who grew up in Stamford (Ct.) and played with FC New York this past season. After scoring eight goals in 14 games for Polish side LKS Lomza in 2010, he returned home and led the USL Pro Division in scoring this past season with 13 goals in just 21 games for debutante FC New York.
He didn’t score in the Red Bulls’ 2-1 U.S. Open Cup win over FC New York, but clearly made an impression. He played two games with the Red Bull reserves, coming on at halftime against Philadelphia and scoring a second-half brace.
He’s clearly something of a poacher and has an eye for goal, as the video shows. With Luke Rodgers injured now, Thierry Henry’s health always a concern, Juan Agudelo both still learning and on the radar of big clubs, and rookie Corey Hertzog not seemingly ready for MLS play, it begs the question if Arteaga might be a wise addition. What do you think? Holla at us…and stay safe & dry!
