The Red Bulls’ exhibition game against powerhouse Barcelona tomorrow night at Giants Stadium means different things to different people.
For the surging Red Bulls, it’s the debut of coach Bruce Arena and a chance to share the spotlight with the best team on the planet. For both MLS and Barcelona, it means a nice payday. And for the Champions League winners’ pampered stars, it’s basically an annoyance to be dealt with.
Witness Amado Guevara gushing, “This is a blessing for us. Not a lot of people have the opportunity to play that kind of game. Last year, I got a chance to play Real Madrid. Now I don’t have to play anybody else; this is it. We’re going to enjoy every single second.”
Clearly, Barcelona has a different take. Forward Samuel Eto’o – who makes over $110,000/week and didn’t even play in the World Cup – complained, “If you do not rest, you can perform neither in training nor in the match.”
Even coach Frank Rikjaard admitted, “It’s a long trip and we’re tired, but I still see my players handsome and good-looking, so I believe they’re going to be all right. It’s obviously not the best preparation. The best is to stay in one place, train and play games. But I think we can cope with it.”
Like other big European clubs, they’ve learned to manage moneymaking foreign tours quite well. Barcelona did a three-game U.S. tour in 2003, and toured the Far East last year before winning the Champions League.
This year they’ll rake in $6 million for three games. MLS/SUM reportedly made $3.5 million just off the gate in Barca’s first game, and numbers aren’t available for the second. With 72,000 tickets sold for tomorrow, and TV and sponsorship money not even factored in yet, everybody makes out.
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The Red Bulls signed former all-star Dema Kovalenko and Shawn Kuykendall after using part of their $250,000 J.P. Peguero allocation to get the midfielders’ rights. They’re looking for a striker and may still take MF Markus Schopp on loan from sister club Red Bull Salzburg.
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NBA MVP Steve Nash practiced with the Red Bulls and said he’d love to give soccer a try after he retires, much like Michael Jordan tried baseball.
“Obviously I’d like to. Is it realistic? I doubt it. It’s a dream come true. I can relate that [Jordan] felt like a kid in the candy shop being out there,” Nash said. “I haven’t told anyone yet, but I looked at this as a tryout. I’ll look at the lineup card and see if I can be a substitute against Barcelona.”
