When the Red Bulls play at red-hot Toronto FC tonight (7 p.m., ESPN2), they’ll have no idea whether they’ll have their best offensive player (Juan Pablo Angel) or most indispensible defender (Kevin Goldthwaite). But they know they’ll be seeing prodigal son Amado Guevara, back in MLS.
Angel and Goldthwaite are listed as questionable with back woes, the striker with a nerve problem and the left back with a strain. Both flew in with the team, as did defender Hunter Freeman, hoping to make his season debut after spraining his ankle during the preseason.
The Red Bulls (2-1-1) have allowed an MLS-low 36 shots, nine over their prior two games combined.
But MLS teams are 9-20-6 on the road this year, and if Goldthwaite can’t go against his old club, coach Juan Carlos Osorio may have to not only move a right-footed defender to the left, but may struggle to find enough bodies for the 4-4-2 style he prefers on the road – a defense that’ll be tested by Guevara.
Guevara spent four years in New York, and was named MLS MVP in 2004 before his petulant attitude got him suspended and dealt to Chivas USA, who also eventually cut ties with him. After playing back in Honduras, he signed with Toronto this month and scored both goals in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Kansas City.
“This is a special game for me. It’s a chance to play my old colleagues. It’s weird; it’s the first time I’ve faced a team I still have great feelings for,” Guevara said. “I’ve learned. After games, the media asks me why I look so happy: It’s because now I enjoy doing my work responsibly. Sure there are things I’d like to erase, but now I’m moving forward.”
