With Juan Carlos Osorio’s acquisitions from Latin America all struggling to different degrees _ from the departed Gabriel Cichero to the disappointing Juan Pietravallo _ the beleaguered Red Bull coach has finally had an epiphany. At 2-10-3, it’s probably too late to save the season; but will it save his job?
Many players from Latin America have struggled to assimilate, often taking a year _ or more _ to adjust to MLS’ physicality, athleticism and refereeing. The cadre he’s imported in the last 12 months has largely contributed to the team’s woes. It’s no coincidence he’s had a philosophical change since, and plans to target more Americans, both in the draft and their own academy.
“Yes, absolutely,” Osorio said. “The more I look at the league, the more I understand this is a very different league, very unique. It needs special type of players to be successful in this league. I always felt it would be good to have players that understand this culture; and now more than before I realize that’s the way to go forward.” To be fair, “Latin America” is a broad term, and certainly not all of Osorio’s acquisitions have been poor. His MLS Cup finals performance notwithstanding, defender Diego Jimenez was a stellar bargain for a developmental salary; but he was on loan, and returned to Mexico.
Venezuelan Jorge Rojas has been up-and-down, working hard this offseason to prepare his body for the rigors of MLS but never quite as dangerous as he was last year with Dave van den Bergh drawing attention on his left. And countryman Cichero changed games as much as any player I’ve ever seen in a Red Bull uniform; unfortunately he won them for the opposition.
But at least Cichero is mercifully gone, now playing _ and playing well _ back at Caracas where he’s afforded time on the ball. That was a loan. The lasting vestige from 2008 is Pietravallo, a $205,000 mistake on the second year of a guaranteed contract. He doesn’t read the game quickly enough, and the Red Bulls would love to move him somewhere he can play. We’ll see.
This year’s pair are a mixed bag.
Alfredo Pacheco was El Salvador’s captain and arguably most physical player, but he’s struggled with being caught upfield and on diagonal balls across the field. He’s disappointed so far, but the club paid only $30,000 for a one-year loan, and if he doesn’t shape his game up and unlock the talent I know he has, he can be sent back to El Salvador rather than bought.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Costa Rican Carlos Johnson played in Europe at Bryne FC and is certainly more than physical enough. (Remember the red cards in his first two starts?) But as soon as he started playing really well, the right back had his foot broken by Houston’s Stuart Holden.
While I’d obviously keep Johnson, and am reserving judgment on Rojas and Pacheco until I see their second half of the season, I’ve long felt this team needed bite and a bigger base of American players. Sources tell me Osorio has finally been converted and seen the light.
He’s acknowledged the need to build a spine of American players, trying to get National Team standout Jonathan Bornstein this offseason but unable to meet Chivas USA’s high demands. Osorio should take a good look at former St. John’s standout Chris Wingert at Real Salt Lake as well.
But the biggest change might come in the form of young Yanks. They’ve stockpiled a litany of draft picks, with the Red Bulls holding two first-round picks and two second-round picks in the next draft. Today, that would stand as a Top 3 pick and three in the Top 20.
As shaky as Osorio’s signings have been, his drafts have been outstanding. From last year’s draft, then-rookie Luke Sassano started in central midfield during the MLS Cup run, and Danleigh Borman has developed into a solid left back option. And this year, first-rounder Jeremy Hall has stepped in for Johnson, while third-rounder Nick Zimmerman has been a surprise.
So does that make Osorio Isiah Thomas? We’ll see. But he said not only was stockpiling picks due to a philosophical change toward adding young U.S. talent, but he also wants to sign a player from the youth academy as well. Dilly Duka and Matt Kassel seem likely candidates.
“I can only say as a head coach I would like to sign an academy player, but we are in the process of dealing with certain rules that seem to prevent us from doing that already,” Osorio said. “I can say for me there is now an attention to sign an academy player that has trained for us. I would like to bring as many Americans as I can or my team.
“With the changes in the academy players I started looking in a different way. Now I have flexibility to sign one with a view to maybe bring in another. Before it was you could sign one and that’s it; now it’s different. Me bringing in a few and taking a close look shows how much I am into trying to sign (one) because I understand it’s very important for us.”
How important is it to you guys? Would that be a big positive step in your eyes? Who would you want signed? And does Osorio’s realization bode well? Talk to us…..
