Harrison, NJ - Playing in cold weather, the New York Red Bulls kicked off the 2010 MLS season by defeating the Chicago Fire 1-0 in front of their boisterous fans of more than 24,000. Last week, Joel Lindpere, the Estonian international who had the first goal in the Red Bulls' first game at Red Bull Arena, a 3-1 win over Santos, scored the winning goal at the 40th minute.
Along with Lindpere's performance, Bouna Coundoul played marvelous all night with acute awareness and well-times saves. Coming off a 7-0-3 preseason record, the Red Bulls displayed cohesive ball control and were able to trap the Fire when it mattered most. This game also marked the first official win for new manager, Hans Backe.
The Fire, managed by new manager, former El Salvador coach Carlos de los Cabos, played its first official match since Cuauhtemoc Blanco left after three seasons for Mexico’s Veracruz. Chicago played well and outshoot the Red Bulls 17-11, with an astronomical 13-5 shot difference in the second half.
Early in the first half, the Fire almost took the lead when former U.S. national team star Brian McBride with a beautiful 18-yard bicycle kicks that bounced off the post. This is a team still adjusting to loss of Blanco. In addition to Blanco's departure, goalkeeper, Andrew Dykstra made his first official MLS start after the Fire released Jon Busch earlier this week. For the past two seasons, Jon Busch was the team's starting goalkeeper.
New managers, new season, new acquisitions resulted in different results for both clubs. Last year, the Red Bulls were humiliated 3-1 against the Seattle Sounders and the Chicago Fire throttled FC Dallas 3-1. The season is extremely early but for the Red Bulls, they needed this win because they have a tough schedule for the next three weeks. The team flies off to face the Seattle Sounders next week, followed by Chivas USA, before returning home to face FC Dallas on April 17, 2010.
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17-year old Honduran native, Andy Najar will be enjoying the new life as a professional Soccer player with D.C. United. (Photo Futbolunited.com)
17 year-old Honduras native is second player to come through club’s youth system
Washington, D.C. (March 22, 2010) - D.C. United announced today the club has signed Academy midfielder/forward Andy Najar to a Generation Adidas contract to join the first team. The 17-year-old standout is the second player to sign with the first team directly from United’s Academy, joining goalkeeper Bill Hamid who signed with the first team in September of last year.
Najar, a native of Honduras, is a green card holder and will be classified as a domestic player on United’s roster. The talented teenager will be available along with his United teammates, coaching staff and club executives to address the media following tomorrow’s training session scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the RFK Auxiliary Training Field.
“We are very excited about Andy’s rapid ascent from our U-16 Academy team to our first team,” said United President and CEO Kevin Payne. “This is a great story about the importance of our Academy teams, and the ability those teams give us to find young players who in the past we might never have met. We expect Andy's story with D.C. United to help attract even more great young talent to our program, and I can't wait to see him take the field for our first team.”
“We are thrilled to have developed and signed our second home grown player from our youth Academy,” added United General Manager Dave Kasper. “Andy is a very talented player who possesses excellent technical and tactical abilities. Andy has shown us that he is ready to contribute first team minutes and we are excited about his future.”
Najar has spent the majority of the preseason training with Curt Onalfo’s side and appeared in a total of five preseason matches. He started in the midfield and went the full distance in the first three games against Columbus (2/13), Toronto FC (2/17) and the New York Red Bulls (2/20) while the Black-and-Red were in Bradenton, Florida. He made his fourth appearance against Real Salt Lake in the Carolina Challenge Cup, entering at halftime. Additionally, Najar started at right back against the Charleston Battery in the Cup finale Saturday night, helping United capture their first Challenge Cup with a 2-0 win over the USL side.
Najar is a versatile player who enjoyed a decorated youth career with United’s U-16 and U-18 Academy teams. In 2009, he played right back with the U-16 team and tallied four goals before moving up to the U-18 side and scoring nine goals as a forward. During his time with the Academy program, Najar has received numerous awards and honors for his outstanding play. He was named to the United States Soccer Federation Development Academy Starting XI in 2009 and he was the leading scorer in the US Developmental Academy Finals in Los Angeles in 2009. In addition, Najar was named a Washington Post All-Met First Team selection last year at Edison High School in Alexandria after a stellar sophomore season that saw him notch a school-high 22 goals. He was also considered to be the top-rated youth player in the United States in 2009 by Top Drawer Soccer, an online publication that rates the country’s premier youth talent.
Name: Andy Najar Pronunciation: Andy Nuh-HAR Position: Midfielder/Forward Height: 5-7Weight: 150Jersey: 14Date of Birth: March 16, 1993 Age: 17Place of Birth: Santa Cruz, Choluteca, Honduras Citizenship: Honduras Last Club: D.C. United Academy Roster status: Generation adidasAcquired: Signed on 3/22/10
Harrison, N.J. – After years of playing at Giants Stadium, the New York Red Bulls finally has a home of their own. On a night filled with fireworks and celebrities like Super Bowl winner Reggie Bush, Kelly Rowland, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Von, and former NY Cosmos great Franz Beckenbauer, the New York Red Bulls made their triumphant debut at the new Red Bull Arena by throttling Pele’s former club, Brazilian powerhouse Santos F.C. 3-1 in a friendly match in front of 25,000 fans.
Playing without their superstar, Juan Pablo Angel, the Red Bulls aggressively attacked and outmuscled the Santos. Newly signed Joel Lindpere scored the first ever goal at Red Bull Arena in the 11th minute. Two more goals by Tim Reed (44th min) and Dane Richards (45th min) gave the Red Bulls a 3-0 halftime lead. Although Santos F.C. demonstrated beautiful ball movement with their passing, they weren’t able to convert them to goals until the last minute of the game.
After an embarrassing 2009 campaign, the Red Bulls organization had a busy off-season. With the hiring of Erik Soler as their General Manager/Sporting Director and Hans Backe as their Manager, the Red Bulls organization has made it clear that the team will not have another embarrassing season. With a new attacking strategy, the team had an undefeated preseason with a 7-0-3 record.
With the MLS season less than a week away, the Red Bulls have all the pieces to win and attract new fans. With a new arena, a new Manager, a new General Manager, and new players, anything less than a winning season will be unacceptable to Red Bull fans.
Next Match: Saturday, March 27, 2010 vs Chicago Fire (7PM)
Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for Latino Sports (www.latinosports.com). Send Cesar a question or comment for potential use in a future column at
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