A look at the big questions surrounding the New York Red Bulls for the 2006 season and looking ahead to the 2007 campaign:
WHAT DO THE RED BULLS NEED TO DO TO REACH THE MLS CUP FINAL IN '07?
Talk about a recurring theme for the New York MLS club.
"If I actually knew that, it would be a real easy job," Red Bulls boss Bruce Arena said. "It's a competitive team now, but it's not good enough to be in the top tier of the league. We've got to try and get better in the offseason."
The two biggest ways to improve next season is by being a fitter and more consistent team. And the two variables really go hand-in-hand. Too often, the Red Bulls would have the better of play and fade down the stretch, or a lapse in concentration resulted in giving up a late goal.
A perfect example is the playoff finale at RFK Stadium. The Red Bulls dominated D.C. unlike any other New York team has done and yet the season came to an end because Christian Gomez slipped in at the far post to toe-poke the ball past Jon Conway in the 86th minute.
"The No. 1 priority right now is to get better players, but fitness is important," Arena said. "It's a lot easier to get them fit than have a much more talented roster. We can win a relay race if we really want to, but we're trying to win soccer games."
WHAT WAS THE TEAM'S BEST MOMENT IN '06?
There were some pretty memorable moments, like the largest traveling support in MLS history to witness an opening day tie at D.C. and the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Red Bulls home opener a week later. And who can forget the incomparable Ronaldinho and Barcelona coming to a sold-out Giants Stadium for an entertaining exhibition match with the Red Bulls?
But none of those was the club's best moment.
"The biggest accomplishment was getting into the playoffs," Arena said. "It should be, hopefully it doesn't turn into a negative."
It turns into a negative, Arena said, if there isn't an increase in the league's salary cap, which would allow him to improve his team. Had they missed the postseason, the Red Bulls would have secured a $300,000 player allocation, as per MLS rules. But Arena, who made advancing to the MLS Cup playoffs a goal when he came aboard in August, said playing an additional two games allowed him to see how his team - particularly the younger players - responded to pressure.
WHO MADE THE MOST IMPROVEMENT OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON?
There were some success stories this season, perhaps the biggest being Amado Guevara's resurgence. It seemed unlikely Guevara would be part of final day roster, let alone wear the captain's armband, after early-season spats with Alexi Lalas and Mo Johnston. But both are gone and Guevara, thanks in part to a heart-to-heart with Richie Williams, appears to be back as the team's leader.
It wasn't perfect - Guevara scored a hat trick in a must-win game against Kansas City on the final day of the regular season but sat too far back in a 1-0 loss to D.C. in the opening leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series - but it was an improvement. Guevara is committed to returning next year and appears to be excited about playing for Arena. But Arena, who has praised the play of the Honduran nicknamed "El Lobo", was non-committal about Guevara, or any other player's, return.
"There's 23 players who have options that are up. He's no different than anyone else," Arena said. "We've not made any decisions on players at this point."
WHAT RESERVES ARE MOST READY TO MOVE INTO THE FIRST TEAM?
Having said he has yet to make personnel decisions, Arena wasn't ready to commit to an answer.
"It's too early to talk about that stuff yet," he said. "We need to see what our roster is going to look like before we decide who is going to get playing time next year."
One player who emerged this year to start and have a huge impact at the end of the season is Jozy Altidore. The 16-year-old didn't even expect to be with the senior team when he was picked in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft. But there he was at the end of the year, scoring important goal after important goal, including the team's lone goal in a 1-1 draw at D.C. in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.
"Jozy's pretty good, pretty good for 16 years old," Arena said. "But again, [he's] a kid that has a lot of potential and a long way to go. We're not going to put the cart ahead of the horse here. We need to give the kid his due time to develop as a player."
WHAT AREA OF THE TEAM NEEDS THE MOST IMPROVEMENT?
Arena is quick to point out it's plural - areas, not one area.
"I would say there isn't one aspect. That would be a nice problem to have," Arena said. "I don't think I can pinpoint one area. I think right across the board we can get better."
Indeed, there needs to be improvement everywhere. Defensively, Carlos Mendes and Jeff Parke played well, but the Red Bulls need help centrally, Todd Dunivant needs to have an injury-free season and Marvell Wynne's decision-making has to be better on the flanks. Guevara needs to play like he did in the second half of the season over the long haul, there needs to be better service from the outside and there needs to be more consistent finishing up top.
"We need to get better everywhere," Arena said. "There's no question about that."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
