As the Red Bulls' preseason begins in earnest, NewYorkRedBulls.com had a chance to sit down with a few players (John Wolyniec, Carlos Mendes, and Luke Sassano) to get their early impressions of preseason training, head coach Juan Carlos Osorio, the facilities at The Home Depot Center, and Wednesday night's USA/Mexico match.
RBNY: What are your thoughts on the preseason so far?
Wolyniec: So far preseason has been pretty good. It's a bit early, but I am definitely sore already. The training sessions have been great, real intense, and real competitive. We have this afternoon off so I am feeling pretty good about preseason right now, but it has been a lot of hard work although we are only a few days in.
Mendes: I think it's been excellent. The training sessions have been intense and guys have been working hard. Obviously we have a lot of players in and a lot of guys trying out, but it's been real competitive and everyone knows what to expect so it's been excellent so far.
Sassano: It's been tough, but it's been fun. We have been getting right down to hard work. I have been getting to know the guys off the field, but on the field the training sessions have been hard but good. I am excited to be working hard.
RBNY: How has Coach Osorio been in his first preseason as head coach of the club?
Wolyniec: So far it has been great. Coach has so much energy, is so intense, and has so much passion that it has to just filter down into us. So far the sessions have been real competitive, which I think is great because it makes guys fight for spots and nobody is resting on their laurels.
Mendes: He has been very straight forward, very honest. You know what to expect. His training sessions are excellent. He demands a lot out of us. He pushes us, but he makes everything very competitive and I think this team is really moving in the right direction and guys are competing. Everything is soccer related. We aren't just running laps around the field, and I think he does an excellent job incorporating the soccer-related fitness. You have a little more fun with it. Instead of just running, you are playing and working hard and getting your fitness in.
Sassano: He has been great. Every training is spot on. Every training in engineered for our bodies. He is a real honest coach, he gets to the point. He doesn't beat around the bush. He is a good guy and he pretty much expects the best out of us so it's been tough and hard, but we want to attain our long term goals so it's really getting started on the right foot. Coach Osorio, like my college coach, has us do a lot of soccer specific running, a lot of playing with the ball, just things that are conducive to soccer, not just running laps and sprinting that isn't really going to help you in the game. Coach Osorio has done a really good job of preparing us physically.
RBNY: What are your thoughts on the facilities at The Home Depot Center?
Wolyniec: We have come here for a number of years, and it has always been pretty well run. They have a number of fields, which is great. Unfortunately, with the rain on Sunday, we have had to play on turf a couple of times, which makes it a little bit rough when you come out here, but hopefully the rest of the time we will be able to play on some of the real nice grass fields that they have.
Mendes: Excellent. Unfortunately we have been on turf because of the rain, but it is an unbelievable facility, with so many grass fields and they are all in good shape, so hopefully we will be on the grass more if the rain stays away.
Sassano: My college team, Cal-Berkeley, came down here last year and actually played the Red Bulls in the spring and we trained at the same place we trained yesterday. The facilities are really great. They have a lot of fields and maintain them real well.
RBNY: What are your thoughts on the USA/Mexico match tonight?
Wolyniec: Anytime there is a USA/Mexico match its exciting. It's probably the biggest things in terms of rivalry with our national team that you can find. Obviously, the U.S. has gotten the best of Mexico in the last couple of games, and I am just hoping that we can keep that momentum going. One of the ways the U.S. proves how good a team we have is to be competitive with Mexico and to win games against them really shows the rest of the world that we have a serious team.
Mendes: Obviously I am pulling for the U.S. Anytime the U.S. and Mexico get together it's a huge game because of the rivalry, so everyone is excited to watch it.
Sassano: I am excited to watch the match. I have pretty much watched every one of the USA/Mexico matches and I think it will be a real good match featuring a lot of young players. I grew up going to the USA/Mexico games and the rivalry is pretty intense. I have a lot of friends with Mexican heritage, so it's always fun when they play.
RBNY: What about your teammate, Jozy Altidore?
Wolyniec: It's always great to see guys that you work day in and day out with, especially a guy like Jozy, so we are real excited for him and we want him to do well, so hopefully he does.
Mendes: Hopefully, we will see him get in today. Jozy has so much talent and everyone is pulling for him and the U.S., but it means a little bit more when one of your teammates is playing.
Sassano: I haven't met him yet, but I am excited for him that he has this opportunity. Just from watching him, he is an awesome player so it should be a great match.
RBNY: Any plans to watch the game as a group tonight?
Wolyniec: The game happens to coincide with dinner, so I think we will watch the game at dinner as a group. Towards the end of the game, I am sure we will be hooting and hollering in the meal room.
Mendes: We will be watching the game together. We will have dinner at halftime so we won't miss any of the game.
