Two days after their season came to an end and one day after the stunning news that Bruce Arena was let go as the club's sporting director and head coach, Red Bulls players cleaned out their lockers at the training facility at Montclair State University facing an uncertain future.
"It's sad to say but it's part of the business for coaches and players," veteran Clint Mathis said. "One day you're on top of the world and the next day you either don't have a job or with another club."
Mathis has a long history with Arena, going back to the U.S. national team's historic run at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The Red Bulls' all-time leading scorer enjoyed a resurgence of sorts in his second stint back in New York, scoring more goals (6) than in his previous two seasons at Real Salt Lake and Colorado. But he's entering an option year of his contract and turns 31 on Nov. 25.
"I'm comfortable with the guys and have pretty much what I consider family here," Mathis said. "I would love to stay here, but at the end of the day if the option's not re-signed, if that's the case, then I definitely have to look at all the options."
Juan Pablo Angel, a finalist for MLS MVP, set a club record with 19 goals in his first MLS season. He said part of the reason he left Aston Villa in the English Premiership was to play for Arena.
"It took me by surprise but I guess it was a managerial decision," Angel said. "Our relationship was fine and I don't have much more to say about it."
Angel, who left Saturday's second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series with a concussion, has one year remaining on his contract. And Angel, who was being scouted by Colombian national team coach Jorge Luis Pinto at Gillette Stadium, would love to remain with the Red Bulls and hinted at a possible contract extension.
"I've had a great experience here, I'm happy here, my family's happy here," Angel said. "We would just like to sit down with them and see what they think and hopefully we can reach an agreement so I can spend a few more years here."
After taking an inadvertent knee to the jaw by Jay Heaps in a battle for a 50-50 ball at midfield Saturday night, Angel slumped to the cold Gillette Stadium turf and was knocked unconscious for at least 30 seconds. When he came through and reached the sideline, Angel was adamant about returning to the scoreless match, but was talked out of it by Red Bulls athletic trainer Rick Guter.
"I don't really know what I was doing," Angel said. "It was a mix of emotions, I wanted to carry on playing, but I was probably completely off. I think the smartest thing was not to play any more. I owe it to Rick Guter, who stood in my way because I really wanted to keep playing. Three to five minutes after that I was sick completely, so if I would have kept playing it would have been a disaster."
One player who declined to comment about the "mutual decision" met by Arena and Red Bulls Managing Director Marc de Grandpre was team captain Claudio Reyna. Reportedly, Reyna, who had the longest history with Arena among the Red Bulls players, had a rift with the coach and went through a stretch where the two didn't speak.
Like many of his teammates, Reyna's future is also unclear. The former U.S. national team captain has another year left on his guaranteed contract, but had an injury-plagued first year with the club and might not be in the new coaching staff's plans.
Dave van den Bergh, who enjoyed his first season in New York after arriving in a trade with Kansas City, was still stunned by the loss to the Revs when he heard the news about Arena's departure.
"We didn't see it coming," he said. "It was really soon after the last game. I was still mourning the loss, to be honest with you. I hadn't even thought about next season yet."
However, van den Bergh said the blame for the club's fifth consecutive first-round departure should be shared.
"We failed and I emphasize the word 'we.' We have 28 players, a coaching staff and we all failed," he said. "I think if you ask anybody in this locker room, everyone would say that we had the team which would go places."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
