HARRISON, N.J. – The New York Red Bulls finalized their preparations for their CONCACAF Champions League swan song on Tuesday, and a familiar but somewhat unexpected player took part in it.
Connor Lade made his way back to Red Bull Arena on Tuesday, recalled from his loan with the New York Cosmos to play in Wednesday’s Group 5 finale against the Montreal Impact (8 pm ET, FOX Sports 2).
Lade, 24, has been on loan with the NASL club since late July and had returned once previously for a Champions League game, but the stated plan after that September fixture was that the Red Bulls would leave him with the Cosmos for the remainder of the season.
Those plans changed, however. Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke is planning on deploying a reserve-filled lineup for Wednesday’s encounter, given that the Red Bulls are already eliminated from the tournament, and Petke sees Lade as someone who could help their cause.
“It’s great,” said Petke when asked about having Lade back. “Connor has shown improvement every time he's come back. I give a lot of credit to the Cosmos [for] giving him the playing time, and he looks confident and he's playing well. I thought he played very well against Montreal in the last Champions League [match] that he played in, so we're going to put him right back in that [central midfield] position and see what we have here."
Lade has been used primarily as a left back for the Cosmos in recent weeks but is ready to take on the challenge of playing centrally again. After playing in eight games since August for the Cosmos – his the busiest stretch of appearances since his rookie year in 2012 – he feels sharper and better than he had while seeing just 10 minutes of league action for the Red Bulls.
“It’s always great to get a solid string of games where you can build confidence and get your foot back on the ball in a competitive atmosphere,” said the diminutive Homegrown Player, now in his third professional season. “I just feel like I’ve had a good amount of games to get my confidence back and get back in the swing of things. I feel like I’m playing well, and the team’s doing well up there.”
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The last time Lade made his way back to the west side of the Hudson River, his return was short-lived. He received a dubious red card in the Champions League duel at Montreal last month and was immediately sent back to the Cosmos so as to avoid wasting any valuable time in which he could be playing.
His presence has been missed by the Red Bulls, however. A kid-sized, orange sweater hung from his otherwise empty locker on Saturday as a joke from his teammates, and seeing it on Tuesday was a small reminder of how much Lade enjoys being back with the club where it all started.
“I was kind of looking around before practice, and it’s still crazy that I get to come and play in this arena and belong to a club like this,” said Lade. “It’s definitely very special, and coming back here and seeing all the guys is great. I’m just looking forward to this next game, and [I'll] continue to prove myself to the club and just try to put a solid performance and get a good result.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
