E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. - In terms of battling Marvell Wynne for a job as starting right back, Hunter Freeman is 1-1. On the U.S. under-20 national team, Wynne won the spot and Freeman moved to the left. But on the New York Red Bulls, Freeman has come away with the job and Wynne, the overall No. 1 pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, has been shipped to Toronto FC.
Red Bulls boss Bruce Arena, though, argues that trading Wynne for a 2008 second round pick and a partial allocation had little to do with Freeman and a lot to do with freeing up a spot on the 18-man roster for Colombian international Juan Pablo Angel, signed on a free transfer from Aston Villa of the English Premiership last Friday.
But in a 3-0 win against FC Dallas last Sunday, Freeman showed some of the skill and poise that made him a regular starter for the Colorado Rapids in his first two MLS seasons and certainly made parting with Wynne a little easier.
A week ago, Freeman and the Red Bulls defense did well to limit the dangerous FC Dallas duo of Kenny Cooper and Carlos Ruiz. On Saturday night, when the Red Bulls take on Houston Dynamo at Giants Stadium, he'll have his hands full with Brian Ching, Dwayne De Rosario and Paul Dalglish.
"It wasn't about Hunter and Marvell; we had to make room on our roster," Arena said. "You could either trade a player or cut a player. That's it, those are the two options. I hadn't thought of any others we could possibly have. Obviously Marvell had appeal to a number of teams. Not that I wanted to do it, but I think Hunter is a player that can play on a regular basis on this league."
Freeman, a former University of Virginia standout, was selected by the Rapids seventh overall in the 2005 SuperDraft. He started 38 of 47 regular season games for Colorado, but was left on the substitutes' bench during the playoffs. That was all Freeman needed to know about his worth to the Rapids and on March 23 he was traded to the Red Bulls for a 2008 third round pick and a 2009 fourth round supplemental selection.
"When you're told you're not really in the plans, you don't really want to sit around and wait," said the 22-year-old from Allen, Tex. "I couldn't ask for things here to work out any better here. The organization, the staff, the players have been first class to me."
While Freeman will likely earn his second start for the Red Bulls, former U.S. international Claudio Reyna is expected to as well after being held out of last week's game with a left leg contusion. It might be a week late, but the Springfield, N.J., native will finally play for the home team at Giants Stadium. And after playing in subfreezing temperatures in Columbus and in a Meadowlands monsoon last weekend, the Red Bulls are looking forward to playing in what should be ideal conditions.
"I'm excited and glad we finally got some good weather as well," said Reyna, who has trained since Tuesday, feeling better each day. "For me, friends and family will be out so for me it will be nice to kick start the first home game and it will be special."
De Rosario and former MetroStars midfielder Ricardo Clark make up one of the best central midfield tandems in the league and the battle with Reyna and Dema Kovalenko is one of the more intriguing Saturday. With virtually the entire MLS Cup championship team intact, Dynamo are again considered a strong contender and is a good test for the Red Bulls in an early top of the table tilt.
"It's a good test for us as far as, I think, playing one of the better teams in the league," Reyna said. "For us at home, it's a good game for us."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
