Red Bulls’ Rafa tries to reboot
WHEN LAST we saw Rafa Marquez around here, he was hurling a soccer ball at Landon Donovan during the playoffs and getting himself suspended for three matches. It was not the first time the fiery Marquez had demonstrated poor judgment last year with the Red Bulls, but now the Mexican international says he is ready to return on Sunday with renewed dedication.
“Last season is in the past,” Marquez said through an interpreter Thursday at the team’s media day at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, looking ahead to the home opener against Colorado. “My actions on the field will do my talking. I’m more embedded with the team now. There’s a different approach.”
Marquez, 32, spent time this winter training with Barcelona’s B team to regain top form. It’s clear already that the Red Bulls can use a committed Marquez, their central midfielder and one of the club’s two designated players. Without him, the team threw away two road matches with some shoddy play on the back line and with very little buildup from the back.
In 2011, Marquez was suspended twice and complained publicly that his teammates weren’t up to his level. It wasn’t just Marquez’s fabled temper that was the problem, though. It was his schedule. He spent so much time with the Mexican national team that he couldn’t find his pace or purpose with the Red Bulls.
“He traveled so much he was with us less than 50% of the time,” coach Hans Backe said. “This year he has an easier schedule. I’ve seen him in preseason and I know he is going to perform well.” As for the tantrums, Backe shrugged. “That will happen,” Backe said. “He’s very emotional. He’ll show his temper now and then. We’ll have to live with that.”
Backe said the team needs to be “almost unbeatable at home by putting every team under pressure.” The Red Bulls dropped their first two matches — at Dallas, 2-1, and at Real Salt Lake, 2-0 — with some careless errors in front of Ryan Meara, the 21-yearold rookie goalkeeper from Yonkers.
“We’re not being outplayed,” said forward Thierry Henry, the club’s top designated player. “If you carry on giving goals away, you’re not going to win games. The first goal against Salt Lake was a joke. That was a problem for us last season.”
Henry said it was too early to tell the character of this year’s side, but he felt the return of Marquez on Sunday would provide a lift. “For me, it’s vital,” Henry said. “We didn’t come up well from the back. He can give rhythm to everyone.”
ENGLISH ACCENT: The Red Bulls announced they will play host to Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League on July 31 as part of the inaugural New York Invitational Cup.