MLS New York Red Bulls

Weekly Update: Red Bulls Kick off 2012 MLS Season Sunday in Dallas

Published on March 5, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
New York Red Bulls News Release


New York enters the 2012 season led by captain Thierry Henry, who is in his third season with the club. Last season, Henry captured the team's Golden Boot award, leading the club with 14 goals, which was good for third in the league. His excellent season earned him a deserved spot on the MLS Best XI and All-Star Team. Since joining the Red Bulls in July 2010, the Frenchman has scored 16 goals in 37 regular season appearances. Last season, he notched his first career MLS Cup Playoffs goal in the team's 2-0 victory over FC Dallas in the Wild Card Round. Henry is joined once again by former Barcelona teammate and Mexican National Team Captain Rafa Marquez, who also enters his third season with the club. Estonian midfielder Joel Lindpere, U.S. National Team forward Juan Agudelo and the longest tenured Red Bull, Dane Richards, are also among the returnees from last season.

The club also welcomes many new faces to the fold or the 2012 season. On the day of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, the team acquired MLS veteran forward Kenny Cooper. Cooper has scored 48 goals during his five MLS seasons, the last of which he spent with expansion side Portland Timbers. Between the posts, the team will rely on two young and talented American goalkeepers to begin the season. The Red Bulls selected Fordham University goalkeeper Ryan Meara with its second round selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, and also signed American-born shot stopper Jeremy Vuolo, who spent last season with Finnish club AC Oulu. On the backline, the team welcomes in Swedish centerback Markus Holgersson and MLS former Best XI defender Wilman Conde, while the midfield was bolstered by the addition of 20-year-old Iceland native Victor Palsson.

Head Coach Hans Backe returns for his third season with the club. In his first two years, the team has a 25-17-22 regular season record, and earned a postseason berth in both seasons.

New York leads the all-time regular season series against the FC Dallas franchise (previously the Dallas Burn) by posting an 18-16-4 record since the clubs first faced off in 1996. Last season, the teams squared off three times, with the Red Bulls going 2-0-1 against the Texas side. On July 23, 2011, a late Henry goal earned New York a 2-2 tie at Red Bull Arena, and the Red Bulls took the return fixture 1-0 on Sept. 17. The teams were paired up in the Wild Card Round of the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs, with the Red Bulls prevailing in Frisco, TX by a 2-0 score on goals by Henry and Lindpere.

FC Dallas continues to be led by Schellas Hyndman, who enters his fifth season as the club's head coach. On the field, the club boasts U.S. International Brek Shea, veteran goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and 2010 League MVP David Ferreira.

THIS WEEK

Red Bulls at FC Dallas at FC Dallas Stadium on Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 PM ET (TV: NBC Sports Network

NEXT WEEK

Red Bulls at Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, March 17 at 10:00 PM ET (TV: MSG Plus)

HOME OPENER TICKETS CURRENTLY ON SALE

Tickets for the New York Red Bulls' 2012 MLS Regular Season home opener at Red Bull Arena against the Colorado Rapids on March 25 at 4:00 PM ET are on sale. More information can be found on www.newyorkredbulls.com/tickets.

COOPER, HENRY SCORE AS RED BULLS KNOCK OFF GALAXY IN DESERT CUP

Goals by forwards Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry lifted the New York Red Bulls to a 2-1 win over defending MLS Cup Champion, the LA Galaxy, last Wednesday night at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium as part of the Desert Diamond Cup.

In the first meeting between the sides since last year's MLS Cup Playoffs Semifinal Series, the opening half provided chances for both sides. In the 13th minute, LA Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee's header went over the crossbar off a David Beckham corner kick. On the other end, New York defender Jan Gunnar Solli found Cooper in the box but the striker couldn't get his attempt on frame. Then, midfielder Dane Richards got in behind the Galaxy defense and forced goalkeeper Josh Saunders to palm his shot away from danger.

However, Saunders could do nothing about the Red Bulls' goal in the 31st minute. Teemu Tainio had possession in midfield and found a wide open Connor Lade on the left wing. Lade cut it to the top of the box to Cooper, who lashed it past a wrong-footed Saunders for his third preseason goal of the year.

In the second half, the Galaxy pressed for an equalizer. Three minutes into the interval, Juninho skipped into New York's half and blasted it high. Soon after, Beckham was free on the left side and his deflected shot nearly went into the side netting. Cooper almost had his second goal in the 54th minute, as his left-footed strike was stopped by Saunders.

The Red Bulls doubled their advantage in the 63rd minute through Henry. A streaking Henry found Richards on the right wing and the Jamaican chipped a cross into the box that New York's 2011 leading goal scorer got to first and nodded into the back of the net.

LA pulled a goal back in the 79th minute. Forward Jack McBean earned a free kick from 22 yards out after he was fouled by Stephen Keel. Marcelo Sarvas stepped up and curled it around the wall and into the bottom right corner.

New York defender Wilman Conde left the game in the 20th minute due to a right quadriceps injury. He was replaced by Keel.

RED BULLS FALL 1-0 TO REAL SALT LAKE IN PRESEASON FINALE

In their final preseason match of 2012, the New York Red Bulls fell to Real Salt Lake, 1-0, at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium last Saturday night as part of the Desert Diamond Cup's third place match. With the loss, the Red Bulls finished the 2012 preseason with a 2-3-3 record.

Both teams grappled for control of the match in the early going. In the 18th minute, New York almost tallied the first goal of the night as defender Roy Miller slipped the ball to Dane Richards, who nearly found a wide open Kenny Cooper in the box. However, Real Salt Lake was able to clear. Moments later, New York midfielder Joel Lindpere's in-swinging cross was met by an open Thierry Henry. The Frenchman was able to connect with the pass cleanly, but his header zipped over the crossbar.

Real Salt Lake took the lead on a solid individual effort from defender Chris Wingert. Midfielder Ned Grabavoy found Wingert on the left side of New York's half. Wingert cut it to his right foot and blasted it from 22 yards out past goalkeeper Jeremy Vuolo and into the upper corner of the net.

The Henry and Cooper forward tandem nearly tied the game on two occasions before halftime after Wingert's opening tally. In the 32nd minute, Cooper was able to get enough space at the top of the box to force goalkeeper Nick Rimando to block his shot. Henry was first to the rebound, but was not able to get enough power on his volley and Rimando was able to collect. Four minutes later, Cooper got behind the Real Salt Lake back four and unleashed a left-footed attempt that Rimando could only parry away. Henry again was the first to the ball and could not keep his first-time hit on frame.

Five minutes into the second half, Real Salt Lake looked to extend its lead when Sebastian Velasquez freed himself from 15-yards-out to push it high. Soon after, Paulo Jr. ran towards goal and curled an effort that Vuolo palmed out of harm's way. Substitute Alvaro Saborio could have iced the result 16 minutes from full time when he had a chance to shoot from close range. However, the Real Salt Lake forward could not re-deflect the ball on target.

Miller had an excellent opportunity to tie the game in the 86th minute. The Costa Rican defender was put through on goal by Henry and went one-on-one against Rimando. Miller elected to chip the keeper and the ball drifted wide of the net. With two minutes left in the match, Miller again went wide, as he tried to re-direct in a Lindpere shot from outside the box.

MARQUEZ TO MISS FIRST TWO GAMES OF 2012 SEASON

Red Bulls defender/midfielder Rafa Marquez will miss the first two games of the 2012 season as he continues to serve a three-match suspension, stemming from a post-match altercation in the Red Bulls' 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first leg of the teams' Western Conference Semifinals series last postseason. Marquez served the first game of the suspension in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals, a 2-1 victory for the Galaxy. Marquez will miss this Sunday's season opener at FC Dallas and next Saturday's road tilt at Real Salt Lake. Marquez will be available for selection for the Red Bulls' home opener, on Sunday, March 25 against the Colorado Rapids.

RED BULLS, MSG NETWORKS REVEAL 2012 TELEVISION SCHEDULE

The New York Red Bulls and MSG Networks unveiled the official television schedule for the upcoming 2012 season. MSG and MSG+ will televise 19 MLS regular season of the team's 34 matches. In addition, MSG televised New York's preseason friendly match labeled "Red Bull Reto del Sol" on Feb. 23 against Mexican side, UNAM Pumas, live at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ on MSG+ - a game that ended 0-0.

The first MLS regular season match that will be on the MSG networks is the Red Bulls' clash against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, March 17 at 10:00 PM ET with a 15-minute pre-game show starting at 9:45 PM on MSG+. MSG Networks will produce pre- and post-game shows for all Red Bulls home games and also select away matches. All game telecasts will be produced in a high definition format.

Veteran sports anchor and reporter Steve Cangialosi returns for his fifth season as the team's play-by-play announcer and 11th covering the Red Bulls, while former New York Cosmos goalkeeper Shep Messing starts his 12th season as an expert analyst. MSG Networks host and experienced sideline reporter Tina Cervasio will be back for her fifth season covering the Red Bulls, while Eddie Caggianelli begins his 11th season producing matches.

New York's remaining 15 regular season matches will be exclusively shown by MLS national partners ESPN Networks (seven times: four on ESPN, three on ESPN2) and the NBC Sports Group (eight times: six on NBCSN, two on NBC). In addition, Galavision will telecast six Red Bulls matches in Spanish (MSG Networks will telecast those games simultaneously in English).

The full 2012 regular season television schedule can be seen at www.newyorkredbulls.com/schedule.

THIERRY HENRY RETURNS FROM ARSENAL LOAN

Red Bulls forward and captain Thierry Henry spent part of the 2012 preseason on loan with his former club, Arsenal. During the short-term loan, which started on Jan. 9 and ended on Feb. 22, Henry scored an impressive three goals.

Henry returned to his former club on Monday, Jan. 9 in a FA Cup Third Round match against Leeds United, coming on as a 68th minute substitute. The Frenchman made his impact felt just 10 minutes after coming onto the pitch, controlling an Alex Song through ball and curling it past goalkeeper Andy Lonergan, recording the game's only goal in a 1-0 victory.

Henry scored his second goal since re-joining Arsenal, netting the final goal in the Gunners' 7-1 rout of Blackburn Rovers on Feb. 4. Henry entered the match for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 68th minute, and finished off his chance in the 90th minute.

The Frenchman made his final Premier League game of the season with Arsenal a memorable one, as he notched the game-winning goal in stoppage time to lift Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over Sunderland on Feb. 11. It was Henry's club-leading 229th all-time goal for Arsenal.

Henry was the Red Bulls' 2011 Most Valuable Player, taking home the club's Golden Boot after scoring a team-high 14 goals in the regular season. The Frenchman, who made the MLS All-Star Team and was part of MLS' season-ending Best XI, played in and started 26 games, logging 2,266 minutes and registering four assists in his first full season in the League. He also notched his first career MLS Cup Playoffs goal in New York's 2-0 victory over FC Dallas on Oct. 26 in the Wild Card round. His 14 regular season goals ranked third-best in MLS this season.

Henry was first with Arsenal from 1999-07, becoming one of the side's all-time great players. The French marksman was the top scorer in the English Premiership (2002, 2004-06) a record four times and helped Arsenal win the Premiership championship in 2002 and 2004. The 32-year-old also helped lead his team to three English FA Cups and claimed the European Golden Boot in 2004 and 2005.

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