Red Bulls Head Coach Michael Bradley Speaks about Training Camp

The new head coach of Red Bull New York speaks to the media

Bradenton, FL- As the first leg of Red Bull New York’s training camp and preseason has gotten underway, the club is looking to put itself on the front foot to prepare for a brand new season. With a mixture of veterans and exciting young players from their Red Bull New York 2 squad, head coach Michael Bradley is excited for the challenge of a new season with the senior side.

Excited for his first training camp

Since his arrival last season with Red Bull 2, Michael Bradley never had a training camp to begin his head coaching tenure with the club. He came in right away in the middle of last June and just hit the ground running with his team when Ibrahim Sekagya was promoted to the first team and became a member of Sandro Schwarz’s staff. Now, Bradley has a chance to really put his stamp on this team and have them do things the way he wants and to implement the style and tactics he’s looking for to put them on the front foot.

“It’s been great. There’s nothing better than to have a really good time working, to train, to, you know. Established ideas inside the group, you know, and obviously it’s early in this whole thing, and so we’re taking advantage of every moment that we can to, again, work at things on the field, have good discussions, video sessions that allow us to connect dots. And make sure that we’re really clear about things. Make sure the players understand.

We want certain things, or why we train the way that we do, and so, in all ways, it’s been, it’s been a really positive, really positive start. The players have been, have been open and have taken every single idea on board in a really good way. They’re into it. Every time they step on the field, and, like I said, for eight or nine days in, we’re making. We’re moving ourselves along in a good way.”

Will we finally see some changes?

Red Bull Global has always stated that the pressing style has always been the club’s mantra, regardless of whether it’s at Leipzig in Germany, Salzburg in Austria, Bragantino in Brazil, or at Harrison. But with a new head coach ready to make his debut, we all know he’s going to try to tweak the style a bit differently. While still keeping the core principles, Bradley wants to put his stamp on this club for himself.

“We want to be a team that keeps all of the foundation and all the hallmarks of Red Bull teams. We want to be aggressive. Go after the other team. We want to press in a really hard way. We’re going to counter-press in every moment that we can. But we are also going to try to really connect that with what we do with the ball. And we’re going to try to be a team that has good ideas in all ways, tries to put the game on our terms, and makes a game that is fast and dynamic and really challenges the opponent and plays in a way that our fans are excited to watch us every single weekend.”

Does Emil Forsberg have a new role under Bradley?

There might be a formation shift with the senior side going from a four-two-three-one into a four-four-three. So, where does that put Emil Forsberg? We have seen him usually along the left side of the pitch, and at times he has switched to the right or has gone up top to join the striker, or in this case, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. Will he have difficulties adjusting? Or is it a possibility that he will be fine and everything will fit perfectly?

“Emil has football, and he has intelligence, and he has experience, and he loves to play. So, you know, he has come into preseason in a really good way, really excited, really motivated. You know, I think in a short amount of time, we’ve found. Really good way together, and so obviously, you know, for us to have a really good team this year, Emil is going to be a really important part of that, and we’re going to. We’re going to make sure that we find the best ways to get the most out of him and to make sure that he can show his quality.”

How the new players are doing

Since the Red Bulls brought over Justin Che and Cade Cowell, the hope is that both men are going to work well, and the transition to the club will be seamless. Since Che moved from Europe and Cowell has returned to the league from Guadalajara in Mexico, it’s Bradley’s job to try to enhance their talents and put them into a better position on the pitch. It’s early days, but right now it sounds like Bradley likes what he sees from them so far.

“Justin and Cade have established themselves in the group in a really good way. Really good guys, hard workers, excited to be here, humble, and they have, in every single way, made a really good first impression. So we’re excited to have them. They both have shown really good things on the field as well. So we’re going to continue to push them forward and make sure that they find even bigger ways to impact what we’re doing.”

Red Bull 2 players are getting chances for the senior side

When Michael Bradley had his half-season with Red Bull New York 2, he led them to the club’s first MLS Next Pro Championship, but as a whole, the team’s second championship since their USL Cup win back in 2016 with players like Sean Davis, Tyler Adams, Derrick Etienne Jr., and many others that moved on to have careers in MLS and in Europe. Now, will those players of this current club get those same chances as well with Roald Mitchell, Adri Mehmeti, Nehuen Benedetti, and Rafael Mosquera?

“Every one of our young players is going to get an opportunity every single day. So, obviously, depending on numbers, depending on how we put training together, that could look slightly different on different days. I said at my press conference, at my first press conference. Any young player inside our club is going to have a real chance and a real opportunity to prove that they should move themselves up to the first team and be a real contributor. So we’re excited by that.”

This will be Michael Bradley’s first big test as a head coach. This is not the junior side; this is the big side. While he has shown some great moments from his half-season at Red Bull 2 from last year, the hope is that he can get off on the right foot and put the club into a better position, qualify for the playoffs, and begin a new streak. That’s the hope, and that’s what most of us would like to see.

While falling to the Sarasota Paradise of USL League One is not a strong start to the preseason in the matches department, it’s just the beginning of the preseason, and two separate sides of Red Bull played a half each; it’s too early to assume the worst is bound to happen. While training is going well at this point, the hope is to have everything running like a well-oiled machine before they start the season in Orlando, Florida, on February 21st.

Red Bull New York News:

• Michael Bradley has his Coaching Staff ready for the new Red Bulls Season
• Red Bulls Partners with RWJBarnabus Health for Naming Rights to new Training Facility
• Red Bulls Trade Daniel Edelman to St. Louis City for GAM

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