New Faces in Camp
Five new faces joined the Red Bulls upon the team’s arrival into Bradenton Monday afternoon and one of them was a very familiar face. Jamaican winger Dane Richards joined up as a trialist with his former team in Florida after last playing for Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt.
Richards left the club midway through the 2012 season in a trade with Vancouver which brought Sebastian Le Toux to New York, but moved to English Championship side Burnley following the season. The speedy winger never caught on in Britain and instead went on loan, and eventually signed for Bodø/Glimt.
NewYorkRedBulls.com will have more with Dane Richards on Tuesday.
Other Trialists
The club also announced Monday that MLS veteran defenders Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Anthony Wallace and Karl Ouimette as well as Jamaican left back Kemar Lawrence into camp Monday.
Hurtado most recently played for the Chicago Fire and Chivas USA in 2014 after a five year stint with the Seattle Sounders. The 30-year-old defender passed through the Chivas USA Dispersal Draft in November, but is still signed by Major League Soccer.
Both Hurtado and left back Anthony Wallace actually trained with the team last week in Hanover, NJ and prior to that, Wallace featured as a guest player in team’s preseason defeat to Jacksonville Armada earlier this month in Orlando.
The Brooklyn-born left back split time in MLS with FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids, where he won an MLS Cup in 2010, before playing last season with the NASL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Signed as a Homegrown player with Montreal while Jesse Marsch was head coach in 2012, Ouimette is reunited with his former coach in the Bradenton camp. The 22-year-old center back appeared in 20 matches for Montreal over three seasons, seeing time in 11 in 2014.
A 22-year-old left back that has spent his entire career with Jamaican side Harbor View FC, Lawrence also holds 13 international appearances for the Reggae Boyz. He previously trialed with D.C. United in July 2014.
The presence of trialist center backs and left backs in Bradenton likely signals that Marsch is looking for more cover in both areas heading into the season.
Monday’s session
After a day of travel Marsch held a 90-minute training session at IMG Academy Monday night, mostly having the team play possession as well as a small-sided game to end things.
With both teams tied and the sun setting, the Red Bulls coach called for a sudden death penalty shootout which went on for quite a while. After an estimated 10 rounds, Ronald Zubar clanged his effort off the left post, giving Sacha Kljestan’s orange team the win…
