During Monday’s video conference with the media, Head Coach Gerhard Struber and Head of Sport Kevin Thelwell shared their impressions ahead of the 2021 season and answered questions, among them questions on the influence of South American footballers in MLS and the arrival of Colombian center back Andrés Reyes.
“He's a player with very high potential, everybody can see that,” Thelwell said. “He’s a very talented young player, and he obviously fits with what we believe is going to be our identity going forward. He's got all of the weapons to be able to fit into what Gerhard and the team wants to do. He's obviously very capable of that. We had very good reports on him, not only in terms of his attitude and his mentality around games, but also in terms of training. We had good sources that told us that he’s a very good person, very good individual.”
Struber added that Reyes is the type of center back that the team was looking for in the Transfer Window.
“I think Andrés has the ability to absolutely become a player for us, for our philosophy and identity,” said Struber. “I think this is the most important thing that when we buy a new player, we have the feeling that the player can buy into our identity and has the right hunger for the next step in his career. I think with Andrés, he's exactly that player that I want in this position. I think with him we can work on developing him. For Andrés, for myself, and for the whole club, it’s a big win that we have him.”
During his time with Red Bull Salzburg, our Head Coach had the opportunity to work with Brazilian footballers Ramalho and Igor. Struber has been able to observe that South American footballers in MLS provide a great show for the league.
“The South American players have a big influence in the output of a game. Especially what they bring in the technical side, and also the tactical side. [They bring] a very good ability, and a lot of strength to the league,” he said. “I think the South American player gives the league magic moments, and I think the mix between the American player, and the South American player can give a very good performance to the fans in the stadiums.
“I think this is the most important thing that we can give everyone that comes to our stadium a good feeling, and with Fábio we got a player who’s very clear on what he does on the pitch,” Struber added. “He’s powerful, he’s good with one-on-ones, he’s very good in positioning, also I’m envisioning how we can use his good positioning and give us good link ups and lay offs. He’s also very fast, and I think he’s a type of striker that we want. He gives us a little bit of that other key factor in our game, and I’m very happy with that. Fábio is not the first South American player that I’ll work with, I’ve also worked with Ramalho and Igor at Salzburg, and I can remember that they're not only top professionals, they also have great characters with a top human side to them.”
