RED BULLS HOST CRUZEIRO FRIDAY: The Red Bulls, who are tied for first place in the Eastern Conference in MLS play, return to game action for the first time since June 5 when they host famed Brazilian club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in a friendly at Red Bull Arena on Friday, June 18 at 8:00 PM ET. This will be the second time the Red Bulls will welcome one of Brazil’s most popular clubs to Red Bull Arena, as New York opened its brand new stadium on March 20 with a 3-1 victory over Santos FC in the venue’s inaugural match.
Cruzeiro is one of the most popular and successful clubs from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Throughout their illustrious history, Cruzeiro has won their state title, the Campeonato Mineiro, 36 times, most recently in 2009. Their 36 state titles are second most all-time in the state, trailing only Atletico Mineiro’s 40 championships. Cruzeiro also won the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, Brazil’s national championship, in 2003. In that same year, Cruzeiro became the first and, to this day, only club to complete Brazil’s “National Triple Crown”, winning the Brasileiro Serie A, the Copa do Brasil, and their state championship all in the same season. The club has a successful track record in international competition, as they are one of only eight clubs to have won the CONMEBOL Treble in their history, winning the Copa Libertadores, Supercopa Sudamericana and the Recopa. The club is coached by former Cruzeiro and Brazil National Team player Adilson Batista.
Last week on June 13, Cruzeiro defeated MLS side New England Revolution, 3-0, in a friendly at Gillette Stadium. Cruzeiro forward Wellington Paulista scored a hat trick, netting goals in the 24th, 49th, and 83rd minutes to down the Revolution.
LAST WEEK:
The team did not play any matches last week.
THIS WEEK:
Red Bulls vs. Cruzeiro (Brazil) at Red Bull Arena on June 18 at 8:00 PM ET – International friendly (TV: NONE; Radio: NONE).
NEXT WEEK:
Red Bulls at Kansas City Wizards at Community America Ballpark on June 26 at 8:30 PM (TV: MSG; Radio: WQBU 92.7 FM).
2010 MLS STANDINGS
INCLUDES GAMES OF THURSDAY, June 10, 2010
RBA TO HOST CHURCHILL CUP FINALS SATURDAY: Red Bull Arena will serve as the host of the Finals of the Churchill Cup, an international rugby event, this Saturday, June 19, 2010. The Churchill Cup will be the first international non-soccer event to be staged at the 25,000-seat venue in Harrison, NJ. Group tickets are available by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER while individual tickets can be purchased by logging onto www.redbullarena.us.
The Churchill Cup showcased the USA Eagles, Canada, England Saxons and tournament newcomers France A, Russia and Uruguay in three rounds of doubleheader pool matches at Infinity Park, Glendale on June 5, 9 and 13 before moving to Red Bull Arena on June 19. In the final of the 2010 edition, the England Saxons will take on Canada 2:30 PM ET. Canada booked its spot in the final by defeating Uruguay on June 5 by a score of 48–10, and by upsetting France A 33–27 on June 13. England’s road to the final started on June 9, with the Saxons scoring a 49–17 victory over Russia. England then defeated the United States convincingly, 32–9 on June 13 to reach the final. The day will kickoff at 12:00 PM ET with the fifth-place match between Russia and Uruguay, as both nations will be looking for their first victory in the 2010 competition. After the final at 2:30 PM ET, the United States will battle France A in the third-place match, slated to start at 5:30 PM ET.
In 2009, the first time the Churchill Cup was held entirely in the U.S., the pool matches consistently attracted near sellout crowds to Glendale's Infinity Park and the tournament hopes to build on past success in 2010.
Churchill Cup Background: The Churchill Cup is an alliance between the English Rugby Football Union (RFU), Rugby Canada and USA Rugby. The tournament was launched in 2003 and aims to develop and grow the sport of rugby union across Canada and the USA. It is named after former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who shared close ties with the United States - his mother was American - and with Canada during the Second World War. With support from the International Rugby Board the tournament has grown in success since 2003 when 5,000 people attended to watch the three Alliance nations in Vancouver. Since its introduction, both men's and women's teams from England, USA and Canada have participated although since 2005 it has been a men only event. Invitational sides from Argentina, Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand have all participated, while there was also a women's competition in 2003 and 2004.
RED BULLS TO HOST BRAZIL VS. PORTUGAL VIEWING PARTY AT RED BULL ARENA: On Friday, June 25, Red Bull Arena will show the 2010 FIFA World Cup Group G match between Brazil and Portugal on the video boards inside the arena, as well as in the Bulls’ Corner and Club lounge. The match is slated for a 10:00 AM kickoff. The event is open to the public, and admission is free, but all fans will need a ticket to enter the stadium. Tickets are free and can be secured by CLICKING HERE.
ETHAN ZOHN NAMED AMBASSADOR FOR 2010 NY FOOTBALL CHALLENGE: World Series of Football and Red Bull New York named Ethan Zohn, Survivor Winner and Grassroot Soccer co-founder, a 2010 New York Football Challenge Ambassador. As Ambassador, Zohn will focus his efforts on building a legacy of community service associated with the Tournament. Zohn will work with WSF and the clubs in the tournament to design a community service project that will benefit the New York area for years to come.
The New York Football Challenge will take place from July 22-25 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. In addition to the Red Bulls, English Premiership giants Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will participate along with Sporting Club de Portugal (Sporting Lisbon) from Portuguese Liga. Tickets are available by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER or CLICKING HERE.
After winning Survivor: Africa in 2002, Ethan Zohn co-founded Grassroot Soccer, an international organization that uses Africa's most powerful role models, pro soccer players, to educate youth about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. Since it’s founding, GRS has caught the attention of (and now partners with) Nike Inc., The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, FIFA’s Futbol for Hope, BP/Castrol, The Elton John Foundation, DeBeers and the Kellogg Foundation, and has graduated over 330,000 youth from its program. A former pro soccer player himself, Zohn launched Grassroot Soccer UNITED, a U.S. based awareness campaign, by dribbling a soccer ball 550 miles from Boston, Mass., to Washington D.C. Soon after the Dribble, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. After a two year battle, he is currently cancer-free. Recently, Zohn was asked to be a global ambassador for Stand Up To Cancer and the LiveStrong Foundation.
In addition, Zohn also keeps himself busy as the national spokesman for America Scores and lends his celebrity to multiple charity organizations, including Colon Cancer Alliance, Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization (IREO), St. Jude Hospital, and Maccabi USA. Most recently, he was the host of Earth Tripping, an eco-friendly travel adventure show. Zohn returned to reality-TV as a contestant on Survivor All-Stars, Fear Factor, Eco-Challenge, and hosted two soccer television shows, The MSG Soccer Report and F.C Fox. He was featured in the documentary film A Closer Walk along with The Dalai Lama, Bono and Kofi Annan. Zohn has also starred in campaigns for Nike, Puma and HP, hosted MTV specials and was a sideline reporter for Major League Soccer, USL, MISL and ESPN Radio. Currently, Zohn is a featured columnist for Tonic.com, digital media company dedicated to promoting the good that happens around the world each day.
ANGEL ADDS ANOTHER GOAL: Red Bulls’ all-time leading scorer Juan Pablo Angel added another goal to his tally as he scored the game winner in the 94th minute in the Red Bulls’ 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo on June 2.
GOALS (Regular Season)
PLAYER, GP, GOALS
1. Juan Pablo Angel, 84, 51
2. Giovanni Savarese, 85, 41
3. Clint Mathis, 93, 39
4. Amado Guevara, 103, 32
5. John Wolyniec, 141, 26
GOALS (All Competitions)
PLAYER, GP, GOALS
1. Juan Pablo Angel, 90, 54
2. Clint Mathis, 110, 45
3. Giovanni Savarese, 97, 44
4. Amado Guevara, 117, 38
5. John Wolyniec, 164, 36
Game Winning Goals
PLAYER, GP, GWG
1. Juan Pablo Angel, 84, 12
T-2. Clint Mathis, 93, 10
T-2. John Wolyniec, 141, 10
4. Amado Guevara, 103, 9
5. Giovanni Savarese, 85, 8
BOYENS IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR WORLD CUP: New York Red Bulls defender Andrew Boyens was named to the New Zealand World Cup squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Boyens, 26, has left the Red Bulls and has joined the New Zealand squad in South Africa for the tournament that in underway. New Zealand’s first match of the tournament is on June 15 against Slovakia, and it faces Paraguay on June 20, before their final group stage match against Italy on June 24. The tournament runs through July 11. Boyens has 13 caps for the New Zealand national team, and competed in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, starting against Spain and South Africa.
Boyens has been among the 18-man matchday roster for each of the first seven regular season matches in the 2010 season for coach Hans Backe, but has yet to appear. Boyens has made two starts in the U.S. Open Cup.
MATCH TICKETS FOR SECOND HALF ON SALE: Match tickets for the second half of the Red Bulls’ season ware on sale now. Fans can purchase Groups, Family Packs and individual match tickets for all Red Bulls’ matches in August and beyond by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER or by CLICKING HERE. Also, tickets for the New York Football Challenge from July 22-25 featuring the Red Bulls, English Premiership clubs Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur and Portuguese side Sporting Clube de Portugal are on sale to the general public as well.
The full schedule of matches that are on sale is as follows:
Wednesday, August 11: Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC - 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 14: Red Bulls vs. Los Angeles Galaxy – 6:00 PM
Saturday, August 28: Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes – 7:30 PM
Saturday, September 11: Red Bulls vs. Colorado Rapids – 4:00 PM
Saturday, October 2: Red Bulls vs. Kansas City Wizards – 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 9: Red Bulls vs. Real Salt Lake – 4:30 PM
Thursday, October 21: Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution – 7:30 PM
ROBINSON UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY: New York Red Bulls midfielder Carl Robinson underwent a successful procedure on Wednesday, May 26 to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. Riley Williams at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY. Robinson will miss five to six weeks of action.
Robinson was acquired on March 11, 2010 from Toronto FC in exchange for a fourth round selection in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. The former Welsh International has played in four regular season games, starting in three.
PETKE MAKES 300TH APPEARANCE: With his start on against the Columbus Crew on May 20, New York defender Mike Petke became the 11th outfield player to appear in 300 MLS regular season matches.
GAMES PLAYED (Regular Season – Field Players)
PLAYER, TEAM, GP
1. Steve Ralston, NE, 378
2. Jaime Moreno, DC, 329
3. Chris Klein, LA, 328
4. Jeff Cunningham, DAL, 327
5. Jesse Marsch, CHV, 321
6. Chris Henderson, NY, 317
7. Jay Heaps, NE, 314
8. Carey Talley, DC, 309
9. Cobi Jones, LA, 306
10. Jason Kreis, RSL, 305
11. Mike Petke, NY, 303
*- Still Active
SOLO FUTBOL AIRS SUNDAY: Red Bulls WADO 1280 AM and 92.7 FM announcers Ernesto Motta and Robert Sierra host their weekly call-in radio show, Solo Futbol, on Sunday night from 8-11 PM on WADO 1280 AM. Motta, Sierra and their panel of experts and guests analyze the Beautiful Game and the New York Red Bulls.
